Acterra

🚲 Happy Bike to Work / Bike to Wherever Day! #BTWD2026 Today, the Acterra team is celebrating by sharing some of our favorite local bike routes and trails. Every ride helps support a cleaner, healthier, low-carbon future — and biking is one of the easiest ways to take climate action in everyday life. Here’s what our team says: 📷 Lauren (Executive Director) “My favorite is the San Joaquin River Trail Head. My daughters and I love it because it’s a mix of gravel, dirt, and asphalt, and it always has great views and tons of butterflies.” 📷 Naomi (Programs Associate) “My two favorite rides are the Half Moon Bay Coastal Trail and the Bay Trail between Palo Alto and Sunnyvale Baylands. The Coastal Trail is easy, paved, and has stunning ocean and beach access right off the path. The Bay Trail feels secluded but connects you to nearby cities, and I love the dirt paths surrounded by water with great Bay views.” 📷 Zack (Director of Operations) “My favorite part of the San Francisco Bay Trail is the Alameda stretch. It has amazing Bay views, and I used to love biking there to Oakland A’s games at the Coliseum.” 📷 Genevieve (Director of Programs) “My favorite ride is around Davenport and the new Cotoni-Coast Dairies park. I love seeing the cows along the trail and the incredible ocean views.” Where’s your favorite place to ride? Share your route or trail 👇

Most of us grew up with two separate systems — A/C for summer, furnace for winter. But what if one system could do both… and even better? Check out the video to hear from a local homeowner who shares why they decided to replace their aging A/C and furnace with a single heat pump — and how it changed their day-to-day comfort. Think: quieter performance, more even temperatures in every room (no more hot and cold spots!), and cleaner indoor air. Our friends at San José Clean Energy, @sjcleanenergy , are making it easier for residents to switch to clean, all-electric heating and cooling with exclusive customer rebates. 👉 Learn more and see how you can start your own upgrade: /heat-pump-water-heater

Recently, Acterra was proud to support the annual ReThink Your Drink event at Ravenswood Middle School ( @ravenswoodcsd ) in East Palo Alto as part of our Farm Fresh Futures program which builds more sustainable, equitable, and resilient food systems in local schools. 🍓Students and staff sampled naturally sweetened waters flavored with fresh watermelon, lemon–cucumber–mint, strawberry–pineapple (a crowd favorite!), and blood orange - exploring simple, refreshing alternatives to sugary drinks. This year also brought something new: freshly pressed sugarcane juice supplied by @sugarcanehq , topped with passionfruit seeds and a splash of calamansi. For many, it was their first time seeing a raw sugarcane plant - and learning where sugar really comes from. Alongside the tastings, a powerful visual display compared popular beverages—like soda, bottled juices, and energy drinks - with the actual amount of refined sugar in each. It sparked curiosity, surprise, and plenty of great questions. Because when people can connect the dots between what they eat and drink and what’s in it, small shifts start to happen 🌱

Join Acterra for the 2026 East Bay Green@Home Tour! On June 6, you’ll have the chance to step inside real homes across Alameda and Contra Costa counties and see what electrification and climate-friendly living look like in practice. Local hosts will open their doors to share how they’ve transitioned away from gas appliances and made their homes cleaner, more efficient, and more comfortable. What to Expect: ✨Tour homes featuring heat pumps, induction cooktops, solar panels, and more ✨ Hear firsthand experiences from hosts who have adopted sustainable home practices ✨ Get expert insights on rebates, incentives, and the electrification process ✨ Connect with a community passionate about climate-friendly living Whether you’re just curious or ready to start your own upgrade, it’s a great way to see what’s possible. Sponsored by: @poweredwithava , @alamedamunipower Partnered with: @cityofberkeley Register here: acterra.org/events

Last weekend, Acterra staff had a blast at the 5th Annual Love Our Earth Festival! 🌎 It was one of those feel-good days where the community truly showed up - 400+ people gathering to celebrate sustainability, connect with one another, and take steps toward a healthier planet. Acterra was proud to co-organize this year’s event, bringing together a lively plant-based food marketplace full of local flavor, WaterPalooza featuring insightful talks from Peter Drekmeier, Kayli Paterson, and Christina Bertea (plus water tastings!), and an EV Expo where attendees could explore electric vehicles and even test-drive e-bikes. Huge thanks to the incredible food vendors who made the marketplace shine: @palestiniancubanfusion , @chi_chis_kiosko , @chiri_cana , @saboreskomali , @zen_musubi , @hippiechaiofficial , and @littlemoonbakehouse . 🌱 And thank you to everyone who joined us - we loved celebrating with you and can’t wait to do it again next year!

What a great way to celebrate Earth Month at the San Jose Clean Energy EV Ride & Drive in San Jose this past weekend! 🌎⚡️ Acterra was glad to partner with @sjcleanenergy to help bring this event to the community and give residents a chance to experience electric vehicles in a real, hands-on way. Attendees got behind the wheel, tried out different EV models, explored what’s available, and learned about rebates, incentives, and local resources that can make switching to electric much more doable. The best part was seeing how engaged everyone was throughout the day — lots of curiosity, great conversations, and plenty of test drives. More than 180 people joined us, with 13 EVs available for test drives and over 150 test drives completed. 🚗 Thanks to everyone who stopped by and helped make this Earth Month event such a success! If you’re thinking about making your next car electric, take a look at the EV savings and programs offered by SJCE: /ev/

We’re paw-sitive you’ll enjoy the Electrify Your Life Fair! Join us on Saturday, May 9 from 11 a.m. to 3 p.m. to: 🚘 Test drive electric vehicles (EVs) and e-bikes 🗣️ Speak with experts about electric appliances 💰 Discover rebates and incentives 🌯 Enjoy complimentary lunch after completing the pre- and post-event survey 🍳 Enter to win a portable induction cooktop Register to test drive an EV at the “Electrify Your Life Fair: EV Ride and Drive Activity” link in bio. If you are not test driving an EV, there’s no need to register for the event. You can walk in!

Are you a middle or high school teacher looking to bring climate education into your classroom? Or do you know someone who might be interested? Join Acterra’s Teacher Training Workshop, led by Acterra’s Director of Programs, Genevieve Lucas-Conwell. This hands-on session will provide you with the tools to teach students about climate change, renewable energy, and the benefits of Zero Emission Vehicles (ZEVs). 📅 April 29 | 5–6 PM 👉 Learn more & register today at acterra.org/events A special thank you to our project partner @igniteducation for collaborating with us on this project.

Last month, Acterra hosted its first Neighborhood Home Tour of 2026 across Los Altos, Cupertino, and Saratoga - and it was a day full of learning and inspiration! 100+ residents joined the tour, visiting homes to see firsthand how real families are electrifying their spaces. ⚡🏡 Seven homeowners opened their doors, sharing their personal journeys toward cleaner, smarter, and electric-ready homes. Visitors didn’t just walk through houses - they asked questions, learned from real experiences, and discovered practical ways to transition away from fossil-fuel appliances. On average, each attendee visited two homes, making the experience intimate, hands-on, and packed with useful insights. The event was sponsored by @losaltosrotaryclub , @cupertinorotary , and @saratogarotary , who played a key role in recruiting hosts and volunteers and connecting us with partners like @svcleanenergy and @bayren_official . These partnerships helped bridge the gap between inspiration and action. Post-event surveys show attendees left motivated - many ready to start their own electrification projects or already taking the first steps. Loved the tour? Don’t miss our next stop! Acterra’s East Bay Home Tour is happening on June 6, featuring more homes, more inspiration, and more ways to make your home cleaner, smarter, and electric-ready. 💡 Register today to save your spot: acterra.org/events

🌎 Happy Earth Month! Earth Month is here - a time to come together, take action, and celebrate our planet as a community. At Acterra, we’re excited to share a lineup of events we’re organizing and co-hosting with incredible partners - join us! 🌱 April 11 — Veggielution x Acterra Orchard Care Day (San Jose) Help us build a food forest through hands-on orchard care like mulching and maintenance. Learn about water conservation and fruit tree health while working alongside the community. 🌍 April 25 — Love Our Earth Festival (East Palo Alto) Join a fun, family-friendly celebration of sustainability with local orgs, plant-based food, water activities, and an EV + e-bike expo. ⚡ April 25 — San José Ride & Drive (PayPal Park) Test drive electric cars, bikes, and scooters and learn more about clean transportation options. 📚 April 29 — Teacher Training Workshop (Online) An interactive session showcasing our Renewable Energy and EV curriculum for educators. We’ll also be out at many community events across the Bay Area all month long — come say hi if you see us! 👉 More info: acterra.org/events

@sanbrunoschooldistrict hosted its 2nd Annual Future Chef Competition on March 13 at Parkside Intermediate (@parksidesbpsd ) - and it was full of flavor, confidence, and teamwork. Seven talented students (grades 1-5) from four schools stepped up to the challenge, each creating a dish inspired by their favorite recipe from a culture or country. With support from Food Service “sous chefs,” these young cooks impressed judges with their presentation, originality, and kid-approved appeal. 🏆 The winning dish? Mountain Sunrise Muffin by Siena, a 1st grader from Allen Elementary (@allen_elementary ) — winning hearts with its healthy ingredients and delicious carrot-orange twist! 🌱 The event also featured a lively Wellness Fair, where PTAs, local farmers, and community organizations shared fresh produce, snacks, and resources to support healthy lifestyles. @planetacterra was proud to support this inspiring event - helping organize vendors and judges, and coordinating fun giveaways from local businesses. It’s all part of our ongoing Farm to School partnership, and we loved being part of it!

Zack Wurtz, Acterra’s Director of Operations, was in Washington, D.C. last week for a Hill Day of action 🇺🇸 He joined partners from the CHARGE coalition () to advocate for a cleaner, healthier transportation future. Over the past few years, federal investments have helped: ⚡ expand electric transit and school buses 🚛 support cleaner trucks and buses 🔌 build a national EV charging network The impact? Cleaner air, lower costs for families, and thousands of good-paying jobs. Rolling back this progress would move us in the wrong direction. Transportation electrification is one of the most practical ways to reduce pollution and protect public health. Last week, we urged Members of Congress to keep the momentum going and support a clean transportation future.