This grant is authorized under section 6 of the national environmental education act

The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) Region 1 awarded $133,333 to the Woonasquatucket River Watershed Council (WRWC) under the Environmental Education Grants Program (CFDA 66.951) for a project period from July 1, 2025 through June 30, 2027. This project grant supports the design, demonstration, and dissemination of environmental education practices focused on watershed literacy and climate resilience in Providence, Rhode Island. The primary deliverable is a comprehensive 10-session environmental and watershed curriculum that will be developed, tested, and refined by 10-15 middle and high school students from the Olneyville and Lower South Providence neighborhoods. The curriculum will subsequently be implemented by over 60 educators from at least 15 schools across Rhode Island to reach broader student populations.

The grant directly addresses environmental challenges in communities adversely impacted by flooding, extreme heat, poor air quality, and toxic exposure. WRWC will provide professional development and training to educators and community residents, equipping them with knowledge and skills necessary to increase environmental literacy and stewardship while building disaster preparedness and climate resilience capacity. Project activities emphasize watershed-wide action within the Woonasquatucket River watershed, with curriculum adaptation for additional local watersheds to ensure relevance and broader applicability across Rhode Island communities.

This environmental education grant's workplan aligns with pillar 3 of the powering the great american comeback initiative, 'permitting reform, cooperative federalism, and cross-agency partnership.' the project will design, demonstrate and disseminate environmental education practices by developing a 10 session environmental and watershed curriculum for 10-15 middle and high school students, who will help refine, design, and adapt IT for other local rhode island watersheds. Over 60 educators from at least 15 schools will implement the new curriculum in rhode island classrooms. The curriculum and trainings will increase environmental literacy and stewardship in local neighborhoods adversely impacted by flooding, heat, poor air quality, and exposure to toxics. The curriculum and training will build understanding and capacity of middle and high school students, teachers, and residents in rhode island communities to increase resilience to storms and extreme weather, prepare for disasters and improve local environmental conditions. Activities:this project will increase public awareness and knowledge about environmental issues in two neighborhoods of providence, rhode island: olneyville and lower south providence and support watershed wide actions in the woonasquatucket river watershed. The project will provide education and training on environmental issues to provide students, educators, and community residents with the skills necessary to make informed decisions and to take actions to improve environmental conditions and protect public health. Activities to be performed during this project period include developing a 10-session environmental and active watershed curriculum, which will be tested by 10-15 middle and high school students, who will help refine, design, and adapt IT for other watersheds. In addition to the curriculum, over 60 educators from 15 schools will implement the curriculum in local schools. Subrecipient:subrecipients of this grant include: the met high school (the met), onward we learn (OWL), TRI-county community action (tcaa), rhode island environmental education association (rieea), and one neighborhood builders as convener of the central providence collaborative. The met will specifically engage met students in a curriculum development process and implementation, enabling both students and teachers to build a greater awareness and engage others in understanding and grappling with environmental concerns. The met will test the curriculum and help adapt the curriculum for other watersheds alongside students from onward we learn. Onward we learn will support project partners, other subgrantees and frontline rhode island residents as they develop the 10 session curriculum. Onward we learn will help advise the curriculum to ensure that IT responds to the needs of the local target audience. Onward we learn will also help design, recruit and evaluate high-quality opportunities for older youth, including contextualizing curriculum within a wider environmental curriculum. The TRI-county community action agency will provide the curriculum development team with one or more residents to help develop and advise the curriculum. The TRI-county community action agency will also recruit students and teachers, assist in hosting meetings, generate curriculum and expand program exposure. The rhode island environmental education association will work closely with the curriculum team to ensure IT successfully helps learners advance and understand environmental education curriculum content. The rhode island environmental education association will also recruit participants for the program from its state-wide network of educators and students.outcomes:IT is anticipated that this project will result in the following deliverables: steering and curriculum team will understand environmental, HEA