Thriving Communities

The EPA Thriving Communities Grant, funded through the Inflation Reduction Act, supports community-based organizations working in EPA-designated disadvantaged communities to advance environmental justice, climate resilience, and local capacity building. Through this grant, APANO’s Good Growth program will focus on serving Asian American, Native Hawaiian, and Pacific Islander (AANHPI) communities in Oregon’s Tri-County region, with an emphasis on East Portland’s Jade District. The project centers culturally specific, multilingual engagement to ensure community members can access information, resources, and opportunities related to environmental health and sustainability.

Through Good Growth, APANO will increase community awareness and participation in tree planting, home energy efficiency retrofits, workforce development, and youth service learning. Activities include multilingual media outreach (Chinese, Vietnamese, and Thai), targeted outreach in disadvantaged neighborhoods, and introductory workshops on home weatherization and the benefits of trees. These efforts aim to reduce barriers to participation and empower residents with practical knowledge to improve household comfort, lower energy costs, and enhance neighborhood livability.

The project will also deliver tangible environmental and workforce outcomes by improving outdoor air quality and reducing urban heat through residential tree planting, paired with ongoing tree care education and follow-up support. In addition, APANO will expand pathways into green careers by training AANHPI adults as energy assessors in their native languages, creating a registry of green training and job opportunities, and supporting youth through paid ecology service learning that integrates environmental justice education with hands-on greening work. Together, these efforts strengthen community health, economic opportunity, and long-term climate resilience.