Progress 06/01/24 to 05/31/25

Outputs
Target Audience:Target Audience Audiences for this project include Tribal audiences internally, and non-Tribal audiences externally. Tribal community Changing engrained behavior requires a critical mass of people to take up the new practice, which will encourage others to follow. Our project aims to engage the general Tribal community in learning and planning, specifically in building skills and knowledge around waste management decision making. This includes diverse age demographics that comprise Tribal families, and facilitation of intergenerational learning opportunities is an intentional outcome of the project. Tribal Leadership CTUIR is a federally recognized Tribe, and as such has a three branch of government similar to the U.S. federal government. CTUIR's Board of Trustees (BOT) is a 9-person elected governing body that oversees affairs in CTUIR's Tribal government. The BOT is elected by the General Council of CTUIR Tribal members every two years, and those who are members of General Council are eligible to run for office, meaning that all leaders come from the CTUIR General Council of enrolled Tribal members. Because Tribal leaders come directly from the Tribal community, focusing education and engagement on the community as a whole will increase effectiveness and longevity of the project outcomes because all community members are potential future leaders. CTUIR also has varying Commissions and Committees that provide guidance and oversight to the Tribal government. Commissions have regulatory capacity and Committees provide advisory capacity. Most Commissions and Committees are staffed solely by CTUIR Tribal members, with a few exceptions that allow for those living within the Umatilla Indian Reservation to also be eligible. Often CTUIR staff consult with these Committees and Commissions on project planning and implementation, and engaging Committees and Commissions provides an opportunity to have detailed technical conversations with Tribal leadership in a way that is not possible in other settings. This project intentionally plans to engage CTUIR Committees and Commissions for the opportunity to receive guidance as well as to provide additional education to the Tribal community governing members. Regional Partners CTUIR does not act alone, and has many partners across the Pacific Northwest, United States, and around the world that make our work possible. Food connects us all, and the same is true for food waste. Part of this project is to explore food waste-driven anaerobic digestion as a renewable energy source that could supplement regional demand and impact decision making around hydroelectric systems. CTUIR alone does not generate enough food waste to make this vision possible, and thus we will need regional partners to learn more and consider anaerobic digestion as a possible option for their communities as well. This project will actively engage existing CTUIR partners, and seek to build additional connections and expand networks as a larger aim of our assessment. Other Impacted Rural Communities CTUIR is a Tribal community as well as a rural community. We are excited to explore food waste-driven anaerobic digestion as a strategy to build resilience because we have experienced chronic unreliability of services and infrastructure, and understand that our community is strongest when we are able to be there for each other. This project is an opportunity to strengthen community connection and infrastructure, and mitigate for unpredictability. Outcomes from this project will be replicable for those who have similar circumstances, for both Tribal and non-Tribal communities, and thus their understanding is also part of the audience for this project. Changes/Problems:Challenges Project Experienced Existing Capacity Goal #2 Capacity Building required most of the available project FTE during this reporting period, and delays in securing our project contractor subsequently delayed implementation of information gathering. Project staff were able to troubleshoot and collect some preliminary event-based data on behavior and perception during this time, but a full evaluative survey was not implemented. Access to K12 spaces Gaining access to classrooms often requires having a personal or existing relationship with a K12 educator, and building those relationships takes time. We were able to provide one lesson to an 8th & 9th grade class in this reporting period, and are hoping to expand our classroom lessons in future reporting periods. Additional capacity provided by FFPP Climate Intern Due to delays and additional requirements imposed on our project contractor, we struggled to have sufficient capacity for project activities in this reporting period. We were fortunate to have our Climate Change Intern Ermia, whose position is funded at 0.5 FTE from the Dept of Energy as part of CTUIR's Hanford Natural Resource Damage Assessment (NRDA) be able to provide some additional capacity to this project during this time, a commitment of CTUIR funds in salary that is not reflected in the negotiated match. We are looking forward to having our contractor available at 1.0 FTE for the future of this project's reports. Project infrastructure Due to feedback and direction from the Tribal community and leadership, project infrastructure to protect and contain the digester is necessary and will need to be secured prior to implementation of the demonstration. FFPP is in the process of securing additional funds and coordinating with vendors to purchase a utility shed that will meet CTUIR building codes and project needs, conducting the necessary permitting process to place this shed at Longhouse on Trust lands, and coordinating with CTUIR entities responsible for these processes. This additional procedural process will add time to this project deliverable, and it is behind schedule for this reporting period. Availability of digesters at scale Our research into available digester models at the small size required for our demonstration as part of the digester option report delivered in Month 2 yielded the result that very few options exist at the small and temporary scale we require. Due to this lack of availability of models, we have concluded that purchasing from an international vendor will be required. We will need to coordinate with USDA project grant administrators to understand and conduct the process for purchasing from an international vendor, as appropriate under the Build America, Buy America Preference. This is additional procedural process will add time to this project deliverable, and is behind schedule for this reporting period. Insurance and liability of electric bicycle While there is increasing demand from organizations and agencies to include electric bicycles in insured vehicle fleets, current policies are insufficient to adequately cover an addition of an electric bicycle to the CTUIR General Services Administration (GSA) vehicle fleet. Additional concerns about adequate liability insurance held by CTUIR for such an electric bicycle were a secondary obstacle for completing these project deliverables. These concerns about insurance for the electric bicycle are assessed by CTUIR administration to be insurmountable; this means this project deliverable is behind schedule for this reporting period, and is likely to remain undelivered for the course of this grant project. We will need to secure permission from USDA project grant administrators to modify this project element. What opportunities for training and professional development has the project provided?Tribal Contractor A significant element of our project is to develop a community expert for food waste and materials management who will be able to be the point of contact for the Tribal community to turn to build and sustain knowledge necessary to address food waste. During this project reporting period, we completed several deliverables in this process, reviewed below. Contractor Certification With written permission from our USDA grant award administration (secured March 7 2024), our Tribal community expert was funded to attend a U.S. Composting Council training prior to the formal start of our grant period. She was able to complete the necessary course evaluation to secure the associated certificate. Efforts: Tribal community expert attend training and complete evaluation and obtained certificate by Month 17; submitted a written reflection of her experience with the training and certification process by Month 17. Evaluation: Training attended (March 18 to March 22nd 2024), Certificate secured (March 22nd 2024), contractor reflection submitted (April 3 2024). This deliverable was accomplished ahead of schedule. Contracting Process and Selection, Professional Service Agreement (PSA) With minor setbacks, CTUIR developed and released a Request for Proposals (RFP) with specific requirements associated with the activities and outcomes of the project. An RFP was released on the CTUIR website, open for ten (10) business days, and bids evaluated on July 17 2024. Efforts: Release an RFP, evaluate bids and select awardee, Notification of Award to selected contractor, develop and finalize Professional Service Agreement (PSA), sign PSA and begin working with contractor by Month 3. Evaluation: Release of RFP (June 28 2024 open to July 12 2024), collection of bids (July 12 2024, 1 bid), Notification of Award (July 30 2024), and PSA finalized and signed (August 21 2024). These documents are included in a full reporting packet submitted to USDA grant project administration. This deliverable was accomplished on schedule. Development of Invoice and Reporting Working with our Tribal community contractor we developed a template for labor accounting and progress reporting. This invoice and progress report underwent a couple modifications prior to being acceptable to CTUIR's internal procedures and process. Efforts: Complete contractor hiring process with appropriate insurance by Month 3; receive monthly services invoice from contractor. Evaluation: Insurance policy verification (August 8 2024), invoice submitted (Sept 1 2024). This deliverable was accomplished on schedule. Challenges Experienced Ambiguity in the contracting process and incorrect information provided by our internal administrative staff created additional delays in conducting the contractor solicitation, selection, and hiring process. Future activities of this project will be to document the process as we experienced it, so as to be able to relay the accurate information to other potential Tribal contractors who may wish to bid on services their Tribal government are seeking. Insurance requirements werea minor challenge to securing our community contractor's PSA, especially since our contractor is new to the process. It took some additional effort to work with her to ensure she met the minimum insurance requirements, but we were able to work through it and have this information now for sharing with future Tribal community member contractors. How have the results been disseminated to communities of interest?Community Events & Educational Materials Our project aims to include and engage our Tribal Community at every step and to embody the concept of Free, Prior, and Informed Consent (FPIC) as it has been conceptualized by the United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous People (UNDRIP, 2007). To do this, our project is committed to having a presence at community events as well as hosting our own project events, and to develop specific educational materials with the Tribal Community and homeland region as our audience. Efforts: Community education events occurred in diverse formats. Below are short descriptions of events that happened during the reporting period. Event knowledge gains were primarily measured by single-event dot survey format, knowledge gain self-evaluation assessment, and publication in paper and digital formats. Mock Waste Audit with Pilot Rock School District K12 activity implemented with the Pilot Rock School District 8th and 9th Grade Summer School class included a waste audit of pre-prepared "clean" garbage, a discussion about the activity, a discussion of cultural context from CTUIR DNR Education & Outreach Specialist, and a self-identified lesson learned from the students and the teachers. Huckleberry Feast 2024 Behavioral and perception dot survey responses collected at this seasonal ceremonial event with an estimated attendance of ~300 people (25 Longhouse tables), consisting of CTUIR community as well as many non-Tribal regional community members. Two (2) questions were posted on a cardboard trifold with colored dots to indicate participant responses. Question 1: When your family is done eating at Feast, what Foods are sometimes or often left on your plates? n = 37 responses. Question 2: In your home, what are the three (3) most common reasons why food is thrown away? n = 18 responses. Total responses (N): 55 responses. Community Picnic 2024 Behavioral and perception dot survey responses collected at this annual community event with barbeque and engagement booths, estimated attendance 250-300 people of diverse enrollment and UIR resident status. Question 1: At home over the past month, what are the three (3) types of foods you most often throw away? N = 69 responses. Question 2: In your home, what are the three (3) most common reasons why food is thrown away? N = 67 responses. Question 3: When getting family groceries, how often is food waste on your mind? N = 39 responses. Total responses (N): 175 responses. Informed Recycling Educational Poster Designed by FFPP Climate Intern Ermia Butler, a CTUIR student at Washington State University. She worked with FFPP staff to develop and refine educational materials as part of this project. One informational poster was finalized and published during this reporting period. CTUIR Project Website To communicate information to our Tribal community about project activities and updates, upcoming events and reports from past ones, and to provide a way for our region to learn about and engage with our project, the CTUIR website for our project is constantly updated with new information and reporting. Please find that website at the URL here: https://ctuir.org/departments/natural-resources/climate-adaptation/nixyaawii-awku-c-a-wpam-a-k-aatta-nixyaawii-don-t-throw-it-away-project/ Evaluation: Mock Waste Audit - Educational event held July 3rd 9 AM to 11:30 AM, with 8 students, 2 teachers. Students conducted sorting and categorizing of pre-curated "clean" garbage provided by the project. Students weighed the collection buckets and then each category, and found food waste to weigh the most. Waste that was miscategorized was reviewed, and education provided about correct waste stream and why, and the concepts of Planned and Perceived Obsolescence were discussed. At the end of the exercise, students reflected on which categories had the most weight/volume, and whether that could be changed with different behavior. Community education events as a deliverable was anticipated to begin by Month 3, which was completed on schedule. Huckleberry Feast and Community Picnic - Event specific dot surveys were used to engage participants and collect preliminary behavioral and perception data.Community survey results as a deliverable was anticipated to be initiated by Month 2 and implemented by Month 3, which was completed on schedule. Community education events as a deliverable was anticipated to begin by Month 3, which was completed on schedule. Education Poster and Project Website - Educational and communications materials have been published on the CTUIR website and are available as of the date of this report. Please find that website at this URL: https://ctuir.org/departments/natural-resources/climate-adaptation/nixyaawii-awku-c-a-wpam-a-k-aatta-nixyaawii-don-t-throw-it-away-project/ Food waste reduction educational events were anticipated to begin by Month 4, which has been initiatied on schedule. Materials management educational materials development as a deliverable was anticipated to begin by Month 10, which has been initiated ahead of schedule. Challenges Experienced Access to K12 spaces Gaining access to classrooms often requires having a personal or existing relationship with a K12 educator, and building those relationships takes time. We were able to provide one lesson to an 8th & 9th grade class in this reporting period, and are hoping to expand our classroom lessons in future reporting periods. Additional capacity provided by FFPP Climate Intern Due to delays and additional requirements imposed on our project contractor, we struggled to have sufficient capacity for project activities in this reporting period. We were fortunate to have our Climate Change Intern Ermia, whose position is funded at 0.5 FTE from the Dept of Energy as part of CTUIR's Hanford Natural Resource Damage Assessment (NRDA) be able to provide some additional capacity to this project during this time, a commitment of CTUIR funds in salary that is not reflected in the negotiated match. We are looking forward to having our contractor available at 1.0 FTE for the future of this project's reports. What do you plan to do during the next reporting period to accomplish the goals?Activities Planned for Oct 2024 - Sept 2025 Food Waste Assessment (FWA) Event-specific dot surveys continued In the next reporting period, we anticipate continuing our data collection via event-specific dot surveys, which will be included in the FWA. These will continue to take the form of 2-3 questions aimed at event themes, such as Feasts and annual gatherings. Develop and implement full community survey In addition to the event-specific responses, we anticipate developing, finalizing, and implementing our full community survey including our pre-knowledge assessment (which will be re-surveyed again towards the end of the grant period). This assessment will be made available to the community to complete via paper versions, online access, and at community events and dedicated outreach booth at various locations. This data will inform the bulk of the perception information included in the FWA. Assessment Scope of work finalized This project deliverable is behind schedule due to capacity allocated to other project activities, and will be delivered in the next reporting period. We anticipate drafting the scope of the assessment and a skeleton of the report by the end of the next reporting period. This will be used to structure and inform the FWA. Host Site Observations and Preliminary Report As part of the FWA information, initial observation and interviews with host sites will be conducted during the next reporting period. These will be compiled into a report on the initial condition of food waste for the host sites, and another report will be conducted towards the end of the grant period as comparison. These reports will be included in the FWA. Procure project materials required for data collection Purchasing and procurement of project supplies, materials, and incentives will be conducted in the next reporting period. These will be used in community engagement, data collection, and digester operations. Issues to be addressed Delay in implementation of full community survey - this deliverable has been delayed due to capacity requirements in other project elements. We plan to develop and implement the survey in the next reporting period to complete this deliverable. Development of FWA Scope of Work - this deliverable has been delayed due to capacity requirements in other project elements. We plan to develop and implement the survey in the next reporting period to complete this deliverable. Community Capacity Longhouse Cooks & Chefs Trainings Dedicated events designed to provide knowledge and skills to those at the Longhouse host site will be hosted at least twice in the next reporting period. We anticipate collecting knowledge gains data as well as food waste and attendance data at these events. Stipends to event participants will be provided. Community Project Meetings To maintain transparency and maximize community engagement in project development, we anticipate hosting dedicated project educational events, and facilitating regular project update meetings. These events will be used to obtain knowledge gains data, food waste and attendance data, as well as deliver educational materials and update our community about project activities. Community Events To facilitate community engagement, and to collect food waste, attendance, and knowledge gains data, we anticipate participating in existing community events, which will include Family Engagement Program Culture Nights (weekly), annual community events, and other opportunities to connect with our Tribal community target audience. K12, Youth, and Family Outreach We anticipate working to connect with K12 educators and others who work with Tribal youth and families to facilitate opportunities to engage these audiences. This includes CTUIR Afterschool Program, Nixyaawii Community School, student clubs at regional K12 schools, Family Engagement Program Culture Nights (weekly), and other opportunities as they arise. Knowledge gains data are expected to be collected during these sessions. Educational materials and activities We will continue to develop, refine, and publish educational materials as our project completes them. We anticipate several materials to be developed during the next project reporting period. Issues to be addressed Improve consistency on knowledge gains assessments - during our project initiation period, we have been relatively inconsistent at collecting pre- and post-activity knowledge gains data during our outreach activities. As we refine our approach and strategy, we will improve our consistency at collecting and reporting this data. Biogas Digester Permit and install project infrastructure In response to concerns from our Tribal community and leadership, we plan to secure a dedicated project utility shed (funded by Tribal dollars not included in match agreement and reporting) to house the digester and protect against interference and temperature fluctuations. There is a permitting process that we will need to complete to site the shed at the Longhouse, and additional procedures will be required because the site is Tribal Trust lands. We anticipate conducting and completing this permitting process during the next reporting period. Order and install digester Research into available digester models has provided no domestic options in our price and size preference range, and we will need to procure a model from an international vendor. This will require us to coordinate with USDA Administrative staff on necessary process and permissions according to the Build America, Buy America preference, which we anticipate completing in the next reporting period. Begin digester operations and data collection Once we have a digester ordered and delivered, we anticipate beginning food waste collection and input, temperatures permitting. We anticipate completing this step in the next reporting period, barring any additional complications. Procure necessary equipment for operations and monitoring Purchasing and procurement of project equipment will be conducted in the next reporting period. These will be used in food waste collection and digester operations and monitoring. Issues to be addressed Delays to Digester - implementation of the digester has been delayed due to two factors: project infrastructure permitting and installation, and purchasing permissions. Please see above for plans to address in next reporting period. Revise Electric Bicycle deliverable - insurance and liability for the planned electric bicycle have encountered insurmountable obstacles within CTUIR's governance structure. We will need to coordinate with USDA Administrative staff on a revision to this project deliverable and to re-allocate funds to other monitoring equipment purchases.

Impacts
What was accomplished under these goals? RELEVANCE Reporting Period Issue This progress report covers Project Months 1 - 4 of our project proposal. During this reporting period, the predominant issue to be addressed was a need for community skills and understanding of food waste and how it can be prevented from ending in landfill disposal. Currently the CTUIR community and residents of the Umatilla Indian Reservation's primary waste disposal outlet is the Tribal Environmental Recovery Facility (TERF) which provides single-stream landfill collection services and does a secondary recovery of some recyclable materials (tin and aluminum cans primarily) on-site at the facility once the waste has been collected. A developing recycling program is in the works due to a recent Solid Waste Infrastructure for Recycling Grant Program grant awarded to TERF but is currently not available. Behavioral habit tends to be a single-stream landfill disposal, with a diversity of family-level recycling and food waste diversion for compost piles, and to pets, chickens and goats at variable regularity. As a result, the primary issue for this reporting period is connected to Goal #2 Build Community Capacity to prevent and divert food waste by disrupting this current approach and build skills to improve management options. OUTCOMES While our focus for this reporting period was for Goal #2 Build Community Capacity, we also had significant accomplishments for our project's two other goals, as well as some challenges and creative solutions that we would like to include in our report. Goal #1: Food Waste Assessment Information collected as part of our event-specific dot survey activities will be included in the Food Waste Assessment, and contribute to our total number of survey responses proposed. Efforts: Survey responses from dot surveys, initial knowledge assessments, self gains assessments for K12 activity, develop Food Waste Assessment scope of work. Evaluation: Food Waste Assessment Survey - initiate survey development in Month 2, and implement food waste survey by Month 3; community survey results as a deliverable was anticipated to be initiated by Month 2 and implemented by Month 3, which was completed on schedule. A scope of work for the Food Waste Assessment was anticipated to begin by Month 1; preliminary draft of this scope of work is in development starting with Month 3, when our contractor was able to be part of that development; this deliverable is behind schedule. A full survey has been delayed in implementation due to purchasing interruptions due to administrative staff error and routine freezes at the end of the fiscal year. Challenges Experienced: Goal #2 Capacity Building required most of the available project FTE during this reporting period, and delays in securing our project contractor subsequently delayed implementation of information gathering. Project staff were able to troubleshoot and collect some preliminary event-based data on behavior and perception during this time, but a full evaluative survey was not implemented. Goal #3: Biogas Research and Demonstration Due to additional technical and permitting steps that were added to address concerns from the Tribal community and leadership, this goal has experienced significant delay in implementation. Efforts: Community survey to understand concerns about anaerobic digestion and preference of digester placement, list of available vendors for appropriately sized digester, begin process of securing and permitting project infrastructure to protect and insulate the digester, at the request of Tribal community and leadership. Evaluation: Biogas option report was anticipated to be delivered by Month 2 and was delivered on schedule. Selected equipment purchase and administrative process was anticipated by Month 2; this deliverable has not been completed and is behind schedule. Electric bicycle option report was anticipated by Month 4 and was completed by Month 3; this deliverable was completed on schedule. Selected electric bicycle purchase and administrative process was anticipated by Month 4; this deliverable has not been completed and is behind schedule. Challenges Experienced: Project infrastructure Due to feedback and direction from the Tribal community and leadership, project infrastructure to protect and contain the digester is necessary and will need to be secured prior to implementation of the demonstration. FFPP is in the process of securing additional funds and coordinating with vendors to purchase a utility shed that will meet CTUIR building codes and project needs, conducting the necessary permitting process to place this shed at Longhouse on Trust lands, and coordinating with CTUIR entities responsible for these processes. This additional procedural process will add time to this project deliverable, and it is behind schedule for this reporting period. Availability of digesters at scale Our research into available digester models at the small size required for our demonstration as part of the digester option report delivered in Month 2 yielded the result that very few options exist at the small and temporary scale we require. Due to this lack of availability of models, we have concluded that purchasing from an international vendor will be required. We will need to coordinate with USDA project grant administrators to understand and conduct the process for purchasing from an international vendor, as appropriate under the Build America, Buy America Preference. This is additional procedural process will add time to this project deliverable, and is behind schedule for this reporting period. Insurance and liability of electric bicycle While there is increasing demand from organizations and agencies to include electric bicycles in insured vehicle fleets, current policies are insufficient to adequately cover an addition of an electric bicycle to the CTUIR General Services Administration (GSA) vehicle fleet. Additional concerns about adequate liability insurance held by CTUIR for such an electric bicycle were a secondary obstacle for completing thisproject deliverable. These concerns about insurance for the electric bicycle are assessed by CTUIR administration to be insurmountable; this means this project deliverable is behind schedule for this reporting period, and is likely to remain undelivered for the course of this grant project. We will need to secure permission from USDA project grant administrators to modify this project element. IMPACT Our project outcomes impacted the services provided by the CTUIR Tribal government to it's community and reservation residents, as well asregional partners. Tribal entrepreneurs Understanding and documentation of the subcontracting process and requirements impacted our contractor specifically, and will be used to improve access to other Tribal contractors. Tribal community Changing behavior to improve materials management impacted those who attend and host cultural events at the Longhouse, as these are one of our target audiences. Regional students and schools Students living in the CTUIR Ceded lands will become contributing members of our community, and our activities impacted their understanding of materials management, with a positive change anticipated. Tribal government Processes and staff involved with this project have been impacted by additonal inquiries and procedure modifications. Project activities had additional review and administrative procedures conducted due to the novelty of our efforts.

Publications

• Type: Websites Status: Published Year Published: 2024 Citation: https://ctuir.org/departments/natural-resources/climate-adaptation/nixyaawii-awku-c-a-wpam-a-k-aatta-nixyaawii-don-t-throw-it-away-project/