Eco-Equity Challenge
GET FUNDING FOR YOUR SUSTAINABILITY PROJECTS!
The Office of Sustainability and the Honey W. Nashman Center for Civic Engagement and Public Service provide support for GW students in their social entrepreneurial efforts to address environmental and social justice issues in Washington, DC. With support from Challenge staff and in collaboration with a local partner organization, GW students are invited to propose a project that enhances the local community. The project must have both environmental and social impact in an underserved or low-income neighborhood.
Winning students or teams will be awarded between $500 and $5,000 for their projects. Students are required to work with a GW faculty or staff mentor as a resource and are not prohibited from receiving other funding for their projects
GW undergraduate and graduate student are eligible to apply. Projects may be an individual or team submissions; teams can include up to 5 students. Applicants must be enrolled for the next full academic year. Budget and timeline templates can be found here.
Deadline: November 3, 2024
Learn more about our previous recipients!
Leave No Trace of Clinical Research Waste
Leave No Trace of Clinical Research Waste was developed by GW student Riley Lima. The goal of the project is to reduce clinical research waste by redirecting excess medical supplies from The GW Medical Faculty Associates and GW's Office of Clinical Research to Bread for the City, La Clínica del pueblo, and other free clinics to help facilitate their efforts providing free healthcare to underserved and uninsured patients in DC during the 2023-2024 academic year. Essential blood collection supplies are sorted, itemized and donated to La Clínica del Pueblo & Bread for the City locations in DC.
Since August, Riley and volunteers have sorted through and diverted over 2,400 medical supply items to DC free clinics.
Click here to volunteer to make medicine more sustainable and to promote public health in underserved communities. Follow Sustainable GW on instagram @sustainablegw for project updates.
Ward 8 Waterways
A student activist group from George Washington University (GW), the Environmental Justice Action Network (EJAN), assisted with
stream sampling and monitoring across Ward 8 for the Ward 8 Waterways project funded by a GW Upstart Eco-Equity Grant. Students took monthly samples from previously neglected streams identified through Ward 8 Woods’ pilot project, and hope to continue this water monitoring project in future years.
The sites selected for this project included two streams off the Suitland Parkway - St. Elizabeth’s Tributary and the 23rd street stream - as well as Magnolia Tributary at Oxon Run Parkway and the Erie Street Tributary at Fort Stanton Park. Data was gathered on variables including temperature, turbidity, pH, and bacteria.
Results from this sampling revealed elevated concentrations of dangerous pathogens at several of the sites. These results may be due to sewage leakage or extremely dry conditions that exacerbate bacterial growth. The students will use this information in collaboration with Ward 8 Woods to target remediation for the streams so that they can eventually be publicly accessible by Ward 8 residents. In addition, students used their water quality data and historical research to develop a story map and dashboard about the areas surrounding these previously-neglected streams.
Questions?
Contact us at [email protected]
Stories from Grant Recipients
