One of Cool Davis’s most exciting events this year, the electric moped giveaway, was the event on October 7, 2023, at the Davis Farmer’s Market! One lucky winner was chosen by Cool Davis board member Ken Kirsch from the “sorting hat” held by Sacramento Valley College Corp Fellow Wendy Zhong: Congratulations Stephany Munoz! Learn all about Stephany by reading below!

Visit our Facebook Album for all the pictures from the event!

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Lovely late summer day at market

Our lovely Yolo Earth Day Climate Pledgers have been working hard all summer to meet their personal pledge goals, at least one from each section of the Pledge challenge. For one lucky pledger, the Diversify Your Ride section will hopefully get a lot easier with the moped that was generously donated by the Russell family. Pledgers who attended in person had the exciting opportunity to win this wonderful addition to anyone’s transportation repertoire.

Leslie Crenna, Communications and Household Engagement Manager for Cool Davis, stressed the importance of the impact that this moped could have, saying, “If [the winner] can make it one of their primary modes of transportation it will reduce emissions greatly, if, previously, they were driving a combustion car. This is a Class 2 E-bike technically, but it’s more comfortable to sit on, so you might be able to use this if you have a disability.”

Buzz of excitement

It was a calm start to the market, with new volunteers engaging with curious market-goers and helping them sign up for our newsletter. SVCC Fellow Cameron Kiongo had a successful first day, saying, “I did get some newsletter sign-ups, so I’m glad that there are people in the community who really care about sustainability.”  As 10:30am quickly approached, the calm turned into a buzz of excitement as pledgers gathered in anticipation of the drawing for the moped.

A purple witch hat was the container of choice for the names waiting to be pulled. After some suspense, the pledger Stephany Munoz was announced as the winner! Shocked and elated, Stephany approached the moped, where congratulations were given and pictures were taken. Stephany was not expecting to win, saying, “Every time someone’s name would get called, I would just be like ‘Oh, okay, we didn’t win,’ and then my name got called, and, … I’m still just in shock about that.”

This moped will bring great value to Stephany and her partner by not only making their lives more convenient, but also helping to reduce their environmental impact. “My partner goes to UC Davis Law School, so for them, they either have to drive or take the bus, and the bus isn’t always the best option for us unfortunately,” remarked Stephany. “But then parking adds up, with gas right now especially, so having this is actually going to make our environmental impact a lot smaller, and going to make it a lot easier for them to be getting to classes and saving on gas, and just more convenience.”

The pledge helping Stephany stay accountable

It is nothing but positives for Stephany and her household, especially since being environmentally conscious is a goal for her. Although she was already taking steps to reduce her climate impact before, the pledge has helped her stay accountable and work towards even more goals. “[The pledge] was just kind of a way for me to be more accountable for doing these sustainable things.”

“We already try to be very sustainable: we compost, we recycle, we try to buy local, we walk to the farmer’s market any time we can. We really try to be as sustainable as we can, and this is just kind of like that further step of ‘Okay, I’m actually committing to something finally.’ ” Winning this moped will help her to continue her already amazing work and to diversify her ride.

Portfolio of transportation options

Diversifying our ways of transportation is key to reducing our climate impact; we cannot just rely on switching to electric cars if we want to make a significant change. “I like to think of having a portfolio of transportation options,” explained Chris Granger, Executive Director of Cool Davis. The more that any household has, the better off that household’s going to be able to participate, to make good choices about their transportation.

So specifically, a lot of us may have cars, and what we’re trying to do is actually minimize our use of cars, because we don’t need to take this thousands of pound vehicle everywhere we go and burn the fuel, whether it’s electricity that we’re getting from the grid, or fossil fuels to move ourselves around. If we can move ourselves around on smaller vehicles, with people power on our bicycles, or just walking to things, it’s a more healthy lifestyle, but you know, it’s just better overall for our lives, our community, and our environment.”

In a small city like Davis, it is especially feasible to change up the way we commute. Although having an electric moped helps to greatly facilitate this change, even doing something small, like, committing to walking to work once a week can add up and make a big difference.

Past Pledge support events

The #1 Way to Reduce Air Travel Emissions? Reduce Air Travel! (follow up article from pledger Share event)

Avoiding Palm Oil (share follow up and updated buying guide coming soon)

Pledge news and information

Yolo Earth Day Pledgers Feel Better with Good Vibes

Yolo Earth Day Pledgers “Feel Better” with “Good Vibes”

For more information about this year’s pledge

Sign ups will open again for next year’s pledge in March 2024 TBD

Earth Day Pledge Challenge