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<span style="font-size:1.0pt"><img width="325" height="73" style="width:3.3854in;height:.7604in" id="Picture_x0020_1" src="cid:image003.jpg@01D8E7BE.30EFBD10" alt="Title: City of Durham Communications Department"></span><span style="font-size:1.0pt"><o:p></o:p></span></p>
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<b><span style="font-size:5.0pt;color:#00467E"><o:p> </o:p></span></b></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" align="right" style="margin-bottom:0in;margin-bottom:.0001pt;text-align:right;line-height:normal;text-autospace:none;vertical-align:middle">
<b><span style="color:#00467E">News Media Contact<o:p></o:p></span></b></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" align="right" style="margin-bottom:0in;margin-bottom:.0001pt;text-align:right;line-height:normal;text-autospace:none;vertical-align:middle">
<span style="color:#00467E">Amy Blalock, Assistant Communications Director<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" align="right" style="margin-bottom:0in;margin-bottom:.0001pt;text-align:right;line-height:normal;text-autospace:none;vertical-align:middle">
<span style="color:#00467F">919.475.7735 (mobile</span><span style="color:#00467E">)<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" align="right" style="margin-bottom:0in;margin-bottom:.0001pt;text-align:right;line-height:normal;text-autospace:none;vertical-align:middle">
<span style="color:#00467E">CommsMedia@DurhamNC.gov</span><span style="font-size:10.0pt;color:#00467E"><o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoHeader" align="right" style="text-align:right"><span style="font-size:5.0pt;color:#00467E"><o:p> </o:p></span></p>
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<span style="font-size:50.0pt;color:#00467F">News Release</span><span style="color:#00467F;text-transform:uppercase">
</span><br>
<span style="font-size:10.0pt;color:#EF3D42">For Immediate Release: October 24, 2022</span><span style="color:#D3372A"><o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" align="center" style="mso-margin-top-alt:0in;margin-right:25.4pt;margin-bottom:0in;margin-left:.5in;margin-bottom:.0001pt;text-align:center;line-height:normal;text-autospace:none;vertical-align:middle">
<span style="color:black"><o:p> </o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNoSpacing" align="center" style="text-align:center"><b><span style="font-size:14.0pt;color:black">Durham Hosts Partnership for Healthy Homes and Green Jobs Community Celebration<o:p></o:p></span></b></p>
<p class="MsoNoSpacing" align="center" style="text-align:center"><i><span style="font-size:12.0pt;color:black">Event Marks Sustainability Initiative Milestone in Helping Low-to-Moderate Income Durham Households<o:p></o:p></span></i></p>
<p class="MsoNoSpacing"><span style="color:black"><o:p> </o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNoSpacing"><span style="color:black">DURHAM, N.C.</span><span class="normaltextrun"><span style="color:black;background:white"> – On Saturday, October 29, all are welcome to mark the end of the Partnership for Healthy Homes and Green Jobs Initiative,
which has provided energy efficient and green infrastructure improvements for more than 30 low-to-moderate income households in Durham.
</span></span><span class="normaltextrun"><span style="background:white"><o:p></o:p></span></span></p>
<p class="MsoNoSpacing"><span class="normaltextrun"><span style="color:black;background:white"><o:p> </o:p></span></span></p>
<p class="MsoNoSpacing"><span class="normaltextrun"><span style="color:black;background:white">The community celebration will take place from 1 p.m. to 3 p.m. at the Lake View Park baseball field, located at 3500 Dearborn Dr. The celebration will feature a
tree-planting by </span></span><a href="https://keepdurhambeautiful.org/"><span style="background:white">Keep Durham Beautiful</span></a><span class="normaltextrun"><span style="color:black;background:white">, free food, and music. As part of this event, residents
who participated in this initiative will describe how their homes have changed since the program began, and initiative partners will also be</span></span><span class="normaltextrun"><span style="background:white"> recognized for their efforts. </span></span><span class="eop"><span style="background:white"> </span><o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNoSpacing"><span class="eop"><span style="background:white"><o:p> </o:p></span></span></p>
<p class="MsoNoSpacing">Since 2019, the initiative has:<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNoSpacing" style="margin-left:.25in;text-indent:-.25in;mso-list:l0 level1 lfo2">
<![if !supportLists]><span style="font-family:Wingdings"><span style="mso-list:Ignore">§<span style="font:7.0pt "Times New Roman"">
</span></span></span><![endif]>Weatherized 28 homes to help residents save energy and money.<span style="background:white"><o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNoSpacing" style="margin-left:.25in;text-indent:-.25in;mso-list:l0 level1 lfo2">
<![if !supportLists]><span style="font-family:Wingdings"><span style="mso-list:Ignore">§<span style="font:7.0pt "Times New Roman"">
</span></span></span><![endif]>Installed 47 rain gardens, swales, and cisterns at 32 homes to capture rain that would runoff property and now allow rainwater to soak into the ground instead.<span style="background:white"><o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNoSpacing" style="margin-left:.25in;text-indent:-.25in;mso-list:l0 level1 lfo2">
<![if !supportLists]><span style="font-family:Wingdings"><span style="mso-list:Ignore">§<span style="font:7.0pt "Times New Roman"">
</span></span></span><![endif]>Established a new community garden at the Community Center, located at 2415 Glenbrook Dr. Residents share in the maintenance and products of the garden for access to healthy and free fresh fruits and vegetables.<span style="background:white"><o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNoSpacing" style="margin-left:.25in;text-indent:-.25in;mso-list:l0 level1 lfo2">
<![if !supportLists]><span style="font-family:Wingdings"><span style="mso-list:Ignore">§<span style="font:7.0pt "Times New Roman"">
</span></span></span><![endif]>Provided green jobs training for 11 teachers and more than 90 students in the Bionomic Education Training Center (BETC) program based at Northern and Southern High Schools. These trained high school students then installed most
of the rain gardens for residents served in this program. <span style="background:white">
<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNoSpacing"><span class="normaltextrun"><o:p> </o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNoSpacing"><span class="normaltextrun"><span style="background:white">In 2019, the City of Durham received a $300,000 grant from Southeast Sustainable Communities Fund for the initiative.<o:p></o:p></span></span></p>
<p class="MsoNoSpacing">Project partners include City elected officials, the City’s General Services Department, Bragtown and Merrick-Moore Neighborhood Associations, Durham County Soil and Water Conservation District, Ellerbe Creek Watershed Association, Durham
Public Schools, and the N.C. Cooperative Extension Service. <o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNoSpacing"><span style="color:black"><o:p> </o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNoSpacing"><span style="color:black">For more information on the City’s Sustainability and Energy Management Program, visit the City’s
</span><a href="https://durhamnc.gov/822/Sustainability-Energy-Management">webpage</a><span style="color:black"> which includes the 2021 Carbon Neutrality and Renewable Energy Action Plan, current initiatives, and renewable energy goals. For more information
about Saturday’s event, contact Sustainability and Energy Analyst Paul Cameron with the City’s General Services Department at (919) 560-4197, ext. 21244 or by
</span><a href="mailto:paul.cameron@durhamnc.gov">email</a>.<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNoSpacing" style="text-align:justify"><o:p> </o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNoSpacing" style="text-align:justify"><b><span style="color:black">About the City of Durham Sustainability and Energy Management Program</span></b><b><span style="color:black"><o:p></o:p></span></b></p>
<p class="MsoNoSpacing"><span style="color:black">The Sustainability and Energy Management (SEM) program is a division of the City’s General Services Department. SEM staff members lead the City’s efforts to increase renewable energy use, reduce carbon emissions,
and improve Durham’s resilience to the effects of climate change. SEM drives design and implementation of sustainability programs and projects guided by the 2021
</span><a href="https://www.durhamnc.gov/DocumentCenter/View/41944/Durham-CNRE-Action-Plan-UPDATED-100821-1">Carbon Neutrality and Renewable Energy Action Plan</a><span style="color:black">. SEM is responsible for policy development and benchmarking initiatives
such as the Duke Energy Carolinas Franchise Agreement and Memorandum of Understanding, and the LEED for Cities and Communities Certification. SEM additionally provides technical assistance and advocacy for solar installations, electric vehicle integration,
LED lighting upgrades, and other energy saving measures at City facilities. <o:p>
</o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNoSpacing"><span style="color:black"><o:p> </o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNoSpacing" align="center" style="text-align:center"><span style="color:black">###</span><span class="MsoHyperlink"><o:p></o:p></span></p>
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