A community orchard in Paramount, carbon-capturing landscaping at Long Beach parks, and several solar power projects were among the projects awarded more than $2.7 million in funding from the Port of Long Beach Community Grants Program in 2021.

Details can be found in the Community Grants Program annual report, posted here.

“We are proud to have the nation’s largest seaport environmental mitigation effort, the Port of Long Beach Community Grants Program,” said Long Beach Harbor Commission President Sharon L. Weissman. “One project at a time, we are reducing the health effects of our operations in neighborhoods close to goods movement corridors and cutting greenhouse gases.”

“Cleaning the environment for our communities takes many forms,” said Port of Long Beach Executive Director Mario Cordero. “It can be as large as our goal of becoming a zero emissions port by 2035 or as targeted as a bioswale project at a local park that filters pollution in stormwater. We are proud of the Community Grants Program and the benefits this funding has for the public.”

Three parks and open space projects, totaling $837,645, were approved by the Harbor Commission last year. The projects include fruit trees, security lighting, fencing, bioswales, landscaping, and irrigation. These projects aim to provide buffers between sources of port-related impacts and the surrounding communities.

The awardees were:

• City of Long Beach – $462,645
• City of Paramount – $200,000
• Conservation Corps of Long Beach – $175,000

Five solar power generation and two solar water heating projects were approved, totaling almost $1.9 million. Awarded projects include the installation of rooftop solar photovoltaic systems, canopy solar photovoltaic systems, and solar water heaters at facilities that serve sensitive populations such as children, pregnant women, the elderly, the chronically ill and individuals with respiratory and/or cardiopulmonary disorders and illnesses. Environmental benefits produced by these projects include greenhouse gas emission reductions and decreased energy consumption.

The awardees were:

Solar Power Generation

• City of Long Beach Public Works – $121,084
• First Congregational Church – $328,660
• Long Beach City College (Liberal Arts Campus) – $415,398
• Long Beach City College (Pacific Coast Campus) – $625,398
• Memorial Medical Center Foundation – $310,787

Solar Water Heating

• Long Beach City College (Liberal Arts Campus) – $30,000
• Long Beach City College (Pacific Coast Campus) – $60,000

The Community Grants Program is a more than $46 million effort designed to help those in the community who are most vulnerable to port-related impacts. Combined with a previous program started in 2009, the Port of Long Beach has set aside more than $65 million, making it the largest voluntary port mitigation initiative in the country. To date, $36.5 million has been committed.

Guidelines for the three programs of the Community Grants Program – Community Health, Community Infrastructure, and Facility Improvements – can be found on the Port website at www.polb.com/grants.