Urban Waters Federal Partnership
Walnut Creek has been designated by the US Environmental Protection Agency as the nation's 21st Urban Waters Federal Partner location!
PEJ hopes to hire a Community Watershed Ambassador by Fall 2023. Once this Ambassador is in place any individuals or organizations interested in becoming involved in this Partnership can contact the Ambassador!
On Friday, April 21st, Partners For Environmental Justice and Carolina Wetlands Association hosted the EPA's official announcement making Walnut Creek the 21st partner location. The event was held at the Norman & Betty Camp Education Center at the Walnut Creek Wetland park, and included remarks from government officials from the EPA, US DOI, NCDEQ, NC Forest Service, US DOA, and organizations including the Walnut Creek Wetlands Neighborhood Ecology Corps and The Conservation Fund!
The following day, to celebrate the announcement and all things Walnut Creek, the first ever Our Creeks, Our Communities festival took place at the Southeast Raleigh YMCA. The event had a great turnout and visitors of all ages enjoyed meeting local vendors, environmental mascots, non-profit organizations and businesses, and participating in lots of educational activities! Visit the festival website to learn more.
Learn more about both events in this report and in this video!
The UWFP reconnects urban communities, particularly those that are overburdened or economically distressed, connect with their waterways and work to improve them. Through the program, communities gain economic, environmental, and social benefits,and collaborate with federal, state, and local agencies, as well as community-led efforts, to achieve common goals.
Two key components of the UWFP designation are:
A primary objective of helping urban and metropolitan areas, particularly those that are underserved or economically distressed, connect with their waterways and work to improve them.
A Community Watershed Ambassador,an individual hired to be the liaison between the watershed's communities, the various federal, state and local government agencies who have been involved with the WAT for the past several years and the national Urban Waters Learning Network.
See more resources about the program:
UWFP Agency Partners