FY 2020-2021: Innovative Water Infrastructure
Workforce Development Grant Program

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Mountains To Sound Greenway Trust (MSG!)-Pathways to
Watershed Stewardship Careers

= INTRODUCTION

The Safe Drinking Water Act (SDWA) authorized the
Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) to award grants
to nonprofit professional or service organizations,
nonprofit labor organizations, nonprofit community
colleges, institutions of higher education, or other
nonprofit training and educational institutions to
(1) assist in the development and use of innovative
activities relating to water workforce development
and career opportunities in the drinking water and
wastewater utility sector, and (2) expand public
awareness about drinking water and wastewater utilities
and to connect individuals to careers in the drinking
water and wastewater utility sector.

A total of 10 organizations were recently selected by EPA
to receive grant funding under this program. EPA has
developed Fact Sheets on each of these projects that
includes the language from the grant submission.

To learn more about the range of activities EPA is
undertaking to support our Nation's water workforce,
please go to Sustainable Water Infrastructure-Water
Sector Workforce.

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PROJECT OBJECTIVES

The Mountains to Sound Greenway Trust: Watershed
Stewardship Careers (Pathways) helps high-school-
age students learn about water systems and natural
resource management while developing skills and
connections that will be crucial for careers in the field.
The program comprises two distinct, partnership-based
subprograms: Clean Water Ambassadors and Equitable
Green Opportunities for Youth in Highiine, Each program
has a focus on reaching students in underserved
communities, thereby addressing the essential challenge
of diversifying the pipeline for the near future of the

workforce in this field. Both make use of online platforms and
can be readily adapted to meet the changing landscape of the
ongoing COVID-19 pandemic.

Clean Water Ambassadors is a year-long internship that
started in 2016 as a partnership between the Mountains
to Sound Greenway Trust and King County. Interns spend
the summer gaining valuable field experience, honing
their leadership and communication skills, and making
professional connections within the regional water-
management community.

Equitable Green Opportunities for Youth in Highiine (EGOYiH)
is a new program for 2021, designed in partnership between
the Mountains to Sound Greenway Trust, Pacific Education
Institute, and Highiine School District.

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MAJOR ACTIVITIES

For seven weeks in the summer, interns work approximately
30 hour per week, spread between an office environment
and various locations in the field. While assisting King
County Wastewater, they also spend time on networking and
skills-development activities to maximize their opportunity
to prepare for careers in the field. During this time, Clean
Water Ambassadors research and create individual proposals
for follow-up projects within their own communities. After
capping their summer experience with a professional
presentation to a large audience of staff and community
members, interns work a minimum of 40 hours during the
following school year to implement their projects and support
events for King County Wastewater and the Greenway Trust.
Interns are paid employees of King County, earning more
than $16/hour and receiving ORCA bus cards to cover the
cost of their commute.

The Clean Water Ambassadors program transforms
environmental sustainability and clean water from nice ideals
into clear and tangible career paths for its participants.
Ambassadors become experts and champions, providing
a voice within their schools and communities on the most
relevant water issues of the day.


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April 2022-August 2024

Mountain to Sounds Greenwav

2701 First Avenue, Suite 240,
Seattle, WA 98121

Michael Woodsum
Project Manager
michael. woodsum@
mtsgreenway.org

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King County

Department of
Natural Resources and Parks
Wastewater Treatment
Division

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OUTCOMES	

PARTNERSHIPS

GREENWAY

Ivan Nieves
EPA Project Officer
Nieves.lvan@epa.gov

Pathways to Watershed Stewardship Careers
will provide more than 80 high-school students
with immersive work experience and extensive
mentoring by professionals in water and natural
resource management roles. Student interns will
receive more than 15,000 hours of training and
career development in preparation for future jobs
in the field. These programs will widen the door to
such careers in deeply urban areas, addressing a
crucial need for greater diversity in the workforce
pipeline for this field.

0 King County Wastewater Treatment Division
0 Pacific Education Institute (PE!)

0 Highline School District
0 US Forest Services- Mount Baker- Snoqualrnie
National Forest (USFS)

0 Washington State Department of Natural
Resources (DNR)

0 Improved ecosystem health and habitat
quality due to ecological restoration that
benefits threated native fish population, other
wildlife, and people, as measured by feet/
acres of restoration, native vegetation planted,
invasives removed, salmon reproduction.
0 Cleaner water in Puget Sound and tributary
streams, as measured in water-quality
monitoring assessments
0 Increased student awareness about
career opportunities in water/natural
resource sectors, as documented by program
assessments on knowledge acquisition.
0 An increasingly diverse pipeline for water-
management careers, leading to a more
broadly representative and effective workforce
in the future, as measurable by increased
number and diversity of students entering
postsecondary training or education programs
that support the water and wastewater utility
workforce.

T PACIFIC
L/ 1-^ I EDUCATION
A. J ^ A INSTITUTE


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