Anacostia Watershed Society

The Anacostia Watershed Society is one of the most effective grassroots, community-based non-profit organizations in the Washington, D.C. metro area. Over the past 35 years (since 1989), AWS has grown from a small group of concerned individuals into an award-winning, $3 million+ non-profit with a staff of 20 that is deeply involved in a cause that affects many different Washington, D.C. area communities within the 176 square-mile watershed.

AWS’s mission is to protect and restore the Anacostia watershed for all who live here and for future generations. Pursuing this broad mission, AWS takes on issues of natural resources conservation and management, environmental protection, sustainability, community health and welfare, and environmental justice. We collaborate with diverse stakeholders to advocate at all levels of government for policies that promote greater watershed protection and restoration investments. Our field programs work to restore habitat and wildlife, and to connect local communities to the watershed through volunteer activities, boat tours, and canoe and kayak adventures. Our education programs work with schools, students, and adults throughout Washington, D.C. and Montgomery and Prince George’s counties, engaging them in the classroom and on the river and its banks, providing hands-on experiences that contribute to current restoration projects and prepare the next generation of environmental stewards. In addition, AWS serves as the voice for the watershed, educating, alerting, cajoling, and, when necessary, challenging government officials, business interests, thought leaders, and the public to go to greater lengths to protect the ecological health of the watershed, improve water quality, and mitigate the negative effects of habitat loss, pollution stormwater, and climate change.