Carrboro program helps neighborhoods go green

GOVERNMENT

CARRBORO – In the past year, Carrboro’s Green Neighborhoods Grant program has helped create three community gardens, three tree-planting areas, and five compost drop-off stations, while also converting 12 tons of waste into compost.

The program, developed by Climate Action Program Manager Laura Janway in 2023, offers grants of up to $2,500 for community projects that reduce greenhouse gas emissions and create natural areas in Carrboro. At the Sept. 16 town council meeting, Chief Sustainability Officer Amy Armbruster presented the council members with a report on the program.

Green neighborhoods: a short history.

Carrboro town staff developed the grant program to advance some of the goals in Carrboro’s Community Climate Action Plan. The plan recommends encouraging neighborhoods to collaborate on reducing greenhouse gas emissions and implementing community sustainability initiatives. Staff presented the initial draft of the program to the council in January 2021 and made changes based on the council members’ feedback.

The program finally launched in 2023, with enough funding to underwrite 10 $2,500 grants in that fiscal year. Armbruster told the council the city has written grants for a total of 27 projects since the program began: tree plantings, community gardens, flood control, energy-efficient lighting and increased recycling.

The top priority grant recipients are low-income communities and neighborhoods of color. Race equity, Armbruster said, is worth up to 30 points on the application, more than any other category. This year, however, staff realized the target neighborhoods weren’t applying as much as they’d hoped. Reaching out to the community, they learned the program had several barriers, such as requiring a designated agent for the project with a federal tax ID. For some applicants, just filling out the paperwork is a barrier.

“The idea of an application, even if it’s a one-page application, can be so daunting,” Council Member Eliazar Arturo Posada-Orozco said, based on conversations he’s had with Carrboro residents.

Armbruster said town staff have placed posters around town promoting the program, half in English and half in Spanish. They spread the word in barbershops, laundromats, churches, apartments and Jackson Center. Carrboro offers translation services for non-English speakers who wish to apply, and also provides assistance to anyone who has difficulty navigating the application process. Where necessary, staff have extended deadlines for applicants who are struggling.

The result? Applications came in from a range of new communities and half of all applications were from low-income communities.

The 2025 Projects

The grant cycle for this year closed in March. The approved projects consist of three tree-planting areas, three community gardens and five compost dropoff stations. Drop-off stations allow residents to dispose of food and other biodegradable waste without needing a compost bin of their own. Armbruster said the community gardens and tree plantings were all in heat islands, neighborhoods notably hotter than their surroundings.

The specific grants include

Drought-resistant landscaping.
A community grant for Alabama Ave.
A pollinator garden at Collins Crossing.
Trees and garden areas for the Wilson Park Homeowners Association
Trees on Pleasant Street and MacDougal
A compost dropoff station for the Fair Oaks neighborhood. Armbruster said the program collected four tons of compostables in five months and inspired other neighborhoods to follow.
Grass, a vegetable garden and pollinator-friendly plants near Strayhorn House.
A community garden on Alabama Avenue with raised beds, greenhouses, a rain barrel and irrigation. The garden raises healthy vegetables and herbs.

Armbruster mentioned that an earlier 2024 grant for the Forest Drive community helped the area reduce flooding, erosion and the growth of mold in people’s homes.

The future of environmental justice

Environmental justice is one of the town’s priorities for the Green Neighborhood grants. Environmental burdens — having a source of industrial pollution open up near your home,for instance — often fall hardest on poor neighborhoods and people of color. Environmental justice means that the benefits and burdens are evenly distributed, so that even the most disadvantaged communities can share in a healthy environment.

Armbruster said environmental maps show some parts of Carrboro are the 88th percentile in terms of environmental injustice: they’re above average in injuries and fatalities due to factors such as flooding and a lack of greenspace.

Town Manager Patrice Toney said using those maps in the grant-awards process might become a problem in the future, as current federal policy means the maps are no longer being updated. It’s also possible bills at the state and federal level might force Carrboro to change the scoring formula to comply with the law.

Fraser Sherman has worked for newspapers, including the Destin Log, the Pensacola News-Journal and the Raleigh Public Record. Born in England, he’d still live in Florida if he hadn’t met the perfect woman and moved to Durham to marry her. He’s the author of several film reference books and has published one novel and several short story collections. This reporter can be reached at: Information@TheLocalReporter.press