Ripple Effect co-founders Claire Anderson (then a teacher) and Aron Chang, a designer working on the Greater New Orleans Urban Water Plan, collaborated with two other designers at Waggonner & Ball to create a 4th grade workshop about stormwater flooding. One day in class, one of Claire’s students asked, “Why hasn’t anyone told us this before?”

With a $75,000 grant from the Sewerage & Water Board, the project expanded to include five other teachers at Claire’s school, KIPP Central City Primary. We began calling the project the Ripple Effect Water Literacy Project.

In partnership with the KIPP Central City Primary community and KIPP New Orleans Schools, we redeveloped the schoolyard at KCCP to address persistent flooding from everyday rainstorms. The courtyard now has two large rain gardens and multiple cypress trees to reduce flooding and provide shade.

Ripple Effect worked with twelve teachers from across New Orleans public schools to develop and pilot NGSS-aligned science units that addressed Louisiana coastal land loss. Students used wave models to understand how wave action contributes to coastal erosion, then developed solutions that would reduce erosion while also meeting the needs of impacted community members. In 2019, Ripple Effect obtained its 501(c)(3) status as a tax-exempt non-profit organization.

Starting in January 2020, and through the spring of 2021, Ripple Effect engaged over 70 teachers, scientists, environmental educators, and water-focused practitioners and community experts to define water literacy and identify opportunities for fostering it through K–12 education. The resulting series of reports has defined our work to this day.

The organization’s model has evolved to reflect a sharper focus on addressing teachers’ needs as learners and agents of change. Our work now spans from elementary to high school, and we partner with school districts and charter management organization to build schools’ internal capacity and achieve impact at a greater scale.