The Urban Ecology Engagement Initiative - Student-Driven Research of the Anacostia Watershed

The Urban Ecology Engagement Initiative (UEEI) is a collaborative effort by Smithsonian researchers and educators, out-of-school programs for disadvantaged youth in Washington, D.C., environmental and community-based... [ view full abstract ]

The Urban Ecology Engagement Initiative (UEEI) is a collaborative effort by Smithsonian researchers and educators, out-of-school programs for disadvantaged youth in Washington, D.C., environmental and community-based non-profit organizations, and public schools to study the health of streams in the highly urbanized Anacostia Watershed in Washington, D.C. and Maryland. Trash, sewage, runoff, heavy metals, and toxins pollute the troubled watershed, making it largely unusable by the communities that live within it. In an effort to better understand and combat these problems, UEEI engages students who live within the watershed to monitor stream health and conduct research.

UEEI students represent groups that are traditionally underrepresented in STEM fields. The students reside in Southeast Washington, D.C., an area that is largely African-American with a median household income of less than $35,000. Additionally, UEEI students are often attempting to be the first in their families to graduate from high school. Because these students live and attend school within the Anacostia Watershed, they are directly affected by its poor health. UEEI seeks to provide students with the knowledge to actively participate in the restoration of streams as well as to become advocates for the watershed in their communities. To meet this goal, UEEI partner organizations help students learn watershed ecology through classroom activities and field trips, explore STEM career paths, collect data to contribute to non-profit and government stream health databases, develop and implement research projects, and present their findings to community groups and leaders. Students work with scientists to develop their own research questions, enabling them to identify and pursue topics that are directly applicable to the community in which they live. The resources provided through the UEEI collaboration enable middle and high school students to conduct high-quality research and become advocates for environmental health in their neighborhoods.