MEDIA ADVISORY: Press conference--San Diego Unified and Its Partners Receive $1.8 million in Conservation Grants

MEDIA ADVISORY from San Diego Unified School District:  San Diego Unified School District and Its Partners Receive Nearly $1.8 million in  Conservation Grants    
July 9, 2015

Contacts:  Leslie Reynolds, executive director, Groundwork San Diego-Chollas Creek, 619-347-9108
                 Cynthia Reed-Porter, communications supervisor, San Diego Unified School District, 619-546-3378

WHAT:     Press conference

WHO:       San Diego Unified School District will be represented by Board President Marne Foster, while Groundwork San Diego/Chollas Creek will be represented by Board Member Srinivas Sukumar.
                 State Assembly Members Lorena Gonzalez and Shirley Weber will also attend and participate in the media conference.

WHEN:     Friday, July 10, 10:30 a.m.

WHERE:   Millennial Tech Middle School, 1110 Carolina Lane, San Diego 92101 (Directions are at the end of this advisory.)   

BACKGROUND: In response to Governor Brown's Drought State of Emergency Proclamation, the State Water Resources Control Board has awarded the San Diego Unified School District, in partnership with Groundwork San Diego-Chollas Creek, a grant totaling $1,243,445 to install storm water retention/reuse and water conservation best management practices at three area schools along Chollas Creek; Millennial Tech Middle School, Gompers Preparatory Academy and Horton Elementary. The grant will not only bring water quality and water conservation education to hundreds of students at the three schools, but will also provide for the development of career pathways to Science/Technology/Engineering/Math (STEM) conservation technology fields.

In addition, the San Diego Integrated Regional Water Management (SD-IRWM)  program has recommended that a second grant, totaling $542,000, be funded by the State Department of Water Resources to Groundwork, in partnership with the San Diego Unified School District, San Diego Green Building Council, University of California San Diego, and San Diego Sustainable Living Institute. These funds will be used to address regional water and energy conservation needs through the retro-fitting of selected Encanto homes with a spectrum of technologies including graywater systems, landscape conversion and storm water capture, among others. Residential conservation measures will also be supported by water quality and water/energy conservation at the three above-mentioned area schools.

These combined programs will engage youth and families within Southeastern San Diego in an innovative multiple-benefits approach to mitigate the impact of catastrophic drought. This will be done through water capture and gray water reuse for food production and landscaping, as well as school site and in-home energy and water conservation installations and conversions. The programs will address the interlocking challenges of water, food and energy under the overarching crisis of climate change..

DIRECTIONS to the Chollas Creek Earthlab, Millennial Tech Middle School, 1110 Carolina Lane, San Diego 92102

Chollas Creek Earthlab is behind the Millennial Tech Middle  School offices and administrators' parking lot at the Carolina Lane cul-de-sac.  The best MapQuest is the intersection of Hilltop Dr. and Gompers  Park. 

Take:
Highway 94 East to Euclid Ave exit
Merge south (right) onto Euclid Ave
Turn .1 mile right onto Lakiba Palmer St. (formerly Lise Avenue)
Turn first right onto Hal St.
Turn left onto Hilltop Dr.
Turn right onto Carolina Lane
Proceed through the large school gate bearing RIGHT through the secondary gate
Turn right up the hill at the wall

OR

Highway 94 West to Euclid Ave exit
Keep LEFT at the fork to merge onto Euclid heading south.
Follow directions above.

For clarification, the cell phone number for Groundwork Executive Director Leslie Reynolds is 619-347-9108.

                                                                                                                             # # #

Cynthia Reed-Porter, communications supervisor l Communications Office l San Diego Unified School District
Mobile phone:  619-546-3378 l E-mail:  creed-porter@sandi.net

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