Mission Statement

Founded in 2017, Groundwork Southcoast (GWSC) invests in environmental leadership of youth and communities, building equity in the south coast of Massachusetts through hands-on environmental projects.

GWSC’s mission is to bring about the sustained regeneration, improvement, and management of the physical environment by developing community-based partnerships that empower people, businesses, and organizations to promote environmental, economic, and social well-being.

Our History

Strategic Goals 2021-2024

Groundwork Southcoast (GWSC) is committed to centering the leadership of the primary beneficiaries of our work – New Bedford and Fall River, MA youth. As a result, GWSC’s strategic planning process was executed in three parts:

1

GWSC Green Team youth set goals for our strategic plan.

2

Our board’s strategic process was designed to foster the goals set by our youth and identify additional strategic goals needed to accomplish our work.

3

Finally, GWSC staff provided recommendations to Green Team youth and board.

Our Strategy Mirrors Our Work:

Workforce Development; Engagement; and Climate & Environmental Resilience

GWSC’s community leadership investments take root in three main programmatic areas: 1.) workforce development, 2.) climate resilience, and 3.) engagement. This three-pronged focused approach actively engages historically under-resourced communities disproportionately impacted by environmental hazards, including youth. Youth and community members are empowered to enact tangible improvements in their lives, communities, and local environments, particularly in areas like environmental resilience and food access.

Groundwork Southcoast (GWSC)'s triangle organizational model of impact. Image displays a triangle with the text 1.) Workforce Development, 2.) Engagement, 3.) Climate & Environmental Resilience on either side of the triangle, with Equity and Leadership Cultivation in the center of the triangle.
Description image for Groundwork Southcoast (GWSC)'s triangle organizational model. Text goes into greater detail to describe the triangle model with text that reads: 1.) paid investment in youth and adult EJ residents: Green Team, Green Corps, & Community Stewards; 2.) Outreach: 13 step process followed by developing leadership efforts in GWSC's Ladder of Engagement model; 3.) installing & maintaining: gardens, green infrastructure, & nature-based solutions: food, trees, native plants.

Pictured, above: Groundwork Southcoast (GWSC)’s Triangle Organizational Model, developed in 2024. This model highlights the priorities of our work, as set forth by GWSC youth employees: 1.) Workforce Development; 2.) Community Engagement; 3.) Climate & Environmental Resilience, with Equity and Leadership Cultivation at the center of everything we do. 

1.) Workforce Development: Paid investment in youth and adults in New Bedford and Fall River, MA through our employment programs: Green Team, Green Corps, and Community Stewards 

2.) Community Engagement: Outreach – Utilizing our 13-step engagement process followed by developing leadership efforts through GWSC’s Ladder of Engagement (below)

3.) Climate & Environmental Resilience: Installing and maintaining: gardens; green infrastructure; and nature-based solutions: food access, trees, and native plants

How We Approach Community Engagement:

Groundwork Southcoast (GWSC)'s Ladder of Engagement model for community engagement. A graphic with the title "The Ladder of Engagement to Develop Community Advocacy." The graphic shows a person climbing a ladder with the following text on each step: 1.) Observing; 2.) Participating; 3.) Joining; 4.) Collaborating; 5.) Transforming. The descriptor text below goes into greater detail on each of the steps: 1.) Observing - knows who we are but interacts from afar; goal: 300 per year; 2.) Participating - shows up now and then; goal: 100 per year; 3.) Joining - engaged in an ongoing way (Board, LRC, Green Team); goal: 30 per year; 4.) Collaborating - participate in transforming initiatives and efforts; goal: 20 per year; 5.) Transforming - leading an advocacy or initiative that impacts community or organizational change; goal: 10 per year.

Youth Stories

Summer Green Team, 2021

Donors & Sponsors:

Narragansett Bay Estuary Program (NBEP)

Massachusetts Department of Agricultural Resources (MDAR)

and other valued partners

Support Our Work 

Groundwork Southcoast's logo with image of Green Team member displaying the text "Donations help us grow!"