University of Richmond students among winners in EPA environmental justice video competition
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University of Richmond students were among the winners of the Environmental Justice Video Challenge for Students, a program of the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency and co-sponsors American Public Health Association, the Educational Partnerships for Innovation in Communities – Network, Environmental Defense Fund, Environmental Justice journal, and Groundwork US.
The challenge was designed to foster collaboration between the next generation of environmental justice advocates and community organizations to develop innovative solutions to address environmental and public health issues affecting communities.
The challenge was divided into two phases. In Phase 1, college students created videos demonstrating innovative approaches to identify and characterize an environmental justice issue in a community using data and publicly available tools. In Phase 2, students worked collaboratively with local community organizations to develop a community capacity building strategy and an accompanying video that demonstrated effective community engagement and advocacy to address the environmental justice issue identified in Phase 1.
The University of Richmond project – a collaboration with Concerned Citizens of Charles City County titled “Pollution to Prosperity: Tackling Landfill Impacts for a Thriving Future” – was selected as the third place winner in Phase 2, earning a prize of $40,000 ($34,000 to the citizens’ group and $6,000 to the UR student group consisting of Megan Salters, McKenna Dunbar, and Sarah Murtaugh).
The project focused on addressing the impacts of landfills on the environment and public health.
Winners were selected by a panel of judges based on the effectiveness of their community capacity building strategies and the impact of their advocacy efforts. The winning submissions can be viewed on the EPA website.
“This challenge showcases how collaboration between the next generation of environmental justice advocates and community organizations can produce truly innovative ideas to address environmental and public health issues affecting communities,” said Chris Frey, assistant administrator of EPA’s Office of Research and Development. “We are encouraged by each team’s exceptional efforts and look forward to creating pathways for continued community capacity building that will help us to achieve our mission to protect human health and the environment.”
