Abigail Dusseldorp, Chief Development Officer of Groundwork USA
Q: What issue(s) are you seeking to solve, and in what ways are you working to solve them?
Groundwork USA is a national network of people-centered environmental justice organizations, Groundwork Trusts, committed to undoing the legacy of environmental harm in urban communities, reconnecting people to the natural environment, and creating healthier, green, and more resilient neighborhoods for all.
Year after year we are witnessing record shattering extreme heat, increasingly destructive urban flooding, and more frequent extreme weather. While we’re all feeling the effects of the escalating climate crisis, the impacts are not equally distributed across cities or even across neighborhoods within the same city.
Due to the legacy of industrialization and discriminatory policies like redlining, while some neighborhoods received investments in parks, trees, and green space, many communities of color and low-income neighborhoods were prioritized for industrial infrastructure like railways, highways, and industrial sites. Those decisions have led to a host of environmental challenges from polluted land and waterways, to poor air quality, to heat islands caused by the surplus of pavement, which all have a direct impact on so many aspects of people’s lives.
Extreme heat can be deadly, especially in areas with high asthma rates caused by air pollution. The need for air conditioning can dramatically increase utility bills. Frequent flash flooding can destroy property and cause mold if not remediated quickly, potentially leading to health problems.
At Groundwork USA, we’re committed addressing this harm by working hand-in-hand with residents to reclaim underutilized land and waterways and transform these spaces into community assets that improve access to outdoor spaces, ensure residents have access to essential resources like healthy food and clean energy, and mitigate the impact of the climate crisis.
We invest in resident leadership – particularly the leadership of young people – to set a vision for their community, enact change, and advocate for long-term investments in green infrastructure for their community.
Q: What do you find most challenging in your work?
One of the things I find challenging about our work is the need to balance urgency with our commitment to equity and long-term systems change. The impact of environmental harms is not a future challenge – it’s one that has a direct impact on people’s lives today and that harm will continue until something changes.
It’s also true that these problems didn’t emerge overnight and that solutions won’t happen overnight. One of the reasons our network utilizes a place-based affiliate model is because to be successful, we need to have deep and sustained roots in a community. Our most successful projects emerge from long-term relationship building and sustained organizing and engagement – sometime for decades – before seeing results.
Both short-term impact and meaningful systems change are necessary, but there are very real resource constraints, both financial and human, that limit our ability to pursue all of the opportunities in front of us. At times that means saying no or slowing down in the short-term so that we can build more intentionally towards our long-term vision. As you can imagine, it’s rarely an easy choice.
Q: What do you find most rewarding?
What sets us apart from many other environmental justice organizations is our people-centered approach to environmental work. Community is at the heart of what we do, and there is so much joy in seeing people come together to create a vision and then see that vision come to life.
The scale of the crisis we’re facing can be so disheartening, so I feel incredibly fortunate to work in a space where I get frequent reminders that actions of any size can have a meaningful impact.
Q: What do you wish people knew more about the issue(s) you seek to solve?
The past couple of years has seen an exponential increase in resources directed towards environmental and climate justice. These investments in urban greening and land revitalization are absolutely essential, but how we do this work is just as important as getting greening projects in the ground.
Environmental justice is inherently about the right to live in a community that is safe, healthy, and resilient, and those already living in a community need to be involved in setting the vision for what that means for their neighborhood.
We also need to acknowledge and address the very valid concerns people raise about the unintended consequences, like gentrification and displacement of long-term residents and the lack of planning for long-term stewardship and maintenance of these projects.
I hope that as momentum around environmental justice continues to grow, we see an increased prioritization of grassroots leadership and the creation of shared leadership models that ensure everyone has a voice in defining their future.
Q: How can people support your work?
The most important thing is to take action in a way that is meaningful to you. The scale of the climate crisis can be paralyzing, but the reality is that there is no one action that is going to solve the problem. Small actions – from volunteering to donating to raising awareness – are all essential to collectively moving us forward.
That can range from connecting with one of our local Trusts and volunteering, to amplifying our work by following, liking, commenting, and sharing our posts on social media (@groundwork_usa), to donating to help bring projects to life across our network.
Q: How do you create joy and hope in your life during the ecological crisis?
One of the best ways I’ve found to create joy and hope during this crisis is to spend time outside, whether that’s in a nearby green space or a national park. Being immersed in nature, whatever that looks like for you, reminds me of how interconnected life’s systems are and allows me to see firsthand how small changes can have a big impact.