Hi Friends! 

I can’t believe we are about to turn the page into 2023. Despite feeling like it has gone way too fast, 2022 has been an amazing year for CHB, and I’m so grateful to be doing this work. 

Our year has been filled with a lot of accomplishments. We hired an accomplished Communications Director and have been raising our community’s awareness of environmental health issues, we mobilized people to push city council to pass a budget to make our city healthier, we strengthened CHB with big steps forward in staff and board development, and so much more. 

We have a lot to be thankful for.

Here are a few highlights that stick out in my mind:

1. Achieving the honor of being selected as one of five recipients in Washington state as part of Jack Johnson’s Ohana Foundation All at Once campaign. In addition to attending the concert, we also had the opportunity to meet and talk to people from all over the state about the worthwhile work we are doing. 
2. Deepening community engagement by becoming the new home to Green Drinks to help build more connection and community around environmental issues.
3. We have been advocating on behalf of South Tacoma against Bridge Industrial as well as against the expansion of the Seaport Sound Terminal and for a Tideflats Subarea Plan that benefits everyone. 
4. We opened up the nominations for our Stand for Our Sound awards to the general public for the first time, making it much more equitable for everyone.
5. This year, we have been featured in the news media more, building awareness and increasing our status as a voice for the people. 
6. Last but not least, we began the first phase of expanding the Bay Patrol program. 

The fact that we have done a lot of work is an understatement. However, it’s inspiring to look back and see how far we have come in such a short period of time. We are entering a season of strategic planning and I am encouraged by just how smart and strategic my team is as we begin this new phase. As a small but mighty organization, there’s no limit to what we can achieve together. 

Thanks very much for all of your support during these efforts. I wish you and your loved ones a very happy holiday season as well as a prosperous and successful new year. 
 

Melissa Malott
Executive Director

Enter for a Chance to Win our Patagonia Bundle

Donate $25 or more by December 31 and your year-end gift will count towards our $5,000 match challenge. You will also be entered to win this amazing Patagonia gear bundle!!

There’s no limit to the number of times or amount of dollars you can donate! Every $25 gets your name entered, donate $100 and your name goes in 4 times!! 

It gets better, thanks to a generous $5,000 gift from Jeff and Sheri Tonn, your donation will be matched, and your impact will be doubled!

Donate now by clicking below OR visiting https://bit.ly/3UJRXXk

Squiddy Saturday Environmental Justice Camp

Our December Environmental Justice Camp took a deep dive into the amazing world of squids. Students from the Becker Lab at University of Washington-Tacoma led squid dissections, gyotaku style squid printing and squid jigging demonstrations. We also tasted delicious calamari from local restaurant Thai Pepper and compiled cookbooks full of delicious squid recipes just in time for the holiday season. Students took home squid-related giveaways including squid fishing gear and licenses, gyotaku supplies, books, and squid hats that light up. The squid hats were a big hit. Many thanks to the Becker Lab at UWT and Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife for making Squiddy Saturday a huge success!

Comment Period Ends Dec. 27

Weigh-in on the expansion of fossil fuel storage and shipment facility, SeaPort Sound Terminal. The City of Tacoma determined that this project would have major, harmful environmental impacts and after reviewing their draft Environmental Impact Statement CHB has found that SeaPort Sound did not fulfill the State Environmental Protection Agency’s requirements. 

Visit http://bit.ly/3WfX96Z to learn more about the issues we found on the draft EIS and use our templated comment letter to write a comment for the city planner. 

All comments are due Tuesday, December 27. The most helpful comments are those that raise questions or spotlight issues with the recent draft Environmental Impact Statement released by SeaPort Sound. 

Join us on Thursday, January 5 at 6 p.m. for the first Green Drinks of 2023! We’ll meet at Dystopian State Brewing Co. with this month’s host, Tacoma Tool Library!

By providing low-cost tools and durable goods, the Tacoma Tool Library encourages re-use, repair, and reduced consumption. It hosts a safe community space where residents can learn how to use household tools and are empowered to take care of their homes and neighborhoods, house by house and block by block.