New pollinator parkway buzzing in south Natomas
SMUD’s Shine recipient welcomes community garden
On Thursday, SMUD will join the Natomas Garden and Arts Club to celebrate habitat restoration and a new pollinator parkway near Rio Tierra Junior High School in south Natomas.
| What: | Pollinator parkway ribbon cutting |
| When: | Thursday, April 27 from 11 a.m. to 1 p.m. |
| Where: | El Ninos Parkway at Edmonton Drive. El Ninos Parkway is next to Tierra Junior High School, 3201 Northstead Drive, Sacramento. Pollinator Parkway accessible via walking pathway along Edmonton Drive. |
| Who: | SMUD Board member Rob Kerth, Ward 5; Sacramento Mayor Darrell Steinberg; former Sacramento councilmember Jeff Harris; volunteers, students and representatives with SMUD; Natomas Garden and Arts Club; and other community partners. |
SMUD’s annual Shine Awards program supports a range of community-led projects, including $23,000 in funding for the Natomas Garden and Arts Club’s pollinator habitat project, which will protect the local ecosystem and engage students in hands-on learning and environmental stewardship. The Natomas Garden and Arts Club collaborated with nonprofits to develop the pollinator area and will continue to care for the garden and its native plants.
As SMUD progresses in decarbonizing the region’s power supply by 2030, SMUD will continue to focus on community participation and programs that reduce carbon footprints, encourage clean energy solutions at home and at businesses, and that creatively address the adverse impacts of climate change.
Entering its sixth year, SMUD’s Shine Awards program invested more than $500,000 in local projects in 2023, including energy efficiency and safety upgrades along business corridors, youth job readiness programs and training for under-resourced community members who aspire to start businesses.
About SMUD
As the nation’s sixth-largest, community-owned, not-for-profit electric service provider, SMUD has been providing low-cost, reliable electricity to Sacramento County for more than 75 years. SMUD is a recognized industry leader and award winner for its innovative energy efficiency programs, renewable power technologies and for its sustainable solutions for a healthier environment. Today, SMUD’s power supply is on average about 50 percent carbon free and SMUD has a goal to reach zero carbon in its electricity production by 2030.