Bronx River Alliance Inc

DESCRIPTION:THIS AGREEMENT PROVIDES FUNDING UNDER THE INFLATION REDUCTION ACT (IRA) TO BRONX RIVER ALLIANCE, INC. SPECIFICALLY, THE PROJECT WILL ESTABLISH A BRONX CLIMATE JUSTICE TASK FORCE COMPOSED OF 10 COMMUNITY ORGANIZATIONS TO AMPLIFY DISADVANTAGED COMMUNITY VOICES IN CLIMATE RESILIENCE PLANNING. THE PROJECT WILL SYNTHESIZE EXISTING HABITAT RESTORATION PLANS, PRIORITIZE CLIMATE RESILIENCE PROJECTS, ENGAGE WITH GOVERNMENT AGENCIES, AND DEVELOP EDUCATIONAL MATERIALS TO FACILITATE COMMUNITY PARTICIPATION IN ENVIRONMENTAL DECISION-MAKING. THROUGH QUARTERLY TASK FORCE MEETINGS, THE CREATION OF A UNIFIED VALUE STATEMENT, AND AT LEAST 24 PUBLIC EVENTS REACHING APPROXIMATELY 2,400 PEOPLE, THE PROJECT WILL ENSURE MEANINGFUL COMMUNITY ENGAGEMENT IN CLIMATE PLANNING. THE TASK FORCE WILL ENGAGE WITH FEDERAL, STATE AND LOCAL AGENCIES THROUGH AT LEAST 4 IN-PERSON MEETINGS, COMPLETE ONE FEASIBILITY STUDY FOR A PRIORITIZED CLIMATE RESILIENCE PROJECT, AND PRODUCE MULTILINGUAL COMMUNICATIONS MATERIALS INCLUDING COMMUNITY VIDEO TESTIMONIALS. THE PROJECT AIMS TO BREAK DOWN SYSTEMIC BARRIERS TO COMMUNITY PARTICIPATION AND ENSURE DISADVANTAGED COMMUNITIES IN THE BRONX HAVE MEANINGFUL INPUT INTO CLIMATE RESILIENCE AND COASTAL ADAPTATION PLANNING DECISIONS, WHILE SUPPORTING PARTNER ORGANIZATIONS IN DEVELOPING AND FUNDING IMPLEMENTATION PROJECTS.ACTIVITIES:THE ACTIVITIES INCLUDE CONVENING A BRONX CLIMATE JUSTICE TASK FORCE TO SYNTHESIZE COMMUNITY INPUT, REVIEW AND COMPILE CLIMATE RESILIENCE PROJECTS FROM THE BRONX RIVER WATERSHED MANAGEMENT PLAN AND OTHER BRONX-BASED PLANS TO ADVANCE THEM TOWARDS DESIGN PHASES, AND ENGAGE WITH GOVERNMENT AGENCIES TO COORDINATE ON THE EVALUATION OF POTENTIAL PROJECTS. BRONX RIVER ALLIANCE WILL ORGANIZE 9 TASK FORCE MEETINGS WITH 8-10 COMMUNITY ORGANIZATIONS, AT LEAST 24 PUBLIC EVENTS (AVERAGE 100 PEOPLE PER EVENT, TOTAL 2,400 PEOPLE ENGAGED), AND 12 TO 16 MEETINGS WITH STATE AND FEDERAL AGENCIES (4-6 EACH YEAR) SUCH AS URBAN WATERS FEDERAL PARTNERSHIP, DEC AIR QUALITY MEETINGS AND UPDATES, CLIMATE JUSTICE WORKING GROUP, AND CLIMATE ACTION COUNCIL.SUBRECIPIENT:THE SUBAWARD RECIPIENTS, AS MEMBERS OF THE BRONX CLIMATE JUSTICE TASK FORCE, WILL PARTICIPATE IN ALL TASK FORCE MEETINGS WITH ROTATING LEADERSHIP RESPONSIBILITIES FOR AGENDA FORMATION, FACILITATION, AND NOTE-TAKING. EACH ORGANIZATION WILL HOLD OR ATTEND 2-3 PUBLIC ENGAGEMENT EVENTS ANNUALLY THROUGH THEIR EXISTING COMMUNITY PROGRAMS SUCH AS THE FISH PARADE, TOWN HALLS, COMMUNITY ROWING EVENTS, AND COMMUNITY ENVISIONING SESSIONS. MEMBERS WILL REVIEW AND PROVIDE FEEDBACK ON EDUCATION AND OUTREACH MATERIALS WHILE CONDUCTING STAKEHOLDER OUTREACH THROUGH SOCIAL MEDIA, EVENTS, AND OTHER CHANNELS. THEY WILL CONTRIBUTE TO DEVELOPING THE VALUE STATEMENT AND EVALUATING/PRIORITIZING POTENTIAL HABITAT RESTORATION AND CLIMATE RESILIENCE PROJECTS, WHILE SUPPORTING FELLOW TASK FORCE MEMBERS IN DEVELOPING AND FUNDING RELATED INITIATIVES. ORGANIZATIONS WILL PARTICIPATE IN MEETINGS AND COMMUNICATIONS WITH OFFICIAL AGENCIES REGARDING CLIMATE CHANGE PLANNING DECISIONS AND ENGAGE WITH FEDERAL, STATE AND LOCAL PLANNING PROCESSES TO ENSURE BRONX VOICES ARE REPRESENTED. MEMBERS WILL ALSO PROVIDE INPUT ON THE FEASIBILITY STUDY FOR A PRIORITIZED CLIMATE RESILIENCE PROJECT. THE SUBAWARDS WILL COVER STAFF TIME AND TRANSPORTATION COSTS RELATED TO THESE PROJECT ACTIVITIES OVER THE THREE-YEAR PERIOD.OUTCOMES:THE ANTICIPATED DELIVERABLES INCLUDE 9 TASK FORCE MEETINGS WITH REPRESENTATION OF 10 COMMUNITY STAKEHOLDER ORGANIZATIONS, 1 VALUE STATEMENT, A SUMMARY OF HABITAT RESTORATION AND CLIMATE CHANGE PROJECTS FROM PREVIOUS PLANNING PROCESSES, AT LEAST 20 PRIORITIZED PROJECTS, MINIMUM OF 4 IN-PERSON MEETINGS WITH AGENCIES, MINIMUM OF 6 WRITTEN AGENCY CORRESPONDENCES, A BRAND MANUAL WITH COMMUNICATIONS MATERIALS (3 PRESS RELEASES, 3 FLYERS WITH 1,000 COPIES EACH, 3 COMMENT LETTER TEMPLATES), 1 INTERACTIVE EDUCATIONAL MODULE WITH VISUAL AIDS AND INFORMATIONAL POSTERS, 30 SOCIAL MEDIA POSTS REACHI

DESCRIPTION:THIS AGREEMENT PROVIDES FUNDING UNDER THE INFLATION REDUCTION ACT TO THE BRONX RIVER ALLIANCE. THE RECIPIENT WILL TRAIN UNDESERVED, DIVERSE STUDENTS AND RESIDENTS OF THE BRONX AS WELL AS YONKERS AND MOUNT VERNON IN WESTCHESTER COUNTY, NEW YORK ABOUT WATER QUALITY ISSUES AFFECTING THEIR COMMUNITY. THROUGH WATER QUALITY SAMPLING, STUDENTS AND RESIDENTS WILL LEARN ABOUT THE HEALTH OF THEIR LOCAL ECOSYSTEM AND ITS WATER QUALITY. THE PROJECT WILL ENABLE HIRING AN URBAN WATERWAYS ENVIRONMENTAL JUSTICE FELLOW RECRUITED FROM LOCAL COMMUNITIES WHO WILL WORK WITH LOCAL STAKEHOLDERS TO CARRY OUT PATHOGEN WATER QUALITY MONITORING, ADDITIONAL MONITORING OF HIGH POLLUTING OUTFALLS IDENTIFIED THROUGH THE PROJECT, AND EDNA TESTING. DATA REVEALING THE ENVIRONMENTAL HEALTH OF THESE WATERWAYS FOR PEOPLE AND WILDLIFE WILL BE ANALYZED AND VISUALIZED TO BE ACCESSIBLE AND USEFUL TO THE PUBLIC. PUBLIC EDUCATION AND OUTREACH INCLUDING COMMUNITY-BASED MACROINVERTEBRATE STUDIES AND PUBLIC EVENTS WILL TAKE PLACE WITH STAKEHOLDERS IN EACH COMMUNITY TO DISCUSS SOLUTIONS TO REGIONAL WATER QUALITY ISSUES.ACTIVITIES:THE ACTIVITIES INCLUDE PATHOGEN WATER QUALITY MONITORING, ADDITIONAL MONITORING OF HIGH POLLUTING OUTFALLS IDENTIFIED THROUGH THE PROJECT, AND EDNA TESTING. AS WELL AS, PUBLIC EDUCATION AND OUTREACH INCLUDING COMMUNITY-BASED MACROINVERTEBRATE STUDIES AND PUBLIC EVENTS WILL TAKE PLACE WITH STAKEHOLDERS IN EACH COMMUNITY TO DISCUSS SOLUTIONS TO REGIONAL WATER QUALITY ISSUES. THE RECIPIENT WILL USE EDUCATION AND TRAINING TO INCREASE AWARENESS OF HOW CRITICAL ENVIRONMENTAL ISSUES IMPACT THE HEALTH OF RESIDENTS AND THE LOCAL ECOSYSTEM.SUBRECIPIENT:BRONX RIVER ALLIANCE, INC WILL ISSUE SUBAWARDS UNDER THIS COOPERATIVE AGREEMENT. SUBAWARD ACTIVITIES WILL INCLUDE, PROJECT COORDINATION, RECRUITING AND TRAINING VOLUNTEERS ON SAMPLING PROCEDURES, WATER QUALITY MONITORING, DATA ANALYSIS AND PUBLIC OUTREACH AND EDUCATION. OUTCOMES:THE ANTICIPATED DELIVERABLES INCLUDE PROJECT QAPP APPROVED BY EPA, PATHOGEN SAMPLES COLLECTED AND ANALYZED, DNA SAMPLES COLLECTED AND ANALYZED, COMMUNITY SCIENCE VOLUNTEERS TRAINED, ENGLISH LANGUAGE ONE-PAGERS PRODUCED, 25 TRANSLATED-PAGERS (5 LANGUAGES TOTAL), OUTREACH EVENTS, PUBLIC MEETINGS, SOCIAL MEDIA POSTS AND A MAINSTREAM MEDIA ARTICLE. EXPECTED OUTCOMES AND OUTPUTS ARE TO INCREASE COMMUNITY AWARENESS OF THE WATER ISSUES AND THEIR POTENTIAL HEALTH EFFECTS, EDUCATIONAL CONTENT FOR STUDENTS AND COMMUNITY MEMBERS FOR BOTH IN-PERSON AND ONLINE. THE INTENDED BENEFICIARIES FOR THIS PROJECT ARE STUDENTS AND RESIDENTS OF UNDERSERVED COMMUNITIES IN THE BRONX AND WESTCHESTER COUNTIES, NEW YORK.

EDI SPECIAL PROJECTS

THE PROJECT EDUCATES BRONX RESIDENTS IN WATER POLLUTION AWARENESS AND HOW TO COLLECT AND ANALYZE ENVIRONMENTAL DATA TO BETTER UNDERSTAND THE ENVIRONM