fourth and final presentation tonight on environmental stewardship and sustainability update. We do. Thank you, Mayor. Another area where we are aggressively proactive and we're very pleased that we have our new sustainability coordinator in Mali, Furch. And she was prepared to give this presentation a few meetings ago when she came up with the great idea to join an organization called Keep America Beautiful. You were supportive of that effort during that commission meeting, and we're really excited on the fruits of what that will bring to tell us more about that and some other ideas that she has. I want to first introduce her illustrious leader, Albert Carman, our Director of Public Works. Thank you, Mayor Vice Mayor, City Commission, David Aver, Molly Furch. Mayor Vice Mayor, City Commission and City Manager. Thank you so much for having me here tonight. It is important to reflect on the significance of environmental stewardship and sustainability in our community, so thanks again for having me. As you all know, we are a growing city and with growth comes the responsibility to ensure that our city is sustainable for future generations. This presentation is an overview of key initiatives and accomplishments as well as ongoing projects aimed at enhancing our environmental footprint. Did I click the wrong button? So environmental stewardship and sustainability is a new addition to the city's strategic performance areas for fiscal year 25. I'm sure you guys are aware. By adding it as a performance area, we will be able to grow and expand our existing initiatives and start new ones. One example is being able to increase our aquatic plantings, which will enhance habitat for a variety of wildlife, reduce erosion around lakes, and provide numerous other benefits. Along with increasing aquatic plantings, we are starting a new program called Keep Oakland Park Beautiful and I'll have more on that later in this presentation. These are current citywide initiatives and programs. These are not the only sustainable and resilient initiatives and programs we have in the city, but just some that I would like to highlight. Many of you have been a part of neighborhood clean-ups and tree plantings, and we look forward to increasing our efforts in fiscal year 25. In addition, our role with reusable initiative slash campaign has had great support in the community with over 300 people taking the pledge that we started in February to choose reusable items over single use items. By choosing reusable items like utensils and cups, we decrease the amount of solid waste and litter that is in our city. Not listed up here. We do have P3 pickle ball recycling, that is free to the city and that is at City Park. And we are involved in the Broward County Waterway cleanup and we have approached NASA to develop a heat island study for the city. Next, some exciting update. We are endeavoring a new joint climate action plan with Will and Manners, the joint climate action plan 2.0. The graphic is from the original climate action plan 2.0. The graphic is from the original climate action plan that was done in 2019 and it's set the foundation for joint action between Oakland Park and Wollland Manners. There are two overarching goals to mitigate the effects of climate change by reducing greenhouse gas emissions and increase the resilience of Oakland Park and Wollton Manners while minimizing impacts to efficiency and cost effective operations. So the first phase was to develop a climate action plan with broad objectives and goals. And like I stated before, it was completed about five years ago. The second phase where we are now is to create implementation strategies. We are now developing a separate resilience and sustainability strategy, which we are calling the Joint Climate Action Plan 2.0. This matches the two overarching goals of the original climate action plan, but with specific strategies. Finally, the third and final phases to implement these strategies. Specific strategies like education and outreach have been ongoing and will continue to increase as time goes on. The joint climate action plan 2.0 is being diligently worked on right now. I promise and will be completed in a few short months. So, stormwater master plan capital projects, you have definitely seen this before. I just wanted to highlight these that these are still ongoing. These 15 projects were identified in the stormwater master plan and are either being addressed currently or will be addressed to increase the sustainability and resilience of our drainage infrastructure, which we all know is important. The master plan has a large emphasis on how to address challenges of sea level rise, flooding, and surface water quality. Vulnerability Assessment Update. So we have to complete a new vulnerability assessment. In 2021, the city prepared a flooding vulnerability assessment in parallel with updating the stormwater master plan, which was addressing the city's current and future stormwater management challenges. In May of 2022, the Florida Department of Environmental Protection decided to develop a new methodology for preparation of the flooding vulnerability assessments in the state. So we have started another vulnerability assessment, which will position the city for future funding under the Florida Resilient Grant Program. And we did receive a grant of $116,000 to prepare this new flooding vulnerability assessment which is kicking off next month. Increasing green space, one of my favorites. Green space and urban environments improves air quality, supports biodiversity and helps regulate the climate by reducing the urban heat island effect and sequestering carbon. It also enhances storm water management by reducing runoff and filtering pollutants. Green spaces contribute to better mental and physical health by providing areas for recreation and stress reduction. They also foster community cohesion and can boost property values. Additionally, they offer educational opportunities for learning about nature and sustainability, which we have here are community garden. More on increasing green space. So here in the city, we are prioritizing the creation of green space, which not only enhances the public experience but also promotes community well-being and environmental resilience. $50,000 it's annually allocated to expand the city's tree canopy ensuring a greener urban landscape for future generations. The city's dedication goes far beyond just planting trees. We have 184 National Wildlife Federation certified habitats in our city and six are new of this year. Oakland Parks 25 years as a NWF National Wildlife Federation community emphasizes how we are committed to preserving biodiversity in this urban setting. Keep America beautiful or now we want to call it keep Elkland Park beautiful. I want to introduce you to what Keep America Beautiful is and why we have proceeded with affiliation. So Keep America Beautiful is a leading national nonprofit whose vision states that everyone has a right to live in a clean, green, and beautiful community and shares the responsibility to contribute to that vision. Keep America Beautiful was established in 1953. It provides the expertise, programs, and resources to help people end littering, improve recycling, beautify America's public spaces, and restore, and support resilient communities. Thank you to you all who voted yes on submitting our application. We have successfully submitted our application to become an affiliate of Keep America Beautiful. Keep Florida Beautiful is the statewide affiliate of the corporation and they covered our application fee. So we didn't have to pay $1,500, which is great. So that's amazing. We submitted a migration application because we already have a board that will serve as a subcommittee for Keep Oakland Park Beautiful. Migration involves using an existing board that we already have. So there's no need to create another city advisory board. Once we are full members of Keep America Beautiful, it will officially be called Keep Oakland Park Beautiful. Their annual fee is $230 to be a part. The next step we have next month is our first training and it will be in September, which I'm very excited for. The last thing about Keep America Beautiful is that it will provide us a national network of other communities that are doing similar projects, a dashboard that we can capture and track information, a cost-benefit calculator, and national credibility. This is my last slide. So this is new and in the works right now, the EPA Community Change Grant Application. So the EPA through the Inflation Reduction Act funds has $2 billion in environmental and change justice activities to benefit disadvantaged communities through projects that reduce pollution, increase community climate resilience, and build community capacity to address environmental and climate justice change. Challenges, excuse me. So we are developing a joint application with the Urban League of Broward County. Here is one of the site plans. And we would love to submit an application for $20 million to increase the tree canopy and the stormwater infrastructure and create a resilient tub in the works with the Urban League of Broward County.