Incorporating Underserved Voices to Improve Capacity and Structure in the Blackstone Watershed Collaborative

With its headwaters located in Worcester, Massachusetts, the Blackstone River has a reputation as a heavily developed, urbanized river. The watershed includes 29 municipalities in Massachusetts and 10 municipalities in Rhode Island. The most heavily urbanized areas are located in Worcester, MA; Woonsocket, RI; Central Falls, RI; and Pawtucket, RI, all of which are also home to mapped Environmental Justice populations. The Blackstone Watershed is also the ancestral homeland of the Nipmuc Nation, recognized by the Commonwealth of Massachusetts as a sovereign people. The Blackstone Watershed Collaborative exists to improve the health and resilience of the Blackstone Watershed communities and help meet the increasing challenges to water quality resulting from urban growth and climate change impacts. This project will improve organizational capacity and allow the collaborative to deeply engage with under-represented populations in the watershed, including indigenous communities such as the Nipmuc Nation. Specifically, this project will inform establishment of an inclusive governance structure, creation of a 5-year fundraising plan, and establishment of a list of priority projects.