The primary goal of this research is to support citizen engagement in contaminated land remediation and restoration processes. When land (and water) becomes contaminated, the nearby communities suffer from beneficial use impairments, as well as potential well-being impacts. When citizens are engaged in these processes, through workshops, training, citizen science, and other methods, the restored sites can yield benefits for the community beyond risk reduction. In this research, I will analyze two chosen sites that have undergone remediation efforts to uncover and find best practices for engaging citizens in these restoration processes. My aim is to develop an ecological justice framework for this analysis, which can then be applied to further sites and communities.
