Sustainability 2021 Year in Review

LINN COUNTY
OFFICE OF SUSTAINABILITY

YEAR IN REVIEW

2021

2021 GREENHOUSE GAS EMISSIONS
& CLIMATE ACTION

Linn County has accomplished many “firsts” since declaring a climate crisis in 2019. In 2020, the Linn
County Board of Supervisors created Linn County’s first Office of Sustainability and hired Linn County’s
first sustainability program manager. In 2021, Linn County’s Office of Sustainability released the County’s
first greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions inventory. The inventory is the first step in documenting emission
levels and sources of GHG emissions in Linn County and creating a climate action plan to reduce GHG
emissions locally. This work becomes increasingly important as we continue to experience more
devastating climate-related events with greater frequency.

According to the National Climate Assessment, at-risk communities in the Midwest are becoming more
vulnerable to climate change impacts such as flooding, drought, and increases in urban heat islands. East
Central Iowa, including Linn County, is at particular risk for a greater number of catastrophic and intense
storms, which will be further exacerbated by GHG emissions causing rising temperatures. In the last
decade, Linn County has experienced a wide variety of climate change-related effects with two historic
floods in 2008 and 2016 and the most recent derecho event that happened in August of 2020 causing
extensive property damage and significant loss of Linn County’s tree canopy.

Linn County will continue tracking key energy use and emissions indicators on an ongoing basis with
yearly GHG inventories. A new Sustainability & Resiliency Advisory Committee, comprised of community
stakeholders from the industrial, commercial, and residential sectors, will help complete the yearly
inventories and monitor progress toward the goals and objectives of Linn County’s climate resolutions
and advance Linn County’s commitment to environmental sustainability and resource protection.

Linn County is committed to making an environmentally just future by addressing equity issues that are
inherent in climate change. Linn County engaged in a variety of community outreach efforts—with some
targeted at underrepresented communities—including surveys, focus groups, and a series of public
forums to engage the public in climate action. Linn County will use the GHG inventory data, combined with
input from community outreach efforts, to create the County’s first climate action plan.

In December 2020, the Board of Supervisors passed a second resolution
affirming the County’s commitment to the Global Climate Crisis and
prioritizing vulnerable communities in climate mitigation projects.

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2021 REPLANTING LOST TREES

In collaboration with multiple community partners, Linn County’s Office of Sustainability and Linn County
Conservation joined forces with Monarch Research in its Planting Forward project to re-canopy Linn
County following the 2020 derecho. The program provided trees to those who faced barriers to accessing
these valuable natural resources. Barriers included financial barriers and physical barriers of not actually
being able to plant the trees. Funding was provided by the Planting Forward initiative started by Clark
McLeod and Monarch Research. The trees planted were native to Iowa, focusing on oak species, which
support over 500 moth and butterfly species according to the Iowa Department of Natural Resources.
Over 1,200 trees were planted from this program engaging over 12 community partners.

1,200 TREES PLANTED
12 COMMUNITY PARTNERS

HABITAT FOR 500 MOTH AND
BUTTERFLY SPEICES

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2021 BUILDING A SUSTAINABLE
AND RESILIENT COMMUNITY

RESILIENCY HUB

Among other “firsts” in Linn County this past year, Linn County took the first steps toward creating its first
Resiliency Hub focused on providing essential resources for residents. The first steps in developing this
innovative hub focused on creating the infrastructure to provide access to local and nutritious food.
Through local partnerships with non-profit organizations such as Feed Iowa First, the National
Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP), and the Salvation Army, an urban farm and
community garden structure was developed to improve access to nutritious, locally grown, culturally
relevant, and organic produce. The NAACP Cedar Rapids Climate and Environment Committee is
managing the urban farming plots. Future plans for the Resiliency Hub include solar-charging stations
and free public Wi-Fi.

SUSTAINABILITY & RESILIENCY COMMITTEE

In 2021 the new Linn County Sustainability and Resiliency Committee was created by the Board of
Supervisors. The committee will be composed of up to 15 Linn County residents that represent the
diverse sustainability stakeholders. This includes farmers, refugee and immigrant communities, rural
residents, industry, conservationists, communities of color, elderly, and disabled populations. The main
objective of the committee is to complete the annual community greenhouse gas inventory report
working with County staff. By being active members of this process, the goal is to provide a higher level
of transparency about Linn County’s sustainability efforts and encourage more collaboration between
stakeholders.

Sign up for committee meeting notifications at LinnCountyIowa.gov/NotifyMe.

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2021 PARTNERING WITH
GREENIOWA AMERICORPS

In 2021, Linn County became a new site for the Land and Water Steward track of the Green Iowa
AmeriCorps program (GIA). Two full-time members started with Linn County to assist Linn County
Sustainability in engaging the public in climate action efforts here at Linn County.

Green Iowa AmeriCorps collaborates with nonprofits and organizations that work to make communities
more sustainable, a mission that aligns with many of the overall goals of Linn County Sustainability and
the Linn County climate resolutions. GIA members working at Linn County Sustainability are leading the
outreach programs coordinated by the Office of Sustainability. These programs engage Linn County’s
climate-vulnerable communities and help empower residents to take local climate action.

2021 Green Iowa Events Emma Castiblanco & Michael Garner

Pumpkin Smashing Event to promote Green Iowa AmeriCorps Members
composting
Holiday Recycled Ornament Workshop
Environmental Justice Workshop to highlight
the connection to social justice and the
effects of climate change, and how this
presents in the Linn County Sustainability
work
Community outreach events highlighting Linn
County sustainability initiatives and climate
goals.

Pumpkin Smashing Event More Green Iowa AmeriCorps and Linn
County Sustainability events and learning

opportunities are planned for 2022!



Visit LinnCountyIowa.gov/Sustainability
for more info.

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2021 MEET THE SUSTAINABILITY
PROGRAM MANAGER

Tam started her role as the first Sustainability Program Manager for Linn County in September 2020. The
Board of Supervisors created this new sustainability program manager position to further Linn County’s
commitment to environmental sustainability and resource protection.

As sustainability program manager, Marcus leads efforts to recommit the County to a more sustainable
present and future. She, along with the newly established Sustainability & Resiliency Commission, work
on the annual Greenhouse Gas Inventory to assess current emission levels and use this inventory to
develop a climate action plan to meet targets laid out in the County climate resolution passed late 2019
by the Linn County Board of Supervisors.

Tamara Marcus Marcus is a former Fulbright scholar where she
completed two years of climate change research
Linn County Sustainability Program Manager in the Indian Himalaya and working with local
communities to translate her physical science
research into local conservation policy. Tamara is
a Ph.D. candidate in the Natural Resources and
Earth System Sciences Ph.D. program at the
University of New Hampshire. Her research
interests include using bioinformatic techniques
to understand the impact of warming on microbial
mediation of carbon emissions from Arctic lakes.
Ms. Marcus has been a Switzer fellow, a NASA
New Hampshire Space Grant fellow, and a
National Center for Atmospheric Research fellow
and completed her B.S. in biochemistry and
English from the University of Minnesota, Twin
Cities.

Visit LinnCountyIowa.gov/Sustainability to learn more about the
Office of Sustainability and its continuing work in Linn County.

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