About Groundwork Lawrence
Groundwork Lawrence, Inc. (GWL), a 501(c)3 nonprofit organization, has been making change happen in Massachusetts through our environmental and open space improvements, fresh food access programs, youth and adult education and employment initiatives, and community programming and events. Our mission, shared throughout the Groundwork USA Network, is to bring about the sustained regeneration, improvement, and management of the physical environment by developing community-based partnerships which empower people, businesses, and organizations to promote environmental, economic, and social well-being.
Local Impact | Visible Results | Sustainable Change
GWL creates the building blocks of a healthy community, and empowers residents to improve their quality of life. GWL achieves results by engaging the whole community – residents, youth, nonprofits, city government and businesses – in the planning and realization of its projects. With this collaborative approach, GWL ensures that all stakeholders are mutually invested in its outcomes, the key to healthy, stable neighborhoods and sustainable change.
GWL’s mission and operations are premised on the understanding that environmental conditions are inextricably linked to the economic and health of a neighborhood. As a consequence, GWL is committed to “changing places, changing lives, and changing systems” through on-the-ground projects that help to transform local communities. To accomplish this, GWL leads and supports a variety of partnership-driven efforts that bring together the public, private and nonprofit sectors to solve complex environmental and health problems and sustain a long-term vision for neighborhood change and renewal.
Our projects and programs are designed to:
- Prepare Young People to be positive role models and leaders in their community;
- Increase Opportunities for Physical Activity through the development of parks, trails, walkable streets, and recreational facilities that are safe, welcoming and accessible to all;
- Increase Access to Healthy Food by creating a citywide network of community, backyard and schoolyard gardens, and managing the Farmers Market Network;
- Support Economic Development through redevelopment of underutilized spaces and creating job training opportunities to meet the needs of the local job sector;
- Improve the Quality of Our Air, Water and Land through brownfield redevelopment, volunteer cleanups, tree planting, water quality monitoring, and integration of low-impact development techniques;
- Support Biodiversity by implementing habitat enhancement and restoration projects;
- Reduce Energy Consumption through the development of pedestrian-friendly neighborhoods and the use of locally-sourced and recycled materials for project construction.
GET INVOLVED
We are always in need of volunteers for our events, programs, park cleanups, the farm and community gardens. Learn how you can help!
Groundwork USA
Groundwork Lawrence is an affiliate of Groundwork USA. The Groundwork USA network is built on partnership and linked together by the Groundwork USA national office, with support from the Environmental Protection Agency Brownfields Program and the National Park Service Rivers, Trails and Conservation Assistance Program. Visit GWUSA’s website.
