PROJECT SUMMARYThe Integrated Environmental Science and Health Risk Laboratory in collaboration with multipleArizona 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 underservedcommunities. Our overall goal is to create a national deep engagement learning model ofScience Technology Engineering Arts and Math (STEAM) education that empowers studentsas environmental health advisory board members photographers scientists and designers livingin environmental justice (EJ) communities. EJ communities refers to areas affected bydisproportionate 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 andbe the future pillars of structural change. Students will acquire the tools skills and support neededto (1) interpret intersectionality and environmental data and (2) communicate project results andrecommend actions at local regional and national levels. The proposed project centers on thesocial and environmental factors that affect health and justice for 8th - 12th graders in rural Arizonacommunities with significant environmental health hazards posed from historical or activeresource extraction activities. Intersectionality and environmental health and data literacy areessential for deriving meaning from the results of scientific inquiry. Potential outcomes for theproposed project are increased understanding and integration of intersectionality environmentalhealth (specifically air and soil quality) and data literacy among both youth and researchersand the application such information to achieve social justice and health equity in EJ communities.This research education program aims to leverage intersectionalitys transformational power andhelp 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 theevidence-base needed for building a culture of health in the green.