The EPA is transforming communities throughout the Kansas City region. Here’s how | Opinion
When Theo Bunch was a child, he dreamed of becoming a forester. But without career guidance in the field, the opportunity never presented itself.
Now, Theo and the team he leads at Cornerstones of Care’s Build Trybe program will get the chance to provide that career guidance to a group of young people across Kansas City who are looking to pursue their own dreams.
Starting this year, Cornerstones of Care will use a U.S. Environmental Protection Agency grant to help shepherd 50 students toward meaningful employment and create 50 chances to learn about our environment. They’ll launch 50 life-changing journeys along an environmental career track that would otherwise be inaccessible to many of these under-resourced local young people, often in foster care, who are served by the Build Trybe program.
The EPA is transforming communities and individuals under Bipartisan Infrastructure Law and Inflation Reduction Act grant funding. This Earth Day, the EPA’s Heartland Region is celebrating the examples of this progress that can be found right in our backyard.
Through a $458,000 EPA Brownfields Job Training Grant selection, Cornerstones of Care will utilize Bipartisan Infrastructure Law funds to stand up a workforce development program to educate young Kansas Citians on the skills needed to clean up, restore and revitalize blighted local areas for reuse and redevelopment. This grant provides a strong foundation for continued investment in members of our community who need it most, while also benefiting the environment. And it would not have been possible without President Joe Biden’s environmental justice priority and historic investments toward improving our environment.
This past October, the EPA selected two Kansas City organizations to receive a total of $1 million in Environmental Justice Collaborative Problem-Solving funding. Bridging the Gap and the Heartland Conservation Alliance were selected for $500,000 apiece to support community members faced with disproportionate pollution and barriers to access.
For Bridging the Gap, the funding’s focus is on climate education and bringing key information to underserved Kansas City residents on the importance of switching from outdated appliances in their homes to cleaner, healthier technology.
The Heartland Conservation Alliance’s funding aims to implement green solutions throughout the metropolitan area by providing tools and resources to local residents, city staff and nonprofits working in the sustainability arena.
In addition, Kansas City has been selected to receive $1 million through the Environmental Justice Government-to-Government Program to address lead contamination in vacant lots slated for reuse.
Together, that’s $2 million in Inflation Reduction Act funding to tackle local environmental justice concerns with local solutions.
Through the act, the EPA’s Heartland Region is building capacity to serve the public. Our environmental justice team is improving community access to federal assistance, reducing health disparities and helping protect our children from exposure to environmental harm.
Over the next couple years, even more grant opportunities will become available. Thanks to this funding, we are creating new opportunities for our communities.
With your help and involvement, the EPA will continue to bring resources to environmental causes and needs, like we have for Cornerstones of Care and all recipients of our recent environmental justice grants.
On Earth Day, and every day, we’ll continue to celebrate local achievements by leaders like Theo, while strengthening our community ties. Working together as neighbors across our city and Heartland region, we can make a world of difference.
Meg McCollister is the administrator for EPA Region 7, which consists of Iowa, Kansas, Missouri, Nebraska and nine tribal nations. She is a resident of Kansas City and can be reached at R7PublicAffairs@epa.gov
