At the Urban Waters Learning Network, there has never been a more critical time to look for what lessons can be learned, explore how we can become more adaptable, increase access for the communities where we work, and find support for communities who are constantly innovating on the frontlines of disaster.
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The UWLN team will continue to update this list as we find other useful information and resources. Feel free to contribute ideas in the comments as well.
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Groundwork Denver youth used the curriculum to identify and discuss a range of local environmental justice issues, including housing instability, water quality, food deserts, outdoor inaccessibility for youth, and pedestrian safety. Ultimately, they chose to work together to address the inaccessibility issue, and developed an outdoor recreational program for area youth.
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Now that it’s again time to consider our past and future, we find ourselves inspired and re-energized by what our members have accomplished on behalf of America’s urban waters and communities. We look forward to continuing to provide spaces, places and means to connect our members as they innovate solutions in these areas and others.
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In 2019, Delegates met in Austin, TX to attend One Water Summit 2019. The Summit, hosted annually by the U.S. Water Alliance, provides a space where people from a variety of backgrounds and disciplines can work together toward a holistic, interdisciplinary approach to water.
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As urban practitioners and leaders gain seats at more tables, they are helping to change the conversation within the larger environmental movement, elevating the role of city spaces and urban communities and teaching others how to better involve people in environmental problems.
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The various Groundwork Trusts comprise a network of community-based nonprofits. They work at the intersection of the environment, equity, and civic engagement by making tangible improvements to the natural and built environment, mainly in underserved and environmental justice communities.
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Five leaders have been chosen for recognition by the Urban Waters Learning Network (UWLN)…
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Learn where your water comes from, how it’s treated, stored and distributed, and what policies and practices need to be in place to ensure that people have access to clean drinking water now and in the future.
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During the morning and afternoon of Friday, June 21st, the Urban Waters Learning Network—that’s us—will host the Learning Forum, which is an opportunity for Learning Network members to meet fellow Urban Waters peers and engage in in-depth discussions on audience-generated topics.
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Here at the Learning Network we’ve been working hard to keep up with all the great work you’ve been doing. In 2019, we are going to expand on services we offer now, and introduce new collaborative work on themes that bubbled to the top of conversations throughout 2018.
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The program started in 2011 as an interdisciplinary, collaborative effort, connecting federal agencies with local communities to “transform their local urban waters into treasured centerpieces for community revitalization.”
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EJCPS supports local organizations in their efforts to develop and implement community-driven solutions that address environmental and public health disparities in minority, low-income, tribal and indigenous populations.
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As a network of grassroots organizations, Groundwork USA is deeply involved in environmental justice, both at the community and national levels. As an environmental organization that centers people and the places where they live, work, and play, we are continuing to develop educational tools and resources to aid other organizations in advancing their environmental justice work.
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To put it in my own words: One Water describes a holistic, interdisciplinary approach to water. It has to do with understanding the many different ways in which water is a necessary and vital part of our physical and cultural lives—and finding ways to work together to make clean water available to everyone as a basic human right.
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Resilient DC is launching the second phase of its efforts to write a Resilience Strategy under the 100 Resilient Cities framework. Many members of the Urban Waters Federal Partnership are participating in its various working groups, including the only geographically-specific working group focused on the Anacostia River corridor.
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Every year, Groundwork USA attends River Rally and, as a partner and organizer of the Urban Waters Learning Network (UWLN), offers scholarships to Groundwork Trusts and other organizations with urban waters programs so they can benefit from all that River Rally has to offer.
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These EPA-sponsored awards celebrate significant achievements that improve urban waterways and revitalize the neighborhoods around them…
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Every year, people from around the country and from every sector—academics, inventors and innovators, advocates, public servants, and general enthusiasts—attend River Network’s conference, called River Rally. Aside from being fun—with abundant nosh, beverages, outdoor field trips, and live entertainment—it is a veritable professional development powerhouse, with lots of opportunities to network with peers, learn about new tools and approaches, and connect with mentors.
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It’s no secret that infrastructure—including electric grids, fossil fuel pipelines, public transportation lines, bridges, railways, and roads—are in a rapid state of decline in the U.S., and that there is not nearly enough money allocated to their repair and maintenance. Central to that problem and probably the most alarming aspect of it is the fact that water infrastructure systems—the pipes that bring us treated water and the sewer lines that take waste water away—are in various states of disrepair all around the country.
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Presented by the U.S. Water Alliance, the One Water Summit is a conference that seeks to bring people from all over the country, from a variety of professions, to exchange knowledge and develop strategies for achieving “a sustainable water future for all” — that is, a future where everyone has access to sufficient quantities of clean water and where water management practices are tied to healthy and thriving ecosystems, communities, and economies.
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Gentrification. Those of us who work in water cities and towns inevitably encounter it. As a result, we must discuss what it means, analyze our own role in the process, and come up with solutions.
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The Urban Waters Learning Network (UWLN) Awards celebrate Learning Network members making significant achievements toward improving their urban waterways and revitalizing the neighborhoods around them. These members embody the spirit and value of the Learning Network and exemplify UWLN’s goal of providing peer-to-peer … Continued
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You may have heard the terms point and nonpoint source pollution. To demystify these terms a bit, a point source is a known source of pollutants, such as a factory or a sewer treatment plant. Nonpoint sources are everything else: lawns, roofs, construction sites, driveways, and roads. Pollution from these sources can take a variety of forms, including mud, bacteria, fertilizers, and toxic waste like oil and paint. Stormwater collects these pollutants from multiple sources, then introduces them directly into our streams, rivers, and lakes.
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The average American produces a little over four pounds of trash each day. Even though many of us recycle, the amount of waste we produce is still higher than it was in the sixties. Together, Americans produce 220 million tons of waste annually, 55% of which end up in landfills (unless you live in San Francisco, which has managed to divert 80% of its collective trash to recycling and composting programs, and is well on its way toward the end goal of producing “zero waste” as a city). And while businesses, schools, and hospitals produce a lot of trash as well, 65% of the trash found in today’s landfills is produced by individual households.
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“Diversity and Inclusiveness” represents a growing movement, consisting of people from all walks of life, who recognize that we need representation from a larger variety of people, especially those who grew up experiencing the worst effects of environmental problems. This includes people of color, and people from low income backgrounds: those who come from rural and urban communities that have the least political representation, who deal every day with hazards related to contaminated homes, workplaces, playgrounds, and schools, and who are on the front lines of big issues like climate change.
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