Supporting Environmental Justice in Massachusetts: 2026–2027 LSPA EJ Grant Recipients
The LSPA is proud to announce the recipients of our 2026–2027 Environmental Justice (EJ) Grants. This year, three organizations will receive funding to support community-driven environmental education, stewardship, and equity in Worcester and Brockton.
Ponte Community Arts, Inc. — Main South STEAM Field School
Community Served: Worcester, MA
Project Overview: Ponte Community Arts, Inc. Main South STEAM Field School is a science and art field school for neighborhood-based learning. A free, place-based science and art program, this initiative uses the neighborhood and nearby Worcester green spaces as a living classroom. Main South is a dense urban neighborhood where residents experience environmental challenges connected to urbanization and global climate change, including extreme heat, limited access to tree canopy in some areas, litter and waste, stormwater runoff, aging infrastructure, and uneven access to hands-on environmental education. At the same time, Main South and nearby Worcester parks offer rich opportunities for field-based learning. Through guided walks, citizen science tools, creative mapping, observation, drawing, photography, and hands-on making, students will explore local ecology, global climate change, environmental justice, environmental stewardship, and the built environment while developing both scientific and creative skills. Participants will learn to observe plants, insects, trees, water, waste, shade, heat, surfaces, textures, and neighborhood patterns; document what they notice through field notes, photos, drawings, rubbings, and maps; and turn their observations into community-facing environmental education materials. The project will benefit EJ populations by providing free, accessible environmental education in familiar neighborhood spaces and nearby public green spaces.
Regional Environmental Council (REC) — UGROW: Community and School Gardens Network
Community Served: Worcester, MAProject Overview: REC brings people together to create a just food system and to build healthy, sustainable, and equitable communities in Worcester, MA, and beyond. The UGROW (Urban Gardens Resources of Worcester) program is a network of 86 community and school gardens and urban farms involving more than 700 gardeners and 3,000 public school students, and the program exclusively supports community and school gardens where residents of all ages come together to grow food, build community, and improve environmental conditions in their neighborhoods. These gardens are located throughout Worcester, primarily in EJ neighborhoods characterized by limited tree canopy, high levels of impervious surfaces, and elevated urban heat. Residents in these areas often have limited access to space to grow food at home, and concerns about soil contamination are common. These same neighborhoods also experience the highest levels of concentrated poverty, food insecurity, and elevated rates of health conditions such as asthma. The UGROW network connects community gardeners, urban farmers, and school-based growers across Worcester, helping them share resources, expertise, and technical assistance to strengthen the local food system and support thriving garden spaces. Each spring, UGROW distributes more than 10,000 free seedlings to participating gardens, supporting food production and biodiversity across the network. LSPA funding will enable REC to respond to critical needs across multiple garden sites by providing tool replacement, garden bed repairs, high-quality soil amendments to improve productivity, replenishment of the Seed Library, and workshop materials for educational programming at school garden sites and at REC's urban farm and offices.
Wildlands Trust & Manomet Conservation Sciences — Brockton Youth Service-Learning Programs
Community Served: Brockton, MA
Project Overview: Access to hands-on environmental learning and engagement is limited in areas like Brockton, MA, where access to nature itself is often out of reach. Wildlands Trust and Manomet Conservation Sciences collaborate to fill this gap for Brockton youth through a variety of programs (1) Green Team, a service-learning program for Brockton-area youth ages 14-18, who complete service projects primarily at the city's D.W. Field Park and surrounding open space; and (2) Brockton Kids Lead the Way/TREE Brockton, which brings access to nature directly to Brockton elementary school students and teachers by building outdoor learnings spaces on school grounds and accompanying curriculum and teacher trainings. These programs often have alumni crew members apply for a second or third year, but, due to our limited capacity, new applicants are prioritized. As such, a new program has been created—Green Team Alumni Program—which will allow alumni to return and assist the Wildlands Trust staff in building three new outdoor learnings spaces at Brockton elementary schools under the TREE Brockton project. LSPA funding will support crew member stipends for both the Green Team and Alumni 2027 programs, ensuring funding goes directly into the community and elevating the integrity of the program for participants and partners.
Why These Projects Matter
Across Massachusetts, communities are confronting complex environmental and public health challenges, and the 2025–2026 EJ Grant recipients are leading the way in creating community-driven, locally informed solutions that make a lasting difference.
Through the EJ Grant Program, the LSPA is committed to empowering local organizations, amplifying resident voices, and ensuring that every community has the tools, knowledge, and partnerships needed to thrive in a cleaner, safer, and more equitable environment.
Stay tuned for more information on how you can be involved in these projects through LSPA membership.