BOSTON (July 8, 2024) – Today, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency announced that four organizations in New England have been selected to receive a total of $380,000 to empower youth to tackle environmental challenges, foster community resilience, and advance environmental justice in underserved communities. The four New England selectees are among 38 organizations across the country to receive over $3.6 million in funding for projects under EPA’s Environmental Education Grants Program.
“Environmental education isn’t just about learning facts and figures; it’s about equipping young people with the skills and knowledge to find solutions to real-world problems and make a real difference in their daily lives and communities,” said EPA New England Regional Administrator David W. Cash “From students in New Haven tackling environmental justice issues and high schoolers in Massachusetts leading climate resilience projects, to Ipswich River Watershed youth participating in a Floating Classroom and students in the Connecticut River Valley finding nature-based solutions through design and engineering—this year’s selectees from New England are bringing the environment to life for our kids, and showing them that they have the power to protect and improve the world around them.”
This year’s environmental education projects in New England include:
- Helping New England’s youth grow into a new, inclusive generation of environmental justice problem-solvers through interdisciplinary projects, courses, internships, and leadership portfolios at Common Ground High School.
- Empowering high school students from low-income and environmental justice populations in Massachusetts to resolve climate-related issues through youth-led, non-partisan civic action projects in Worcester, Springfield, and Attleboro.
- Providing underprivileged youth in Essex and Middlesex Counties, MA with experiential learning, kayaking, and canoeing on the Ipswich River, along with developing a watershed study curriculum and offering high school internships in environmental careers.
- Enabling youth in rural underserved communities in the Connecticut River Valley of Western Massachusetts to develop problem-solving skills related to water quality, air quality, and climate change through design and engineering challenges.
The grant funding ranges from $50,000 to $100,000, to organizations that provide environmental education activities and programs. This year’s New England selectees will conduct project activities in Connecticut and Massachusetts.
The following four New England organizations have been selected to receive this year’s Environmental Education Grants, totaling $380,000:
- New Haven Ecology Project
- Massachusetts Audubon Society
- Ipswich River Watershed Association
- Hitchcock Center for the Environment
New Haven Ecology Project – $100,000
Growing Environmental Justice Problem-Solvers in New England Public Schools
Common Ground High School, an environmental justice-themed charter high school, part of the nonprofit New Haven Ecology Project, will help New England’s youth grow into a new, inclusive generation of environmental justice problem-solvers. Through a series of linked experiences, starting with interdisciplinary healthy-communities projects in grades 9 and 10, continuing with courses and internships that deepen students’ capacity as environmental justice leaders, and culminating in senior leadership portfolios and capstone projects, 225 Common Ground High School students will participate in environmental justice leadership training and learning while engaging in meaningful environmental stewardship. Community-based nonprofit organizations will play a key role in supporting environmental justice learning and leadership experiences. While building and strengthening a model for teaching environmental justice at Common Ground High School, New Haven Ecology Project will also bring together environmental justice organizations and other public high schools across New England, creating and sharing high-quality teaching resources, model curricula, and educator professional development opportunities, all advancing environmental justice teaching in our region’s public high schools.
Massachusetts Audubon Society – $100,000
Climate Democracy Project: Culturally Responsive In-School Climate Change Education Toward Local Civic Action and Resilience
The goal of the Climate Democracy Project (CDP) is for high school students from low-income and environmental justice populations in Massachusetts to become empowered to resolve climate related issues that impact their local environments. The Climate Democracy Project will take place in three Title 1 public schools in Worcester, Springfield, and Attleboro, Massachusetts – all three cities designated as Gateway Cities, meaning that each faces persistent economic and social challenges. CDP brings together classroom teachers and non-formal educators to involve students in grades 8-12 in youth-led, non-partisan civic action projects focused on community-based climate resilience. Massachusetts Audubon Society (Mass Audubon) seeks to pilot this programming in three middle or high schools and to collect data and resources to create a toolkit and training program for educators across Massachusetts. The CDP will provide place-based, project-based learning around climate resilience and civic engagement, to build a statewide foundation for a more environmentally literate citizenry in Massachusetts, aware of the issues behind climate change, and experienced in the civic engagement skills necessary to create just and healthy solutions for their communities. This one-year project will serve three teachers, 120 students, six non-formal educators, and will advance planning toward production of a “ready to implement” program/toolkit for high school teachers to increase climate literacy in schools. The three partner schools include: Doherty Memorial High School in Worcester; Springfield Renaissance School; and Attleboro High School.
Ipswich River Watershed Association – $100,000
Breaking down barriers to place-based education and environmental careers in the Ipswich River watershed
This project will take place in communities that are part of the Ipswich River watershed or drink Ipswich River water, and in other nearby communities in Essex and Middlesex Counties, including Peabody, Salem, Lynn, Lawrence, and Gloucester, MA. These communities are identified as having environmental justice concerns by the Climate and Economic Justice Screening Tool. The project has three audiences and accompanying programs: 1) underprivileged youth participating in summer enrichment programming; 2) 7th grade classrooms; and 3) underprivileged high schoolers seeking environmental career paths. This project will support the ongoing Floating Classroom program at Ipswich River Watershed Association, which brings youth to the river for experiential programming and environmental education. This project will provide 600 youth and 60 adult chaperones with experiential learning, kayaking and canoeing, and watershed education on the Ipswich River during summer 2025. This project will also support the development of a place-based watershed study curriculum reaching 200 Ipswich River middle schoolers and at least 20 7th-grade teachers and paraprofessionals in the 2024-2025 school year. There are eight Title 1 middle schools in Salem, Lynn, North Reading, and Andover, which will be invited to participate in the 7th grade program along with other interested middle schools. This project will also support two high school youths’ 6-week internship in summer 2025 exploring environmental careers in monitoring, restoration, and environmental education. The project will ensure that our internships are available to a diverse pool of applicants, allowing young people who may experience barriers to participating in internships have an opportunity to explore an environmental career.
Hitchcock Center for the Environment – $80,000
Schools Exploring Engineering, Design and Sustainability (SEEDS)
The Hitchcock Center will enable youth to develop problem solving skills related to water quality, air quality, and climate change. Students and their teachers will explore the intersections of engineering, technology and design and their critical role in meeting many of the environmental challenges that confront society today. This project will use design and engineering challenges to help students understand the idea of using nature-based solutions to address environmental challenges, identify new career pathways, get excited and inspired about science and nature and stay hopeful about climate change solutions. Students will be able to apply the tools and concepts of systems thinking in their present lives, and to inform the choices that will affect our future. Over two years The Hitchcock Center will work with Title I schools in 4 districts representing rural underserved communities in the Connecticut River Valley of Western Massachusetts, engaging approximately 16 classrooms and 400 students in 5th grade. Each class will participate in four design challenges (water filtration, stormwater management, erosion control, and air quality), including a field trip to the Hitchcock Center to see nature-based solutions in action. Subawards to participating schools will support student transportation, classroom materials, and student action projects. This project will develop, test, and refine the program model with these schools, ensuring sustainable future learning.
More information:
EPA anticipates providing funding for these projects once all legal and administrative requirements are satisfied.
Since 1992, EPA has distributed between $2 million and $3.7 million in EE grant funding each year, for a total of over $95.1 million supporting more than 3,960 projects. The program traditionally provides financial support for projects that design, demonstrate or disseminate environmental education practices, methods or techniques. For more information visit: https://www.epa.gov/education
To learn more about current and past award winners, or to apply for future EE grant competitions, visit: https://www.epa.gov/education/environmental-education-ee-grants. This website will be updated as future competitions are announced and additional grants are awarded.