LaGuardia Community College Receives $100,000 Grant to Connect Hands-On Sustainability Education to the Long Island Sound
LONG ISLAND CITY, NY (February 20, 2026) — LaGuardia Community College/CUNY has received a $100,000 grant from the Long Island Sound Partnership and Restore America’s Estuaries‘ Long Island Sound Community Impact Fund. This award will expand hands‑on learning opportunities for Sustainable Urban Agriculture students, connecting them with the ecosystems and communities of the Long Island Sound.
Long Island Sound is an estuary between Connecticut and New York. According to the Long Island Sound Partnership, more than four million people live in its coastal communities and nearly nine million reside within its watershed. The Partnership describes the Sound as “among the most important and valuable estuaries in the nation” due to its many uses and recreational opportunities. In 1987, Congress designated the Long Island Sound an Estuary of National Significance under the National Estuary Program, a federal initiative established to protect important estuaries from pollution, development, and overuse.
“We are grateful to the Long Island Sound Community Impact Fund for this generous grant, which will equip our Sustainable Urban Agriculture with the knowledge and skills to become strong environmental stewards,” said Dr. Preethi Radhakrishnan, Professor and Co‑Director of the Environmental Science Program, which includes concentrations in Sustainable Urban Agriculture and Animal Science. “This initiative reflects LaGuardia’s commitment to experiential learning, environmental justice, and preparing students for careers in sustainability.”
The grant will launch “From Soil to Sound: Empowering Students to Protect Ecosystems Through Environmental Science,” an initiative bringing Long Island Sound-based learning into Soil Science courses. Students will study links between soil and water quality, urban pollution, and green infrastructure. They will conduct field‑based soil and water testing and participate in travel‑supported lab experiences that connect classroom learning to real environmental systems and sustainable career paths.
A cohort of students will be selected for paid internships as Soil and Water Ambassadors, translating classroom learning into community environmental action. Ambassadors will promote rain-garden awareness and stewardship in neighborhoods surrounding Flushing Bay and Flushing Creek, including Jackson Heights, Corona, East Elmhurst, and Flushing. Their work will include leading community workshops, hosting events at LaGuardia’s urban farm, Finca La Florecita, cultivating native plants in the college greenhouse, and distributing plantings for neighborhood rain‑garden installations.
“This program empowers students to take meaningful action in urban ecosystem restoration and water conservation, fostering the next generation of environmental leaders,” said Chelsea Encababian, Lecturer and Coordinator of the Sustainable Urban Agriculture Track, and Principal Investigator of the Long Island Community Impact Fund grant.
The award will strengthen LaGuardia’s sustainability education, which currently includes student research and restoration projects in the Newtown Creek watershed. Newtown Creek—located along the Brooklyn–Queens border—was designated a federal Superfund site by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) in 2010 due to severe industrial pollution.
“This is a new and wonderful opportunity to integrate classroom work with environmental challenges facing our community,” said Dr. Sarah Durand, Professor of Biology at LaGuardia, who for two decades has led research and habitat‑restoration projects focused on Newtown Creek in collaboration with the Newtown Creek Alliance. “Hands-on learning will be powerfully expanded with this award as students of the new soil science course apply their learning on behalf of their community’s ecosystem.”
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LaGuardia Community College (LAGCC), a Hispanic-Serving Institution, located in Long Island City, Queens offers more than 50 associate degrees and academic certificates, and more than 65 continuing education programs to prepare New Yorkers for transfer to senior colleges and rewarding jobs and careers. An institution of the City University of New York (CUNY), the College reflects the legacy of our namesake, Fiorello H. LaGuardia, the former NYC mayor beloved for his advocacy of the underserved. Since 1971, LaGuardia’s academic programs and support services have advanced the socioeconomic mobility of students from Queens, NYC and beyond.
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