Funded by an EPA Urban Waters Small Grant, the Constitutional Rights Foundation (CRF) joined with UCLA’s Institute of Environment and Sustainability (IoES), and the LA Waterkeeper (LAW) to form a unique partnership between scientists, public policy professionals, and educators. Together, they created the Urban Waters Civic Action Project (UWCAP) to educate and empower high school students in highly industrialized urban areas in LA County.
The UWCAP partners created a new curriculum that expands on watershed science, includes information about water quality in the LA River, adds analysis of public policy and creates student-lead civic action projects. UWCAP partners supported teachers from four schools in the LA area with trainings and after-school field trips for data collection. A main goal of the project included giving teachers the tools they need to continue offering the program independently into the future.