Eco Equity Challenge

With a campus located four blocks from the White House and adjacent to the World Bank and International Monetary Fund, it would be easy for GW students to continually think on a national and international scale, forgetting that there are communities right next door experiencing their share of urban social and environmental challenges. Our Eco-Equity Challenge Program aims to help undergraduate and graduate students connect with residents of Washington, D.C., to share their skills and find solutions to environmental and social justice issues.

Applicants must develop their projects in collaboration with one or more community partners, and be supported by a faculty member. GW student entrepreneurs receive funds, training, and mentoring from Sustainability and the Nashman Center to implement their projects. To qualify, projects must also raise awareness within the GW community about environmental or climate justice. The program links students to the broader community, helping build their understanding of challenges in an urban environment — and how to solve them — and sharing what they learn with others at the university.

Application Details

• Interested students are encouraged to meet with Juliana Carvalho in the Office of Sustainability to discuss project ideas prior to submitting an application. Reach Juliana at [email protected].
• Interested students are encouraged to submit a proposal as a team, and must have a GW Faculty Advisor and a local community partner.
• Project proposals must incorporate an environmental and social justice component.
• Applications are accepted on a rolling basis with a preference for those received in the fall semester. Projects are to be completed the following academic year.

Eco Equity Challenge Application

Current Projects

SewUP!

Upcycling has been proven to reduce textile waste and empower individuals to make sustainable
choices at a lower cost to themselves. 

Student Ruby Leonard will lead SewUP!, a 10-part workshop series and a textile drive at the Latin American Youth Center (LAYC) that focuses on textile production and sustainability education, clothing upcycling skills, and community organizing to reduce textile waste. With the Eco-Equity Grant, Ruby's program will equip LAYC with sewing machines and other supplies to expand its art and sustainability offerings to its students now and beyond. By the end of the series, students will complete a final sewing project—creating at least one custom wearable piece using 100% recycled materials from their community. They will also organize a community educational event like a clothing drive or clothing swap in their neighborhood or school to reduce waste and practice community organizing and advocacy skills.

Ruby Leonard is a GW sophomore majoring in Human Services and Social Justice with minors
in Spanish and Chinese language. She is a SMARTDC site leader at For Love of Children and is
committed to community building and incorporating social justice principles in her work. In her
free time, Ruby is an avid textile artist—guided by the practices of sustainability and advocacy in
her art. To get in touch with Ruby email [email protected].

Past Projects

 

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.