This cooperative agreement provides financial assistance to the massachusetts audubon society to conduct planning, outreach, and capacity building activities in worcester, massachusetts as outlined in…

This Cooperative Agreement award from the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) Region 1 under the Geographic Programs - Southeast New England Coastal Watershed Restoration Program (CFDA 66.129) provides $299,926 in funding to the Massachusetts Audubon Society to conduct planning, outreach, and capacity building activities in Worcester, Massachusetts. The primary objectives are to: 1) support community engagement for restoration at Broad Meadow Brook Wildlife Sanctuary and implementation of green infrastructure stormwater interventions; 2) assess and model green infrastructure best practices and land-use policies to reduce flooding in the Upper Brook Watershed; and 3) build the organization's capacity to engage disadvantaged communities in Worcester, gather resident and stakeholder input, and develop a collective vision for green open spaces that increase climate resilience. This award will fund planning efforts to address flooding predicted to worsen due to climate change, a key priority for the City of Worcester, while also launching the Massachusetts Audubon Society's statewide "Nature in the City" initiative to co-create approaches that improve access to nature, water quality, and community resilience in urban settings.

This cooperative agreement provides financial assistance to the massachusetts audubon society to conduct planning, outreach, and capacity building activities in worcester, massachusetts as outlined in the application. The primary purposes of this award is to support 1) community engagement for restoration at broad meadow brook wildlife sanctuary and upper watershed green infrastructure stormwater interventions in worcester, massachusetts; 2) assessment and modeling of green infrastructure best management practices and land-use policies to reduce flooding in the upper brook watershed, to demonstrate practices relevant for flooding interventions across worcester; and 3) capacity building to support mass audubon's staffing for increased community engagement with disadvantaged communities in worcester and to gather resident and stakeholder input on the restoration projects and community needs related to green open space and climate resilience.activities:the award will fund planning for green infrastructure interventions to reduce flooding predicted to continue to worsen due to climate change, which is a top priority for the city of worcester as identified in its 2019 municipal vulnerability preparedness plan, based on resident input and data analysis. In addition, building on this proposed work, mass audubon seeks to collaborate with community organizations, residents, and municipal departments to launch its nature in the city initiative in worcester. The aim of this statewide mass audubon program is to CO-create city-wide approaches that surface shared concerns and develop a collective vision for green and open spaces with the common goal of increasing access to nature and promoting resident-identified needs, such as improving water quality, reducing flooding and heat islands, enhancing climate resilience, and restoring green spaces in urban settings.subrecipient:no subawards are included in this assistance agreement.outcomes:deliverables and expected outcomes will be to 1) reduce worcester's environmental burden as IT undertakes citywide mitigation actions, while strengthening the resilience of its last undeveloped wetland system, 2) CO-create a shared vision for equitable access to nature in worcester in collaboration with partners through nature in the city, and 3) provide a city where residents have access to greenspaces that connect them to the natural world and address the effects of climate change.