2024 - Present

The 2025 Grant Program offers funding for two key initiatives: Environmental Stewardship and Community Resiliency. The Environmental Stewardship program supports projects that aim to protect water quality, reduce urban heat islands, and provide social benefits like health and community cohesion. Eligible activities include conservation efforts, pollution prevention, community engagement, improvement of open spaces (such as installing recreation trails or informational kiosks), and land acquisition for open space or conservation easements.

2023 - Present

Urban agriculture is growing quickly across the U.S. to address food insecurity and climate change. Rainwater harvesting could provide reliable, high-quality water for urban farms, yet there is currently low adoption due to water quality concerns and uncertainty about costs and benefits. There is an immediate need to increase rainwater harvesting in urban agriculture to produce safe and nutritious foods for underserved communities and address climate change’s stress on water sources.

2023 - Present

Climate change, population growth, and urbanization are crippling global food, energy, and water (FEW) systems and harming public health. Low-income communities and people of color bear the heaviest burdens. With support from the University of Maryland Grand Challenges Institutional grant, the Global FEWture Alliance will scale technology-based solutions, community-driven capacity building, and experiential education focused at the food-energy-water-climate-health nexus.

2022 - Present

Stormwater management is important. But how do we gain buy-in from private property owners? EFC is partnering with Charles County, MD, to map the environmental resources available in the County in order to increase connectivity between private property owners and the entities that can help them meet their stormwater management goals. The team is also developing an education and outreach plan designed to reach all homeowners with rain gardens and porous pavement.

2022 - Present

UMD EFC’s Mid-Atlantic Sustainable Breweries Program offers free sustainability consultations to help craft brewers assess operations and implement practices related to energy, water, wastewater, air emissions, and cleaning and sanitizing – all while saving costs and improving brand recognition. This work is funded by a US EPA Pollution Prevention grant. We offer:

2024 - Present

EFC, in partnership with the Town of Brentwood, MD, and Nature Forward, is working to implement equitable climate resilience strategies in the Brentwood community, with a focus on engaging Latinx residents and businesses. This project, funded by the Climate Resilience Fund, will support Brentwood’s Climate Action Plan by designing and conducting community outreach and education activities on climate resilience, particularly for underserved communities.

2025 (April)

Dear Friends and Supporters,

2023 - Present

As Maryland’s coastal communities face increasing climate threats, including rising sea levels and severe storms, this initiative aims to strengthen the resilience of eight vulnerable coastal jurisdictions. The project focuses on addressing climate-related hazards through nature-based solutions (NBS) and enhancing fish and wildlife habitats.