About the environmental collective

Our youth watershed protection program engages students in conserving local water sources through hands-on learning, research, and restoration projects. We partner with 1890 land-grant universities to provide curriculum and program training. Students can join our Youth Conservation Corps to gain hands-on restoration experience and become Youth Ambassadors conducting community outreach. Activities include monitoring water quality, studying watershed ecology, growing native plants, and habitat restoration events. Through experiential education, we empower youth to advocate for and actively steward local water resources.

To help CBOs from low income, Black, Latino, and Indigenous communities access funds for environmental justice issues, the Delivering Justice Fund (DJF) was created as a pass-through program.

The DJF is specifically designed to provide federal agency grant funding pass-through services using a unique approach to remediating some of America’s most intractable environmental justice challenges facing many of our most vulnerable communities. The project is aligned with President Biden’s Justice40 Initiative because it is 100 percent inside environmental justice communities and tackling air pollution, climate change, public health, and workforce development in disadvantaged communities. 

The underserved and disadvantaged communities for which these projects are focused on include, as defined by President Biden’s Executive Order 13985, “populations sharing a particular characteristic, as well as geographic communities, that have been systematically denied a full opportunity to participate in aspects of economic, social, and civic life...”. This includes communities such as Black, Latino, and Indigenous and Native American persons, Asian Americans and Pacific Islanders and other persons of color; children; the elderly; members of religious minorities; lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, and queer (LGBTQ+) persons; persons with disabilities; persons who live in rural areas; and persons otherwise adversely affected by persistent poverty or inequality.

The Environmental Collective (TEC) has been extremely helpful in

assisting federal agencies such as the USDA, EPA, & Department of Interior in their mission and policy on workforce development,

recruitment, and placement.

TEC has given internships to the National Forest Service Special Use Permit and Job Corps training programs through its relationships with

Historically Black Colleges and Universities (HBCUs). TEC aim is to engage with the following organizations in addition to workforce

development activities.

*HBCU Climate Change Consortium

*National Black Environmental Justice Network

*Association of HBCU 1890 Land Grant Deans

*Association of 1890 Research Directors

*Urban American Outdoors

TEC will participate in the 2023 National HBCU Week Conference in September at the “Career Fair Day” as a platform to recruit qualified

students to work for federal as well as our organization. 

Our youth green business program partners students with local businesses to implement sustainable practices. Students perform environmental assessments and provide guidance on eco-friendly improvements as part of our Youth Conservation Corps collaboration with 1890 land-grant universities.Certified green businesses allow Youth Ambassadors to conduct educational site visits showcasing conservation best practices. This program builds partnerships between youth and businesses through student research, engagement, and curriculum guidance from our land-grant university collaborators.