Our Mission
Build and implement a research model driven by the community,
with the support of community-based organizations and academic researchers,
to address metro Atlanta's critical environmental problems.
Our Values
Transparency
Actionable
Accountability
Collaboration
Respect
Our Vision
Communities leading research collaborations to achieve transformative geosciences work across disciplines.
Our Principles
Community-led solutions
Building trust and transparency
Bridging knowledge gaps
Shared learning experiences
Information availability
Our Learning Ecosystem
We at CSAW determined our mission, values, vision, and principles together; Faculty, Postbac, Master's, Community and Project Personnel Fellow worked alongside our community-based organization, the West Atlanta Watershed Alliance (WAWA) to voice exactly how our learning ecosystem was working to accomplish our goals.
Currently we have 10 Masters Fellows, 2 Postbacs, 1 Postdoc, 10 Community Fellows, and 22 Academic and Staff Fellows working on Atlanta earth system issues. Our fellows are from Georgia State University, the West Atlanta Watershed Alliance (WAWA), Emory University, Spelman College, University of Georgia, and community coalitions. Learn more about our fellows here.
CSAW's horizontal leadership structure means every voice matters and is taken into account when determining next steps, especially as it pertains to CSAW Projects. For students or community members interested in participating in CSAW activities, please contact csaw@gsu.edu.
CSAW trains cohorts of Faculty members, Postbac scholars, Masters students, and Community organizers in building outreach and research projects with community partners using a framework of shared values of transparency and accountability. These projects address critical needs in place-based Earth systems research including soil, lead and other heavy metal contamination and radon exposure; air pollution, environmental change, and heat mapping; and water pollution, urban flooding, and green stormwater infrastructure.
Origins of CSAW
Follow along below for a timeline of our history.
In 2012, CSAW began as a research initiative housed in the Department of Geosciences with the intent to confront the most pressing set of problems facing cities of the twenty-first century: the realization of sustainable urban environments and thriving urban communities.
Today, CSAW brings together scholars and community partners in Atlanta to address environmental processes that shape and are shaped by local communities. This research initiative advances an integrated physical and social scientific approach to understanding human-environment interactions, where the ultimate goal is to facilitate thriving, resourceful communities that are better equipped to address environmental concerns. Meet our team.
Department of Geosciences students at Georgia State University conducted a study on the Socio-Environmental Context of Quarry Yards for Microsoft, ultimately culminating in the IT Corporation discontinuing building at the site.
Today
CSAW received a NSF grant (award no. 2228192) to develop a more comprehensive ecosystem, with faculty, students, and postbacs housed across multiple universities and community-based organizations (CBOs). The ecosystem sets out to form a framework for building collaborative partnerships with CBOs; train, professionally develop and guide Master's students in the field of Geosciences, and prioritize transparency and for our communities at home and beyond.
Quarry Yards
2012
2019
The Tire Initiative to Reduce & Eliminate Dumping removed over 3,500 illegally dumped tires from rivers around Atlanta neighborhoods. Partners included ECO-Action, Trees Atlanta, the Proctor Creek Stewardship Council, and Charis Community Housing.
In conjunction with South River Watershed Alliance, Dr. Sarah H. Ledford's Urban Hydrology Lab began quantifying metrics on the Escherichia coli (E. coli) bacteria across the South River, providing consistent and reliable data for over 25 sites. Ongoing efforts remain a critical part of CSAW's ecosystem.
Watershed Monitoring
T. I. R. E. D.
Addressed social and environmental gaps through community geography and geographic information systems (GIS).
REU Site Grant
2013
AGREC
2020
With support from the Atlanta Global Research and Education Collaborative (AGREC), the Urban Hydrology Lab, alongside Chattahoochee Riverkeeper, American Rivers, and the West Atlanta Watershed Alliance grew and streamlined the water monitoring network, ultimately leading to the National Science Foundation (NSF) awarding CSAW with a $7.2 million grant.