Charles River Watershed Association Inc

THE ORGANIZATION'S MISSION IS TO USE SCIENCE, ADVOCACY AND THE LAW TO PROTECT, PRESERVE AND ENHANCE THE CHARLES RIVER AND ITS WATERSHED,INCLUDING IMPROVING AND EXPANDING ITS NATURAL RESOURCES AND RECREATIONAL OPPORTUNITIES.

CLIMATE MITIGATION AND ADAPTATION - CRWA IS COMMITTED TO REDUCING THE IMPACTS OF CLIMATE CHANGE AND SUPPORTING RESTORATIVE CLIMATE ADAPTATION. THE ORGANIZATION WORKS EVERY DAY ACROSS ALL PROGRAM AREAS TO CREATE RIVER AND WATERSHED RESILIENCE TO MORE INTENSE RAIN EVENTS, MORE FREQUENT SUMMERTIME DROUGHTS AND HOTTER TEMPERATURES. IT DOES THIS THROUGH CRWA'S WATER-ENERGY NEXUS WORK, BRINGING TOGETHER MUNICIPAL STAFF FROM ACROSS THE WATERSHED AS PART OF THE CHARLES RIVER CLIMATE COMPACT, PARTICIPATION IN MUNICIPAL AND STATE CLIMATE PLANNING INITIATIVES, EDUCATING LOCAL ELECTED OFFICIALS, WATERSHED- AND SUBWATERSHED-SCALE PLANNING, STREAM, WETLAND AND FLOODPLAIN RESTORATION, DAM REMOVAL, LEGISLATIVE LOBBYING AND ADVOCACY. CRWA IS ALSO ACTIVELY WORKING TO ENGAGE WITH COMMUNITIES THAT ARE PARTICULARLY VULNERABLE TO THE IMPACTS OF CLIMATE CHANGE, ESPECIALLY LOW INCOME AND MARGINALIZED COMMUNITIES. CRWA IS WORKING TO DEVELOP A GREENER AND MORE JUST WORLD THAT WILL BE MORE RESILIENT TO THE CHANGES THAT ARE COMING.

EDUCATION AND OUTREACH - CRWA'S WORK TO PROMOTE BETTER WATERSHED MANAGEMENT AND RIVER STEWARDSHIP INCLUDES A WIDE RANGE OF OUTREACH AND EDUCATIONAL PROGRAMMING: EDUCATIONAL TALKS AND PRESENTATIONS TO SCHOOLS AND COMMUNITY GROUPS; A COMPREHENSIVE WEBSITE AND ONLINE COMMUNICATIONS; THE PUBLICATION OF BROCHURES, PLANS AND REPORTS; TRAININGS AND WORKSHOPS FOR MUNICIPAL EMPLOYEES; AND PARTICIPATION IN MANY LOCAL AND REGIONAL EVENTS AND ACTIVITIES. COMMITTED TO GROWING THE NEXT GENERATION OF ENVIRONMENTALISTS, CRWA TRAINS NUMEROUS STUDENT INTERNS EACH YEAR AND HOSTS THE RITA BARRON FELLOW, A ONE-YEAR POSITION FOR RECENT MASTERS' DEGREE GRADUATES, AND ENGAGES NATIONAL AND INTERNATIONAL GROUPS FOR EDUCATIONAL AND NETWORKING PURPOSES.

BLUE CITIES INITIATIVE - UNDER THIS PROGRAM, CRWA PLANS, DESIGNS, IMPLEMENTS AND PROMOTES GREEN INFRASTRUCTURE APPROACHES, OR NATURE-BASED SOLUTIONS, FOR MANAGING WATER IN THE URBAN ENVIRONMENT. THROUGH RESEARCH, DESIGN AND IMPLEMENTATION OF DEMONSTRATION PROJECTS ON PUBLIC AND PRIVATE PROPERTIES, THE ORGANIZATION'S GOAL IS TO MIMIC, OR RE-CREATE, NATURAL HYDROLOGY AT THE SUB-WATERSHED SCALE, MAKING LAND AND WATER ONCE AGAIN WORK TOGETHER. THESE PROJECTS ARE MODELS FOR BETTER SITE DESIGN, PROVIDE PUBLIC REALM BENEFITS, SERVE TO EDUCATE THE PUBLIC ON THE IMPORTANCE OF STORM WATER MANAGEMENT, REDUCE POLLUTION AND FLOODING, AND PROVIDE DEVELOPERS AND LOCAL BOARDS WITH INFORMATION ON LOW IMPACT DEVELOPMENT.