LA Climate Tech Cities: Feb 18 - 24
Energy finance, resilient gardens, film festival, Off-shore wind symposium and more
Hi friends,
In today’s world of endless information and opinions, it’s easy for facts and science to get lost or reshaped—kind of like a game of telephone. We see this happening with climate issues where details can morph over time, mostly unintentionally. It also happens with history, President's Day being the perfect example. Originally established in the 1880s to honor George Washington’s birthday (and later Abraham Lincoln’s), the shift toward “Presidents’ Day” began with the Uniform Monday Holiday Bill in 1968, which aimed to provide federal workers with more long weekends. Despite Congress rejecting the official renaming, retailers and public perception transformed it into the broader holiday we know today—blurring its original intent and making it seem like a celebration of all Presidents, not just Washington and Lincoln. The same thing happens with climate conversations—science gets misinterpreted, solutions get watered down, and key facts sometimes fade away. This is why it’s always worth pausing to ask: Where did this come from, and what’s the real story?
Here are our top event picks this week:
On Wednesday, join Lattitude Media and Crux to examine 💰 How tax credit transfers reshape energy finance.
On Thursday, attend Sustain' SoCal’s 🌆 Sustainable Communities: Solutions in Resiliency to discuss housing concerns including climate readiness and availability.
On Friday, explore the pivotal role that ports and port communities play in California’s growing offshore wind economy at the 🌊 California Ports and Offshore Wind Symposium.
As always, scroll down for the full list of upcoming events.
With gratitude,
Maëlys, Niqat, Raiven & The Climate Tech Cities Team
This Week’s Events
🏠 Electrify Your Life: Preparing Your Home for Energy Efficiency: Wed, Feb 19
💰 How tax credit transfers are reshaping energy finance: Wed, Feb 19
🌧️ Collecting Stormwater for Resilient Gardens: Wed, Feb 19
🖌 Art and the Natural World: Wed, Feb 19
🌆 Sustainable Communities: Solutions in Resiliency: Thu, Feb 20
🌿 An Introduction to the Biology and Ecology of the Bryophytes: Thu, Feb 20
👋 Cool OC/Cool Irvine Social: Thu, Feb 20
💧 The Open Ocean Project: Transforming ocean management by making all industrial human activity visible: Thu, Feb 20
⚖️ California Climate Laws: Preparing for the future: Thu, Feb 20
🌊 California Ports and Offshore Wind Symposium: Fri, Feb 21
🎬 USC Eco Film + Media Arts Festival: Fri, Feb 21
📊 AB 1757 Methods for Tracking and Assessing the Effects of Land Management on California’s Landscapes: Fri, Feb 21
🏡 Home Composting & Urban Gardening Workshops: Sat, Feb 22
👚 Wear & Repair: Adapt Your Style, Master Mending Basics: Sat, Feb 22
🍃 Santa Ana Winds and our Ecosystem: Sat, Feb 22
🧚🏻 Healing With Nature: Meditation & Reflections: Sat, Feb 22
🚲 CicLAvia—West Adams meets University Park: Sun, Feb 23
🎉 Opening Reception + Teach-In for Topanga Canyon Soil Landslide Columns: Sun, Feb 23
Read on for more details about this week’s happenings.
LA Fires: Resources & Building Resilience
New LA Wildfire Recovery Commission prioritizes resilience & equity
Los Angeles County and UCLA have launched an independent Blue Ribbon Commission to support a resilient and sustainable recovery from the devastating 2025 LA wildfires. Led by UCLA’s Luskin Center for Innovation and Sustainable LA Grand Challenge, the Commission will develop expert-driven policy recommendations for fire-safe reconstruction, resilient infrastructure, faster rebuilding, and equitable recovery. With a focus on climate-smart solutions and community engagement, the initiative aims to rebuild Los Angeles stronger and more prepared for future wildfires.
Learn more and offer your insights to the Commission by filling out this form.
Federal Environmental Data and Resources
Federal environmental data and resources are being taken down. Here is a list of helpful resources amidst the administration change:
The organization Public Environmental Data Partners is committed to preserving and providing public access to federal environmental dat. They have identified 57 high-priority databases, of which they’ve archived 37 thus far, including the Environmental Justice Screening and Mapping Tool (EJScreen). Would you like to contribute your skills to this effort? You can get involved here.
Legislative, Regulatory, and Government Documents back ups can be found on Urban Ocean Lab’s Resource Hub.
The first ever U.S. National Nature Assessment has been cancelled and its webpages removed. You can still download the zeroth-order draft here. Many of the (volunteer, non-federal) authors are still committed to its completion.
A People’s EPA (APE) is a website for everyone to understand the Environmental Protection Agency's national and global role.
Opportunities
Upcoming Deadlines
🚀 Caltech's Rocket Fund (Due March 3)
📝 InnovateMass (Due March 17)
🌦️ Larta Venture Fellow (Due March 20)
🌬️ Offshore Wind Innovation Hub Accelerator (Due March 21)
🔋 Cleantech Open Accelerator (Due April 13)
👉 Would you like to feature a grant opportunity, fellowship application, or incubation program in the LA Climate Tech Cities newsletter? Reach out to us with the info.
Upcoming Events
☕ Climate Café: Tue, Feb 25
🙋🏽♀️ Founder Curious Women: Fall in Love with a Climate Problem: Tue, Feb 25
🔥 Wildfire Defense for Landscaping Professionals: Tue, Feb 25
🧱 Roundtable Discussion: Exploring Engineered Wood: Wed, Feb 26
🍷 Young Professionals in Energy Happy Hour - Los Angeles: Wed, Feb 26
🚲 Strong Towns OC - Active Transportation Forum: Thu, Feb 27
🔧 Repair Cafe: Sat, Mar 1
🏗 Climate Designers Meetup: Day at the Brand Library & Art Center: Sat, Mar 1
🏬 Climate Day at Natural Products Expo West: Tue, Mar 4
🍸 The Carbonauts Sustainability Cocktails: Thu, Mar 6
🌾 Climate Gardening: 4th Los Angeles Urban Soil Symposium: Fri, Mar 7
🍵 Herb Walk: Medicinal Plants of California: Sat, Mar 8
💻 Climate Techies SoCal Networking Event for Q1 2025: Thu, Mar 13
🐘 Elephant in the Room: Small Talk, Big Issues: Thu, Mar 20
🌎 North American Carbon World Conference 2025: Mar 25 -27
This Week’s Event in Details
🏠 Electrify Your Life: Preparing Your Home for Energy Efficiency
When: Wednesday, Feb 19 from 6:30 pm to 8:00 pm
Where: Redlands Community Center, 111 West Lugonia Avenue Redlands, CA 92374
Did you know that home electrification is one of the most material changes you can make to reduce your emissions? Learn about the health and safety benefits in addition to environmental ones, and how to save money in the process through rebates and incentives. Mark Cloud, representative for Southern California Edison will be presenting at this session.
💰 How tax credit transfers are reshaping energy finance
When: Wednesday, Feb 12: 2:00 pm to 3:30 pm
Where: Online
This Frontier Forum, hosted by Latitude Media and Crux, will examine the market dynamics and trends driving this rapid growth, particularly in regions with rising energy demand. For an insider’s view on the market, join Lattitude as they unpack Crux’s 2024 Transferable Tax Credit Market Intelligence Report, which reveals new data on how tax credit transferability is accelerating investment in energy and manufacturing. The event will look at the key dynamics shaping the transferability market’s growth through 2025 and beyond. Visit the website for more details on agenda and speaker information.
🌧️ Collecting Stormwater for Resilient Gardens
When: Wednesday, Feb 19 from 9:00 pm to 11:00 pm
Where: Online
This winter has been one of the driest on record for Southern California! When no moisture in sight, it is all the more crucial to be ready for when rain finally does arrive. Join Theodore Payne Foundation online for an overview on rain water harvesting. They will explore the many ways you can safely capture rain water for use in your California native garden. They will review many projects with simple systems like digging a shallow impression in the soil to infiltrate the rain getting into some more complex solutions and moving on to understand fully automated harvesting systems that use cisterns (tanks) with smart intelligence to determine the most efficient ways to use the harvest.
🖌 Art and the Natural World
When: Wednesday, Feb 19 from 7:00 pm to 9:00 pm
Where: NeueHouse Venice Beach, 73 Market Street, Venice, CA 90291
Join NeueHouse for a conversation between two pioneering voices in land art—Lita Albuquerque and Lauren Bon—as they explore how creative expression shapes our understanding of landscape, community, and human potential.
🌆 Sustainable Communities: Solutions in Resiliency
When: Thursday, Feb 20 from 1:00 pm to 7:00 pm
Where: UCI Beall Applied Innovation, 5270 California Ave # 100, Irvine, CA 92617
After a successful launch in 2024, Sustain Southern California are bringing this event back to discuss housing concerns including climate readiness and availability, resilience in the face of environmental disruptions, the changing landscape of insurance, fire safety, digital twins, and so much more. Visit their website for more details on the agenda and speakers.
🌿 An Introduction to the Biology and Ecology of the Bryophytes
When: Thursday, Feb 20 from 7:00 pm - 8:00 pm
Where: Zoom
Dr Kirsten Fisher, a professor of biology Cal State LA will present an introduction to the biology of bryophytes, the group of land plants that includes mosses, liverworts, and hornworts. She will provide examples from her own research that illustrate the unique ecology and evolution of these amazing little plants.
👋 Cool OC/Cool Irvine Social
When: Thursday, Feb 20 from 6:00 pm to 7:15 pm
Where: Irvine United Congregational Church (IUCC), 4915 Alton Parkway, Irvine, CA, USA
Join Cool OC for the next Cool OC/Irvine social, featuring special guest Dr. Shahir Masri! Dr. Masri is an associate air pollution specialist at UCI, a professor, published author, and climate advocate. He will discuss the role of climate change in recent LA wildfires, share insights from his air pollution research, and debunk common climate change myths. Don’t miss this engaging and informative conversation!
💧 The Open Ocean Project: Transforming ocean management by making all industrial human activity visible
When: Thursday, Feb 20 from 11:00 am to 12:00 pm
Where: Online
Advancements in remote-sensing satellite technologies and machine learning have made it possible to map the ocean in an unprecedented way, uncovering the most remote parts in near-real time and tracking all industrial human activities: from industrial fishing vessels to small-scale fishing boats and from cargo ships to floating oil & gas vessels. Join the Nature Tech Collective for a webinar introducing The Open Ocean Project and its underlying technology and exploring its potential use cases for research, policy and marine conservation efforts.
⚖️ California Climate Laws: Preparing for the Future
When: Thursday, February 20 from 2:00 pm
Where: Online
As the world grapples with climate-related challenges, including devastating wildfires and extreme weather events, the urgency for businesses to address environmental risks has never been greater. California’s Climate Accountability Package underscores the critical need for comprehensive climate disclosures and risk management strategies. This session will cover the impact of CA Climate Laws on businesses and their role in corporate climate accountability; compliance guidelines for the new emissions disclosure and risk reporting mandates; and ways for companies to enhance their operations, supply chains, and financial practices through proactive sustainability measures and adherence to evolving regulations.
🌊 California Ports and Offshore Wind Symposium
When: Friday, Feb 21 from 9:15 am to 3:00 pm
Where: Bob Foster Civic Chambers, 411 West Ocean Boulevard, Long Beach, CA 90802
The California Energy Commission (CEC), in collaboration with the Port of Long Beach, will host a symposium to explore the pivotal role that ports and port communities play in California’s growing offshore wind economy. This event will convene a diverse set of partners to discuss port upgrades necessary to achieve offshore wind, climate, and environmental goals; developing a new offshore wind workforce in port communities; and working together to improve portside communities. The public can participate in the symposium consistent with the attendance instructions below.
🎬 USC Eco Film + Media Arts Festival
When: Friday, Feb 21 from 4:00 pm to 8:00 pm
Where: USC School of Cinematic Arts, SCI 106. 3470 McClintock Ave, Los Angeles, CA 90089.
The USC Eco Film + Media Arts Fest is back! Join the Arts and Climate Collective for the third annual Eco Film + Media Arts Fest in collaboration with SCA’s Division of Media Art and Practice. Screenings of student films from USC and other Southern California colleges and universities will be followed by a networking mixer with light refreshments. Please carry an ID for access to the USC Campus.
📊 AB 1757 Methods for Tracking and Assessing the Effects of Land Management on California’s Landscapes
When: Friday, February 21 from 10:00 am - 12:00 pm
Where: Online
The California Air Resources Board (CARB) will host a two hour-long virtual listening session to gather input on data sources and analytical methods that California could use to track and assess the effects of land management on California’s landscapes. Pursuant to AB 1757, CARB is tasked with developing standard methods for state agencies to consistently track greenhouse gas emissions and reductions, carbon sequestration, and, where feasible and in consultation with the Natural Resources Agency and the Department of Food and Agriculture, additional benefits from natural and working lands over time. The purpose of the listening session is to gather information, and solicit feedback, from the public on current land management reporting and tracking programs as well as about how to best proceed with the process of standardizing and gathering land management data needed for AB 1757.
🏡 Home Composting & Urban Gardening Workshops
When: Saturday, Feb 22 from 9:00 am to 11:00 am
Where: Lopez Canyon Environmental Center, 11950 Lopez Canyon Road Sylmar, CA 91342
Learn to compost with LASAN. This workshop will teach you how to turn kitchen scraps and yard trimmings into a nutrient-rich soil amendment. Home composting is taught by a team of ten rotating LA Sanitation & Environment green waste specialists. Each participant will take home a free garden plant at the end of the event. Some workshops even have surprise guests!
👚 Wear & Repair: Adapt Your Style, Master Mending Basics
When: Saturday, Feb 22 from 5:00 pm to 6:00 pm
Where: Circular Library, 1221 Abbot Kinney Blvd, Venice, CA 90291
Hosted by slow fashion stylist Isa Spies & sustainable designer Kenzie Curran, the session will teach mending basics. Tickets include workshop admission & basic mending supplies.
🍃 Santa Ana Winds and our Ecosystem
When: Saturday, Feb 22 from 11:00 am to 2:00 pm
Where: Theodore Payne Foundation, 10459 Tuxford Street Los Angeles, CA 91352
Discover how Southern California's plant communities adapt to life during and after the Santa Ana winds. Our plants have to go through the best and worst of times: dehydrating Santa Ana winds and wildfires are followed by floods and debris flows. Adapting to our whiplash weather patterns will determine who survives. Join the Theodore Payne Foundation as they explore the root causes of Southern California's Santa Ana winds that shape plant communities and landscapes across our region. Follow our native ecosystems through drought, winds, fire, and flood as we prepare for what comes next.
🧚🏻 Healing With Nature: Meditation & Reflections
When: Saturday, Feb 22 from 9:00 am to 10:30 am
Where: Rosemount Preserve, La Crescenta-Montrose, CA 91214
For many of us in Los Angeles, losing our homes, communal spaces, parks, trees, and all places and habitats we found refuge in has left us feeling uprooted and distressed. It is natural to feel deep grief, unease, and anxiety in the aftermath of this crisis. One way to move through and with these feelings is to practice inward reflection and to ground ourselves in our relationships with one another, the land, and the plants and animals we share it with. Join Arroyos & Foothills Conservancy for our Healing with Nature Event Series, where AFC’s Program Coordinator Kyle Cavazos, along with guest docents, will guide us through mindfulness exercises and practices that cultivate connections.
🚲 CicLAvia—West Adams meets University Park
When: Sunday, Feb 23 from 9:00 am to 3:00 pm
Where: See map for car-free open streets
CicLAvia is a non-profit organization that has been opening streets throughout LA County since 2010. Come experience car-free open streets at our 58th event, CicLAvia—West Adams meets University Park. Enjoy the pop-up park for the day in your favorite people-powered way, whether that's walking, jogging, biking, roller skating, skating, or simply spectating! All ages and abilities are welcome. Use the CicLAvia digital map to plan which businesses, local gems, activities along the route, and Hubs to check out during the event.
🎉 Opening Reception + Teach-In for Topanga Canyon Soil Landslide Columns
When: Sunday, Feb 23 from 10:00 am to 12:00 pm
Where: Olympic Campus, 1639 18th Street. Santa Monica, CA 90404
18th Street Arts Center is proud to announce a public teach-in to explore Topanga Canyon Soil Landslide Columns, a new site-specific permanent public artwork by Lauren Bon and Metabolic Studio. This work invites collective reflection and dialogue on how cities can reconnect with natural systems, particularly the rainwater cycle, to create resilience in the face of environmental and urban challenges.