This grant provides funding to the anacostia watershed society to increase public awareness and knowledge about environmental issues in 15 DC public schools - nine of which are title i schools - to…

This grant provides funding to the anacostia watershed society to increase public awareness and knowledge about environmental issues in 15 DC public schools - nine of which are title i schools - to provide students and teachers the skills necessary to make informed decisions and to take responsible actions. The grantee activities to be performed during this project period include, promoting education about clean and safe water in the anacostia river, specifically through their freshwater mussel restoration program 'mussel power' and our american shad restoration program 'schools in schools'. The grantee aims to increase the environmental literacy of elementary school students in the historically nature deprived communities of southeast DC, by training teachers and providing AWS educator-facilitated classroom and field trip lessons. Through this programming they seek to empower students and teachers alike, building their knowledge of and emotional connection to the anacostia river and its vital species. Their long-term goal is to integrate native species mwees into the DC public school curriculum, and inspire sustained change in student and community behaviors. Through this project AWS aims to identify key grade levels which best suit the components of the program and lend themselves toward curriculum integration with our programs. Activities:this project will increase public awareness and knowledge about environmental issues in bladensburg, maryland and washington, d.c and provide students and teachers the skills necessary to make informed decisions and to take responsible actions. Activities to be performed during this project period includes the delivery of 'schools in schools' program and the 'mussel power DC' program which engages students with a compelling, hands-on experience that will help them to better understand their role in protecting native ecosystems and clean water while also working to increase the american shad and mussel population in the anacostia river. In addition to the programs, the activities also include professional development training for all participating teachers. These programs will take place in 15 title 1 schools in d.c and will engage a combined total of 950 students, 25 teachers to catalyze community involvement to energize their commitment to ecological responsibility, build capacity environmental stewardship capacity among the educators and students. Subrecipient:this project will award subawards for a total of $23,655. AWS will develop a scope of work and budget for each subrecipient that is inline with its overall work plan. Project staff will maintain regular contact with partners, ensuring shared timeline, clear dates for deliverables, and advance troubleshooting should subrecipients anticipate any delays or barriers to delivery. Outcomes:IT is anticipated that this project will result in the following deliverables and expected outcomes include: 25 teachers across 15 title i schools will integrate environmental stewardship into their lessons, and 950 students will be educated on challenges related to water quality and biodiversity. In addition to the 100 native fresh water mussel and 22,500 american shad FRY. The intended beneficiaries are THE950 students, 25 teachers, in addition to the parents and greater community where the project activities will take place.