The Northern Rhode Island Conservation District (NRICD) will develop a rain garden and edible produce garden in partnership with Mount Pleasant High School in Providence, Rhode Island. Students will participate in classroom programs to learn about their local watershed, nonpoint source pollution, methods to mitigate pollution, and implementation of the gardens at the school. They will collectively assess and develop the edible rain gardens and will learn how healthy soil plays a key role in the watersheds. The gardens will be maintained on a schedule throughout 2026 and follow up visits will occur in 2027 to build on the previous year’s lessons and to plant new seeds. Student learning will be focused on how their action at school impacts water quality throughout the watershed and will equip students with hand-on skills to mitigate pollution and grow healthy foods through the gardens.

Groundwork RI was selected for a grant for continuation and expansion of their stormwater-focused workforce development program for low-income unemployed or underemployed individuals who face significant barriers to employment in Providence, RI. This program was funded by NBEP in 2024 and was tremendously successful. Training participants will receive the Center for Watershed Protection’s nationally accredited Clean Water Certificate training, a 35-hour training that focuses on green infrastructure construction, inspections, and maintenance. At the conclusion of the training program, GWRI will support all participants to find employment, and will directly hire 1-2 participants to continue as GWRI staff to work alongside the 3 current Storm Crew employees for 2026.

GreenCrab.org will develop programming and resources to expand a trapping and culinary education program for invasive European green crabs. Greencrab.org plans to work with Movement Education Outdoors’ MOBILE fellowship program and with 8 public middle and high schools in the watershed on programs related to invasive species identification, green crab trapping, and culinary applications. Students will also have the opportunity to develop accessible recipes in collaboration with four chefs, with recipes representing the communities of the students served.

The Stormwater Innovation Center (SIC) will design and create an Interactive StoryWalk along the 3.7-mile trail loop surrounding the Roger Williams Park ponds. This initiative will engage park visitors and school groups through a series of eight interactive story stations featuring signage, games, and community contributions to educate the public on water quality improvement efforts, stormwater and wildlife management, and how individual actions impact the watershed

The Rhode Island Department of Environmental Management (RIDEM) will use this grant to increase the capacity of the GREAT Boater Program. This program engages volunteers in educating boaters at public boat access points about aquatic invasive species (AIS) to prevent the spread of AIS from lake to lake. This program is especially important, now that the highly invasive plant, hydrilla, has recently been found in Rhode Island. RIDEM will provide free trainings to train volunteers on interacting with boaters, as well as how to collect data online to document the number of boat interactions. Funds from this grant will provide volunteer materials at Worden Pond, Indian Lake, Tiogue Lake, Lake Washington, and Smith and Sayles Reservoir to be outfitted with signs, traffic safety vests, and resources for boaters to increase educational opportunities and participation at the boat ramps.

This grant will be used to support Save the Bay's salt marsh restoration and adaptation efforts through its school-based Salt Marsh Nursery (SMN) program and volunteer salt marsh plantings at permitted locations throughout the watershed.

Mass Audubon will partner with Fall River Public Schools in Fall River, Massachusetts on in-school programming that will take place in special education classrooms in two middle schools: Morton Middle School (1135 North Main Street, Fall River, MA) and Henry Lord Community School (151 Amity Street, Fall River, MA). Mass Audubon's in-school Waterways education program engages students from low-income, underserved populations to become empowered to resolve issues impacting their local watershed to help ensure it remains healthy for human and wildlife communities that live there and to build the foundation of a more environmentally literate citizenry.

Groundwork Rhode Island (GWRI) will launch a stormwater-focused workforce development program that extends the reach and timeframe of our adult job training program by identifying low-barrier tasks that can support stormwater management and water quality goals across Providence, RI and employ job training program graduates to perform these tasks in collaboration with the Providence Department of Public Works (DPW) and other partners. In late fall 2024, GWRI will run a 5-week job training program for approximately 10 participants. Students in the job training program face barriers to employment (such as having past conviction records), are low-income, and are either currently unemployed or underemployed. During the training all 10 students will receive the Center for Watershed Protection’s nationally accredited Clean Water Certificate training, a 35-hour training that focuses on green infrastructure construction, inspections, and maintenance. After the 5 weeks, GWRI will support training graduates to find employment outside our organization.

The Blackstone River Watershed Association’s mission is to engage, educate and advocate for improved water quality in the Blackstone River watershed. It has been doing so since 1969. While numerous and varied educational activities took place from BRWA’s inception, it was in 1984 that a Watershed Education Program was officially instituted. It was around 2010 that the BRWA’s Watershed & Us education program was officially named and by 2013 had provided multiple watershed education presentations using an Enviroscape model. Almost 180 students in Grafton, Millbury and Uxbridge engaged in discussions of the water cycle, the environmental and human consequences of water pollution, and conservation practices. It is the goal of the BRWA to secure funding for the Watershed & Us education program that provides sustainability and allows for further growth and outreach.

This project is focused on community engagement and educational events in the Blackstone River region. Specific deliverables include: increased community engagement, a Mishoon Burn event, school bus funding for trips to Sycamore Landing, and a Spring 2025 cultural/ environmental event.

The Below and Above Collective (BAC), in partnership with UPP Arts, implemented a project to construct a floating wetland structure in Polo Lake, a nutrient-impaired waterbody designated by the Rhode Island Department of Environmental Management (RIDEM) within Roger Williams Park in Providence, Rhode Island. This initiative aimed to address the critical need for nature-based solutions to improve water quality by working with natural processes and raising awareness about the impact of stormwater runoff on urban waterways.

The main goals of the project were to educate the public about biodiversity and its role in improving water quality, create habitats for aquatic and semi-aquatic species, and demonstrate how art can engage the community in addressing freshwater pollution.