# Building a culture of health in the green: Participatory learning and action to address air and soil quality in rural underserved communities

> **NIH NIH R25** · UNIVERSITY OF ARIZONA · 2023 · $264,829

## Abstract

PROJECT SUMMARY
The Integrated Environmental Science and Health Risk Laboratory, in collaboration with multiple
Arizona partners, propose to launch the project, “Building a culture of health in the green:
Participatory learning and action to address air and soil quality in rural underserved
communities”. Our overall goal is to create a national deep engagement learning model of
Science, Technology, Engineering, Arts and Math (STEAM) education that empowers students
as environmental health advisory board members, photographers, scientists, and designers living
in environmental justice (EJ) communities. EJ communities refers to areas affected by
disproportionate exposure to environmental hazards and increased vulnerability to those hazards.
There are fundamental and critical challenges that exist in environmental justice communities.
Youth growing up in these spaces need the preparation to navigate through these challenges and
be the future pillars of structural change. Students will acquire the tools, skills and support needed
to (1) interpret intersectionality and environmental data and (2) communicate project results and
recommend actions at local, regional, and national levels. The proposed project centers on the
social and environmental factors that affect health and justice for 8th - 12th graders in rural Arizona
communities with significant environmental health hazards posed from historical or active
resource extraction activities. Intersectionality and environmental health and data literacy are
essential for deriving meaning from the results of scientific inquiry. Potential outcomes for the
proposed project are increased understanding and integration of intersectionality, environmental
health (specifically air and soil quality), and data literacy among both youth and researchers,
and the application such information to achieve social justice and health equity in EJ communities.
This research education program aims to leverage intersectionality’s transformational power and
help move the collaborating EJ communities closer to achieving social justice and health equity.
Through the approach and rigorous learning research, the outcomes of this work will provide the
evidence-base needed for building a culture of health in the green.

## Key facts

- **NIH application ID:** 10693094
- **Project number:** 5R25GM146227-02
- **Recipient organization:** UNIVERSITY OF ARIZONA
- **Principal Investigator:** Monica D. Ramirez-Andreotta
- **Activity code:** R25 (R01, R21, SBIR, etc.)
- **Funding institute:** NIH
- **Fiscal year:** 2023
- **Award amount:** $264,829
- **Award type:** 5
- **Project period:** 2022-09-01 → 2027-07-31

## Primary source

NIH RePORTER: https://reporter.nih.gov/project-details/10693094

## Citation

> US National Institutes of Health, RePORTER application 10693094, Building a culture of health in the green: Participatory learning and action to address air and soil quality in rural underserved communities (5R25GM146227-02). Retrieved via AI Analytics 2026-05-21 from https://api.ai-analytics.org/grant/nih/10693094. Licensed CC0.

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