Tara Hammond of the Hammond Climate Solutions Foundation is recognized for the state 77th Assembly District.
For her decade-plus of environmental work, Tara Hammond of the La Jolla-based Hammond Climate Solutions Foundation has been recognized as one of this year’s Environmental Heroes for California’s 77th Assembly District.
The district, represented by Assemblywoman Tasha Boerner (D-Encinitas), encompasses Carlsbad, Encinitas, Solana Beach, Del Mar, Coronado and San Diego’s coastal communities from La Jolla south to downtown.
Overall, 10 area residents — seven adults and three young “rising stars” — were honored for their work in various environmental fields.
Hammond was recognized in the Air category.
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“It was an honor to be recognized,” she said. “The climate crisis intersects with so many aspects of people’s lives, whether they realize it or not. There are communities boxed in by freeways in San Diego that have higher rates of cancer [and] premature births because of the air pollution. With droughts and intensive heat, crops are being destroyed, so the cost of food is expected to rise. It impacts so many parts of life.”
Hammond’s climate work began in the early 2000s when she was a student at San Diego State University. It included a grassroots effort to get the first bike lane on the campus and co-founding its first farmers market and an annual Earth Day celebration.
“I was also the sustainability commissioner of Associated Students at SDSU,” she said. “Under that, I started a recycling program and oversaw sustainability efforts on campus such as the installation of solar panels.”
From there, Hammond was recruited to work for a solar company. In 2020, she started the Hammond Climate Solutions Foundation.
“Our mission is to expedite positive change,” she said. “We work with philanthropists to do solar projects that serve communities of concern. We have committed $4 million in grants in 28 states, Puerto Rico and just had our first project in Rwanda to help a total of 163 grantees.”
“The goal is simply to help nonprofits to help them go solar,” she added. “When they go solar, it reduces emissions, educates the community and saves the organization money, which gets reinvested in the community.”
Earlier this year, the foundation partnered with the La Jolla Pickleball Club to raise money for the Sherman Heights Community Center Solar and Storage Resilience Project with a pickleball tournament as part of Hammond’s Solar Moonshot Program, a solar grant initiative funded by regional philanthropists.
She plans to launch similar solar projects in other areas of San Diego.
“We are so lucky to live in a region so dedicated to conserving our planet,” Boerner said. “The climate crisis may be a villain in our story, but we have environmental heroes who are taking the challenge head-on in San Diego. These leaders remind us that it takes all of us working together to care for our home. I am so proud of our honorees and I am happy to share their efforts in our communities.”
Other Environmental Hero awards went to:
• Greening: Rob Hutsel from San Diego River Park Foundation
• Water: Melissa Ward from Windward Sciences
• Wetlands: Phillip Musegaas from San Diego Coastkeeper
• Environmental Justice: Fay Crevoshay from Wildcoast
• Unsung Hero: Mario Ordoñez-Calderon from Un Mar de Colores
• Innovation: Jason Anderson from Cleantech
• Rising Star: Charlotte Sach from Torrey Pines High School
• Rising Star: Trisha Vasanadu from Canyon Crest Academy
• Rising Star: Daniel Vinegrad from Coronado High School