The University of Guam Center for Island Sustainability and Sea Grant (UOG CIS & Sea Grant) is expanding its Guam Restoration of Watersheds (GROW) initiative with two new grants totaling $550,000 to support watershed education and continued restoration efforts.

A $350,000 Meaningful Arboriculture to Limit Vulnerability in Urban and Community Areas (MALU) funded through Kupu and the U.S. Department of Agriculture, will bring watershed and environmental education and continue direct work at the Ugum watershed including the launch of a second season of the Guam Green Growth GROW Conservation Corps.

The workforce development program debuted last year and featured a curriculum dedicated to growing the watershed restoration workforce. The inaugural season of the program concluded with a graduation in January.

“The Guam Green Green Growth GROW Corps was a great success in building and developing a workforce to tackle one of the biggest challenges we face on our island,” said UOG CIS & Sea Grant Director Austin Shelton Ph.D. “Our coasts and our land are disappearing due to erosion and that sediment ends up in the ocean, smothering and drowning our coral reefs. This project aims to stop that in its tracks and literally protect our coral reefs for future generations.”

A second $200,000 USDA Forest Service grant will also support restoration work in the Ugum watershed through July 2027.

The project will continue developing restoration techniques for degraded upland areas while strengthening collaboration and long-term sustainability. Funding will support stipends for 10 volunteers, tools and equipment, project management and training in Rota.

“The work GROW does really brings the conservation work from the ridges of our hills and watersheds to the reefs that the people of Guam and the Marianas have relied on for generations,” said UOG CIS & Sea Grant Associate Director for Operations and Development Fran Castro, who directly oversees the program. “We owe it to our kids and our ancestors to do what we can to protect our land, our ocean and our resources. That is what this program is doing.”

Together, the grants expand GROW’s work from ridge to reef and to communities and restoration sites, connecting education and hands-on conservation to protect Guam’s watersheds and the coastal ecosystems of Guam.

The GROW initiative is part of UOG CIS & Sea Grant’s broader commitment to developing community-driven solutions that strengthen Guam’s environmental resilience.