Metro is looking for people to join the Nature in Neighborhoods capital grants Review Committee. Do you love parks and natural areas? Are you committed to helping the people in our region experience nature? Do you want to support opportunities for communities of color and other historically marginalized communities to design and build access to nature for their communities? Do you want to see greater meaningful community engagement, racial equity and climate resiliency in the Portland area? If you answered yes to any of these questions, Metro invites you to consider applying.
In selecting members for the committee, Metro seeks a mix of members that are committed to Metro’s parks and nature mission and to supporting opportunities for communities of color and other historically marginalized communities to design and build access to nature for their communities. They are looking for people with backgrounds in water quality and habitat restoration; landscape architecture; real estate; community development; workforce development, job training and apprenticeship programs; climate adaptation and resilient policies and practices; and sustainable development techniques, such as green infrastructure, sustainable agriculture and carbon sequestration.
Grant review committee members serve a one-year term with an opportunity to be reappointed. They will review approximately 10 pre-applications in February 2025 and 10 full applications in April 2025, evaluating the applications based on the information submitted; the purpose, goals and evaluation criteria; and the review committee’s professional and collective judgement. Attendance at one review committee meeting (four hours) and site visits of proposed projects (10 hours) will be required. Additionally, committee members will develop funding recommendations together with other review committee members and provide feedback to staff about ways to strengthen the grant program administration and outcomes.
To apply for the review committee, complete the application at surveymonkey.com/r/W7Z365H. Questions about the application process or the committee can be directed to the Nature in Neighborhoods program manager Crista Gardner at crista.gardner@oregonmetro.gov. Metro staff will begin reviewing committee applications in January.