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2020 Grants Challenge

Flowproject.la Neighborhood Resiliency Garden (NRG)

Neighborhood Resiliency Gardens (NRG) provide opportunities for STEAM education and a canvas for public art. In collaboration with the Marine Science Magnet at San Pedro High School Olguin Campus, Our first NRG will provide a project-based learning curriculum integrating science, technology, and the arts. Using the Resilience Lab’s WEDEW, our NRG will provide renewable energy, water and biochar for an off-the-grid source of water & energy, enhanced food production, self-reliance, climate adaptation and community relief when a disaster strikes.

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In which areas of Los Angeles will you be directly working?

South Bay

In what stage of innovation is this project?

Pilot project or new program

Please list the organizations collaborating on this proposal.

SkySource Resilience Lab

San Pedro High School Olguin Campus

AltaSea

Beautify Earth

If you are submitting a collaborative proposal, please describe the specific role of partner organizations in the project.

Unycyn Civic Arts will administer the Neighborhood Resiliency Garden project.

San Pedro High School’s Olguin Campus will provide the location for the WEDEW and productive use for the biochar, including STEM education programming, and long-term maintenance of the WEDEW.

The SkySource Resilience Lab will provide the WEDEW components and assemble them using a repurposed shipping container at AltaSea.

AltaSea will provide the space for assembly, recycled shipping container and community outreach, including an Open House during the building process.

Beautify Earth will coordinate with artists and the community to paint the shipping container with water resiliency themed murals approved by the school.

What is the need you’re responding to?

Los Angeles recognized the need to invest in our city’s resiliency in its Resilience and Sustainability Plans. Our goal is to provide elements to catalyze their recommended “Neighborhood Resilience Hubs” and facilitate social & environmental resiliency along with disaster preparedness & recovery.

Our NRG uses atmospheric water technology and alternative energy systems to provide basic resources at San Pedro High and its neighborhood after a disaster, plus environmental education. WEDEWs (“Wood To Energy Deployable Emergency Water”) can produce 300+ gallons of water a day using renewable energy sources, technology that was harnessed under a CEC grant to support areas in Malibu after the Woolsey fire with local micro-grid supplied electricity and water.

Communities surrounding the school will have access to a sustainable water supply and renewable energy, vital resources in the event of a natural disaster. We believe an NRG is an investment in a community’s own resilience.

Why is this project important to the work of your organization?​

Unycyn Civic Arts develops projects promoting “the art of being civic”. We aim to align visions that bring beauty and environmental wellness into the world. Flowproject.la is our platform for programs & projects uniting art & technology focused on water and civic art.

We’ve formed relationships with organizations like RiverLA, AltaSea at the Port of LA, and the Resilience Lab to promote water resiliency, community growth, jobs in the green and blue economy, and STEAM education.

Working with the Resilience Lab’s WEDEW technology, the NRG at San Pedro High School will serve as a model and proof of concept that can be implemented in school sites across LA County to engage and educate students of all ages. With our partners, we hope to provide every neighborhood with an NRG that serves as a hub for community self-reliance in the event of large-scale disasters, as well as cultivating and sustaining more resilient and healthy communities on a daily basis.

Approximately how many people will be impacted by this proposal?​

Direct Impact: 1,200

Indirect Impact: 75,000

Please describe the broader impact of your proposal.

Neighborhood Resiliency Garden hubs provide tools for LA communities to use in case of natural and manmade disasters, plus healthy spaces to be enjoyed by people on a daily basis.

These gardens provide local food to promote healthy eating, community bonding, and green jobs. Using the WEDEW to recycle green waste into clean water, energy, and biochar, sequesters carbon emissions as well as repurposes waste into important resources.

With each container also a canvas for public art, plus educational programming associated with the activation and maintenance of the gardens, NRGs will inspire students of all ages.

Easily scalable, NRGs have the potential to create a network of healthy and sustainable green spaces throughout LA county.

Please explain how you will define and measure success for your project.

Placing an NRG at schools, often gathering places in civic emergencies, is a strategic choice. Within a 1 mile radius of San Pedro High are 2 other schools and 3 housing projects which could also benefit from this resiliency hub for the high school’s 1000 students, their families, and the surrounding neighborhood.

During the WEDEW assembly, AltaSea will host a community open house to educate participants, including local Boys and Girls Clubs on the machine, disaster prep and resiliency. Success of this component will be measured by event attendance. We’re expecting 400+ students of all ages.

This NRG will be a demonstration site to educate the community on climate adaptation. Working with San Pedro High’s Marine and Environmental Science programs, success will be measured in the number of plants grown, energy and water stored, and biochar produced to be used in the garden. The WEDEW (2018 XPrize winner for Water Abundance) housed in a recycled shipping container, dehydrates green waste to produce 25kWh of clean, renewable energy, 300+ gallons of water a day, and biochar (a soil amendment), while sequestering CO2. These metrics will be used to measure the NRG’s efficiency. Quarterly surveys will gauge student engagement and interest.

The WEDEWs will serve as canvases for water themed murals to provide inspiring public art.

Ultimately, successful NRGs will provide communities with access to clean water, electricity, and increase access to healthy food in the event of a disaster.

Which of the LIVE metrics will your submission impact?​

Access to healthy food

Local water

Resilient communities

Are there any other LA2050 goal categories that your proposal will impact?​

LA is the best place to LEARN

LA is the best place to CREATE

LA is the best place to PLAY

LA is the healthiest place to CONNECT

Which of LA2050’s resources will be of the most value to you?​

Access to the LA2050 community

Host public events or gatherings

Communications support

Strategy assistance and implementation