Spencer Foundation: Rapid Response Bridge Funding Request

The priority will be to follow-through on our promise to (a) convene intergenerational water experts and educators in New Orleans and (b) capture their water stories and layered environmental sensemaking. We will engage in a series of focus groups and a half-day excursion in the historic neighborhood of Gentilly. Though the scale of this convening is less than originally anticipated, community insights gained through this experience will be used to develop a future water-literacy framework, multimodal elementary curriculum design for Black children, and a public-facing report. Data from these exercises will be used to support proposals for future funding through private philanthropy and regional funders serving the Gulf-South. The team will publish at least one empirical article based on focus group and experiential data.