This agreement provides funding under the inflation reduction act (IRA) to the university of guam center for island sustainability and sea grant

The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) Region 9 awarded the University of Guam Center for Island Sustainability and Sea Grant a $3.0M project grant under the Environmental and Climate Justice Community Change Grants Program (CFDA 66.616) on May 1, 2025. Funded through the Inflation Reduction Act, this workforce development initiative builds community capacity to address environmental and climate injustices affecting Guam. The University of Guam delivers comprehensive training to program participants and community members on environmental justice (EJ) and climate change issues, including legal and policy training, communications training, and environmental/climate justice training. The program engages communities through office hours, targeted outreach events, and digital tools including social media, surveys, and data visualization platforms to facilitate stakeholder feedback and engagement with local government, non-governmental organizations (NGOs), and community-based organizations (CBOs).

A subrecipient, NIHI Indigenous Media (Duk Duk Goose, Inc.), receives $390K to conduct communications and environmental/climate justice training for program participants and conduct community outreach. Key deliverables include training completion metrics, published research products incorporating community input, community engagement tools with data visualization capabilities, and documented feedback from EJ communities, legal professionals, program participants, and scientists. The program emphasizes capacity building through partnerships with experienced professionals and establishes mechanisms for disadvantaged communities to participate in public processes and environmental policy discussions.

Specifically, the project will create a workforce development program that targets specialized expertise to build and enhance the capacity of communities to redress environmental and climate injustices. This assistance agreement provides full federal funding in the amount of $3,000,000. See terms and conditions. Activities:the activities include training to program participants and community members on environmental justice and climate change issues impacting the island of guam. This includes legal and policy training, communications training and environmental/climate justice training. The statutory partner and law firm partners will build community partner and program participant capacity through interactions with experienced professionals. Community office hours and targeted outreach events will inform communities about opportunities for involvement in public processes and environmental/climate justice issues. Additional tools such as social media, surveys, and visualization tools will be used to further engage EJ communities, gather their feedback and present metrics to stakeholders such as the local government, ngos and cbos.subrecipient:nihi indigenous media (DUK DUK goose, INC.) (cara flores) - conduct communications and environmenal/climate justice training for program participants in addition to outreach to community members ($390,000). Outcomes:the anticipated deliverables include training provided to program participants on environmental/climate justice issues in guam; outreach, training and routine office hours for community members to promote discussion and feedback between the EJ communities, law professionals, program participants, and scientists; research products published or used with data reflecting community input; tools to engage communities and report progress such as data visualization and social media tools; and communication and marketing materials to inform the public on environmental challenges impacting the island. The expected outcomes include program participants with knowledge and skills to work with guam communities, environmental lawyers, ngos, cbos, and government agencies to address environmental/climate justice issues in guam; policies developed and implemented that are responsive to community recommendations/needs; and better informed and involved individuals from environmental/climate justice communities on environmental and governmental processes. The intended beneficiaries are disadvantaged communities.