The garden that grew a movement
“I never have trouble getting people to show up because people are hungry for information and they want to be involved in solutions”
Author: Liz Crocker
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Increasing Capacity for Community Science Through Regional Hubs – AAPS Conference Poster
Since we first launched in 2013, Thriving Earth Exchange has embraced an adaptive and iterative approach ensuring we learn and continue to best serve our audiences over time. In the beginning, staff supported each project…
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Why Community Science Belongs at the AGU Annual Meeting
AGU’s annual meeting offers community science teams a welcoming forum to share their work, learn from others, and build meaningful connections Convening thousands of researchers, students, educators, and policymakers each December, AGU’s Annual Meeting has…
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Promoting Environmental Health in Leimert Park through Improved Solid Waste Management and Air Quality Education | Uncategorized
Community-Driven Waste Solutions in Leimert Park: A Model for Sustainable Urban Infrastructure
Combining community leadership, technical data, and cross-sector partnerships to advance sustainable waste solutions A popular cultural hub, Leimert Park in South Los Angeles is known for its authentic culture, community gatherings, music, and bringing people…
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Empowering Fishermen: Bridging Grassroots Knowledge and Scientific Data Collection for Sustainable Fisheries | Stories & Results | TEXnews | Understanding the Impact of the Urban Heat Island Effect in the Hollygrove Dixon Neighborhood
Communities Get Creative to Drive Engagement in the Deep South
Communities in the Deep South have a long history with environmental and economic challenges, and Thriving Earth Exchange has a robust record of community science collaborations aiming to alleviate some of these issues in the…
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2025 Thriving Earth Exchange Year in Review
In 2025, Thriving Earth Exchange continued to demonstrate the power of community-driven science to create tangible, lasting change. Across neighborhoods, watersheds, and regions, our projects gained momentum and visibility—advancing local solutions rooted in trust, collaboration,…
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Celebrating the Stories Behind Community Science
Thanks to a generous grant for the Moore Foundation, AGU Thriving Earth Exchange commissioned four videos about recent community science projects. Each video shares the people, stories, and the science that make community science so…
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Assessing Biosolid Compost Land Application Processes, Benefits, and Community Perceptions | Cheyenne and Arapaho Tribes Educational Medicine Wheel Garden Project, Concho, OK | Community Science Hubs | From the Farm to the Table: Indigenizing food sovereignty through place-based and culturally-responsive programming for elementary and middle school students in the eastern Navajo Nation | Projects | TEXnews
Community science strengthens tribal collaborations and capacity
The Kansas State Center for Hazardous Substances Research (CHSR) AGU/Thriving Earth Exchange Community Science Hub is now in its second year of helping Indigenous communities restore underused properties and sustain cultural traditions, with projects underway in seven…
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Community Science Hubs | From the Farm to the Table: Indigenizing food sovereignty through place-based and culturally-responsive programming for elementary and middle school students in the eastern Navajo Nation | Projects | Stories & Results | TEXnews
Community science helps schools cultivate food, culture and connection
Many families living in New Mexico’s Central Consolidated School District don’t have access to amenities like grocery stores, and some even lack basic infrastructure such as running water or electricity. The school district, based in…
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Cheyenne and Arapaho Tribes Educational Medicine Wheel Garden Project, Concho, OK | Community Science Hubs | Projects | Stories & Results | TEXnews
Moving Forward by Connecting with the Past
With a heritage garden, an indigenous community seeks renewal for its land and people As you stride across the prairie, bursting with late-summer wildflowers and scented with wild sage, the overwhelming impression is of vastness….
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Climate | Developing a Methodology for Measuring Changes in Albedo to Reduce Urban Heat Island Effect | Projects
Local Actions to Battle Rising Temperatures: a 5 Year Retrospective on Cambridge’s Fight Against Urban Heat Island Effect
by Julia Jeanty Before becoming the AGU Thriving Earth Exchange Program Manager for Community Science Fellows, Julia Jeanty served as a volunteer Community Science Fellow on a project in Cambridge, Massachusetts. In the blog below,…
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Beyond the forecast: building community flood resilience with Nurture Nature
Community science is very critical at this moment in time. Kate Semmens The Nurture Nature Center is making meaningful strides through its 10 active AGU/Thriving Earth Exchange Community Science Hub projects that span six states….
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Faith Communities Find New Paths Through Community Science
Creation Justice Ministries Creation Justice Ministries, an organization that helps faith communities advocate around environmental issues, is one of four AGU Thriving Earth Exchange Community Science Hubs. The 40-year-old organization, which began as the Eco-Justice…
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Identification of Pollutants in the Conodoguinet Creek Watershed: A Recommendation for Protection | Stories & Results
“A Long Way With Many Bends”: Water quality in Conodoguinet Creek, Pennsylvania
Asking tough questions about water quality, a Pennsylvania team discovers the power of a pivot Encompassing more than 500 square miles of central Pennsylvania, the Conodoguinet Creek watershed provides drinking water and recreational opportunities to…
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Planning the Development of a Community Land Trust on Dynamite Hill | Rooted (Restoring Our Own Truth (Through) Education & Demonstration) | Stories & Results | TEXnews | Understanding the Impact of the Urban Heat Island Effect in the Hollygrove Dixon Neighborhood
Capacity Collaborative Celebrates Successes
The Capacity Collaborative (TCC), a non-profit built around bolstering resilience in rural communities, is one of four AGU Thriving Earth Exchange Community Science Hubs. Now in its second year of community science projects, TCC’s Southeast…
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Meet the September 2024 Cohort of Community Leads!
Thriving Earth Exchange is excited to announce the September 2024 launch of community leaders! They will work with Community Science Fellows to launch 22 community science projects in the United States and Mexico. We…
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First Year Insights: Community Science Hubs Make a Difference, One Project at a Time
Momentum continues to build as the first AGU Thriving Earth Exchange Community Science Hub projects celebrate the 1-year mark. Funded by the Gordon and Betty Moore Foundation, the Community Science Hub initiative is building and…
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Miraflores: Community of Yauyos Province of Peru
The article below is in both English and Spanish Welcome to Miraflores Miraflores is a very small town in the mountainous Yauyos Province of Peru. Its residents are highly dependent on farming and livestock, but…
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Fidecoagua: Community of Coatepec, México
. The article below is in both English and Spanish A magical place Coatepec is a small region in the Mexican state of Veracruz. It is known as the “coffee capital of Mexico,” because its…
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Spanish-Language Inclusion at Thriving Earth Exchange
In May of 2023, Thriving Earth Exchange started a new initiative focused on Spanish-language inclusion. As part of this effort, Marina Cox was hired to support Spanish-speaking communities, translate materials, and provide general guidance and…
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Meet Creation Justice Ministries
Advancing Faith-Based Environmental Advocacy Creation Justice Ministries is one of four organizations named as an AGU/Thriving Earth Exchange Community Science Hub. Formerly known as the National Council of Churches Eco-Justice Program, the 40-year-old organization has…
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Coming Full Circle: SRI 2024 and Community Science
Often, careers in community science are not straight lines. Like many in my field, I’ve pivoted, adapted, and taken a circuitous pathway in my career. So last month when I was able to connect my…
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AGU Speaks to Environmental Journalists at Metcalf Institute Workshop
By Kimberly Cartier From June 3 to 7, ten environmental journalists were invited as fellows to the University of Rhode Island’s Metcalf Institute for an immersive workshop to learn about hydrology, climate science, and water-related…
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Reflections on WaterSciCon 2024
We know here at Thriving Earth Exchange that water, how much of it is available to whom, where it travels, and what contaminants it carries with it, impacts people everywhere. Roughly one third of…
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Empowering Tribal Communities through Community Science
The Kansas State Center for Hazardous Substances Research (CHSR), a multidisciplinary unit within the College of Engineering at Kansas State University, has been named as one of four AGU Thriving Earth Exchange Community Science Hubs….
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Meet Capacity Collaborative: Helping rural communities become agents of change
The Capacity Collaborative, a non-profit built around bolstering resilience in rural communities in the Southeastern United States, is one of four AGU Thriving Earth Exchange Community Science Hubs. Thanks to support from the Gordon and…
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Meet Nurture Nature Center: Empowering Underserved Communities Impacted by Flooding
The Nurture Nature Center, a non-profit that works to build community resiliency in the face of environmental risks, is one of four organizations recently named as an AGU Thriving Earth Exchange Community Science Hub. With…
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Meet the February 2024 Cohort of Community Science Leads
Join us in welcoming our February 2024 Cohort of Community Science Leads! From Mexico to New York to North Carolina, Illinois, and California this cohort is going to do amazing things with community science. Ana…
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2023 Year in Review
2023 Thriving Earth Exchange Year in Review 2023 marked 10 years since Thriving Earth Exchange began with the bold premise that science should put communities first. Over the years, the program’s small but determined staff…
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A Farewell Message from Thriving Earth Founder Raj Pandya
Vice President of Community Science Raj Pandya started Thriving Earth Exchange in 2013. _____ This month, I am leaving AGU and Thriving Earth Exchange. I wanted to use this last blog to say thank you,…
