In November 2016, ITP Grant Partner Sustain US sent a delegation to the Marrakech, Morocco 22nd United Nations Climate Change Conference.  Read their post report here.

The deadline to submit your application for a 2017 Invoking The Pause grant is January 31, 2017.  Visit the Apply page for details.

ITP Grant Partners - Human Impacts Institute and Winters Past - collaborated on a "Blossoming Possibilities" project this past August.  READ_MORE

In the ongoing human response to the dynamic challenges of climate change, it is imperative that our initiatives be synchronous with living systems.   In the spirit of minimizing our impacts to the biosphere, reconsidered land management practices are vital.

ITP sponsored two workshops in 2016, which sought to positively affect the carbon cycle through the processing of organic wastes into compost that can be applied as a source of regenerative nutrients to working lands.  The first workshop was held at the Presidio in San Francisco in May, the second in Sacramento in October.  Participants were members of a diverse and growing community of Californians who envision a series of critical systemic changes that converge towards a climate beneficial future. » Read More

As we come upon the end of the year, it seems natural to share our reflections on one of the highlights of the year – our annual Grant Partner Gathering that took place this past October at the beautiful Westerbeke Ranch in Sonoma, CA.

About 45 people, including 14 current grant partners, former grant partners, and allies gathered “to pause” for three days.

As ITP’s hallmark creative “pause”, the gathering is now the second ‘pause’ grant partners are offered. The retreat welcomes allies from business, education and non-profit sectors to help our growing community share resources, learning, and networks. » Read More

How might we most effectively channel funding towards grassroots, community-led organizations that are building the political power of communities impacted by climate change? How might we mobilize white and class-privileged people to be active allies to the liberation struggles of low income communities and communities of color around them?

These were our touchstone questions during our second pause in August. We convened a group of artists, movement builders, technologists, community organizers, climate policy experts, and one two-month old baby. Our goal in bringing together this manifold assembly of thinkers and doers was to pollinate the growth strategy for our nascent nonprofit: Blue Heart. » Read More

Education and technology have been dating for quite some time, but recently a new aspect of their relationship has begun to surface: energy-efficiency. This evolving courtship is now leaving the classroom and making its way across the entire campus with the implementation of LED lighting, solar, and HVAC systems. But just as there always is with additional school needs, there is one big problem with this new expansion - many schools can’t afford the beneficial upgrades.

This problem is what my team and I set out to change on our pause for a handful of St. Louis schools. One week in the middle of nowhere, 4 school gymnasiums, and 100 LED light fixtures, all working to lower U.S. carbon emissions and create a better education for thousands of St. Louis children. 
» Read More

Rainforest Connection (RFCx) used their ITP "Seeding Possibilities" grant to help advance their new project in Ecuador as well as for strategic planning for the year.

One of the goals of the Ecuador project is to establish a local Ecuadorian rainforest as a laboratory and incubator for conservation technologies that can be used to protect endangered forests and eventually to perform endangered species accounting. » Read More

The Partnership for Resilience and Preparedness (PREP) is the initiative launched at the White House on 9/22 that the Sonoma County Climate Resilience Team was invited to that included Pepperwood Preserve.  ITP Advisory Committee member Lisa Micheli is the Executive Director of Pepperwood and helped design and finalize the PREP web platform.

For fact sheets and the links to the White House PREP site, including the Sonoma County Climate Resilience Dashboard, » Read More