Spring is beginning to blossom, bringing fun community events like our Tree Giveaway and Repair Café. March is full of meaningful ways to be part of a Greener Orange. Join us in celebrating NC Arbor Day and World Water Day, or participate in “No Mow March."

And don’t miss this year’s Community Climate Action Grant recipients—scroll down to learn more about this year’s projects.

Below are the icons for each of the five focus areas of the Climate Action Plan. When you see these icons in the newsletter, you can click on them. They will take you to a page that explains a specific action or to the introduction of that focus area.

Hi! I’m Isis Mateos-Guevara, a senior at UNC Chapel Hill, majoring in Classical Archaeology and Environmental Studies. This is my first semester interning with Orange County with a focus on Education and Outreach. My interests in the environmental field include wildlife conservation and communications, especially as they relate to local laws and policies. This past semester I helped draft an updated Offsets Handbook for Sustainable Carolina, working alongside organizations like Second Nature. In Summer 2026, I hope to gain research experience at CYA in Athens, collecting data on plastics pollution in the Mediterranean Sea!

Isabelle is a third-year student at UNC Chapel Hill majoring in Environmental Studies with a minor in Public Policy. She is particularly interested in how policy, planning, and outreach can be leveraged to support environmentally resilient and socially equitable communities and hopes to pursue a Master's in City and Regional Planning after graduation. This spring, Isabelle is working with Orange County to finalize and execute their Heat Action Plan, which outlines heat actions such as public outreach, emergency responses, and cooling strategies in time for heat season. 

What is Air Pollution?

Air pollution refers to the chemicals, gases, and particles that can harm human health and the environment. Air pollution can come from wildfires, unsafe burning practices, and fossil fuels. The greenhouse gases released when burning fossil fuels also warm the planet. These hotter temperatures can make air pollution worse, trapping and creating more harmful chemicals.

Air Pollution and Human Health

Polluted air can travel to the lungs and other parts of the body when inhaled. Health conditions made worse or associated with air pollution include asthma, cancer, lung and/or heart disease, and strokes. 

Some air pollutants can limit the body’s ability to fight off harmful molecules, cause inflammation, and damage the blood-brain barrier that keeps dangerous substances from entering the brain. A recent study reveals how air pollution may affect neurological diseases like Alzheimer’s and Parkinson’s disease. Read the full study.

Air Pollution and Extreme Weather

Unsafe electrical or burning practices can produce air pollution indoors. Read about how to stay warm and safe during extreme weather.

Air Pollution and Disability

The effects of air pollution can be different from person to person. Below is a look at Mel Gilles and her experience with air pollution as someone in the disabled community. 

How does air pollution and poor air quality affect you?

M: Tremendously. Watching the air quality index is a daily activity for my household… if the AQI (air quality index) is high, I have to stay inside or wear an N95 outdoors…when the air quality is bad, we can't open the windows…Even with precautions, bad air quality can affect my body for weeks or months. 

What are some strategies you use to deal with these effects?

M: Watching the AQI, masking, air purifiers, changing indoor air filters monthly, and carrying a CO2 monitor when indoors to monitor ventilation, not to mention favoring fragrance-free toiletries and cleaning products. 

Is there anything you wish people would know about how air pollution affects the disabled community?

M: I wish more folks knew about these daily impacts…the disabled community began feeling the impacts of wildfires, smoke, air quality, heat, and many other climate change related stressors over a decade ago, so we have become very flexible, innovative and resilient as a result.

Air Pollution and You

Everyone can help make Orange County a safer place when it comes to air pollution. You can plant trees, take the bus, wear masks, and use best practices when operating appliances. Together, we can keep Orange County clean and support each other when air quality issues arise.

The Orange County School Food Share pilot program launched in 5 schools with remarkable success. The food recovery program partnership between the schools, Orange County Extension Office, Solid Waste Services, and the Sustainability Team captures leftovers from cafeteria meals to feed students, rather than landfills. Students can leave and/or take approved unwanted and unopened foods during meals. A pantry cart and fridge for leftovers live in a central location for accessing throughout the day. The response from the school staff has been positive, as all hate to see hungry kids when there is food waste from the school meals.

The best response to the program is from the students. The kids contribute food immediately and watch the carts and fridge for tasty items.  Hungry children can access fresh apple slices, packs of carrots and hummus. Students waiting on late rides after school can snack on fresh bananas. Food recovery is not a novel idea, but the schools needed support with signage, a vetted system and good tracking. This valuable partnership formed to fill that gap with great success. 

The new Green Team brings together staff from across County departments to spark ideas, share best practices, and advance more sustainable and resilient operations. Members collaborate to find creative ways to save energy, reduce waste, and champion projects that make a meaningful difference for both employees and the community. The initiative launched in early 2026 with a “Waste Wise” lunch in partnership with Solid Waste Services, demonstrating how departments can host waste-wise events and embed sustainability into everyday operations.  

On January 20, 2026 the BOCC approved $267,750 in grant funds for eight incredible projects as part of the Community Climate Action Grant Program.

In 2025, we received 16 applications from nonprofits, small businesses and public organizations whose total requests added up to $619,095.

Below are the organizations and corresponding projects of those that received the grant money this year.

This grant program empowers community groups to take action, creating a more significant collective impact on our climate goals. So far, the program has awarded over $3 million to 47 projects. These projects reduce greenhouse gas emissions by over 1,000 metric tons every year!

If you are interested in applying, this year's application will open on June 1, 2026.

Sign up to get a chestnut oak!

Read about this year's Creek Week events!

Read about all the ways you can save water.

Come to hear about Orange County's Heat Action Plan at 6:30 pm at the Orange County Public Library in Hillsborough.

Go to RepairCafeNC.org to register, volunteer or contribute!

Participate in this month-long celebration of our planet in April with your neighbors! Learn more about this year's events.

Come to Blackwood Farm Park to celebrate Earth Day in the evening where we will also announce the winners of the new RIPPLE Awards. 

Have a question or comment about one of our sustainability programs? Want to volunteer? 

Contact us at sustainability@orangecountync.gov

or 919-245-2626