Celebrating Layla Farahbakhsh, Rhode Island’s 2026 Environmental Educator of the Year!

We have some incredible news to celebrate! WRWC’s very own Layla Farahbakhsh has been named the 2026 Environmental Educator of the Year by the Rhode Island Environmental Education Association (RIEEA)!

Each year, RIEEA recognizes individuals and organizations who demonstrate exceptional dedication to environmental education, outdoor learning, and recreation. This year, we couldn’t be prouder to see Layla recognized for their passion, knowledge, and commitment to connecting people with the natural world.

The award was celebrated on Wednesday, October 21, at the Save The Bay Center in Providence, where environmental educators and community partners gathered to honor this year’s recipients. Although Layla couldn’t attend in person, members of WRWC’s amazing Community Action and Environmental Education teams proudly accepted the award on their behalf and shared their heartfelt acceptance speech.

As WRWC’s Nuestros Bosques (Our Forests) Program Coordinator, Layla helps communities build stronger relationships with the trees, forests, and green spaces around them.

Through Nuestros Bosques and the Arboleros Forestry Program, developed in collaboration with the Providence Neighborhood Planting Program (PNPP), Layla helps make urban forestry education accessible, practical, and rooted in community stewardship.

Participants gain hands-on experience caring for trees, develop an understanding of local ecology, and learn how their work contributes to healthier neighborhoods. Graduates of the Arboleros program earn Providence Community Tree Keeper Certification, empowering them to care directly for public trees in their communities.

But Layla’s work extends far beyond the classroom or the forest. They also help lead recreational trips throughout the Woonasquatucket River watershed, sharing their knowledge of birds, trees, ecology, and local history with participants of all ages and experience levels.

With more than two decades of experience teaching outdoor skills, including trail construction, tree work, landscape interpretation, and bird identification, Layla brings an extraordinary depth of knowledge to everything they do.

Their commitment to learning and community extends to their work with Congress of the Birds, Rhode Island’s only avian-specific wildlife rehabilitation center, and NEXUS, a surfing community for People of the Global Majority. Layla is also a graduate of The Steel Yard’s workforce welding and apprenticeship program.

Layla believes that environmental knowledge is something to be shared, especially with people and communities who have historically been excluded from opportunities to access it. In their acceptance speech, Layla reflected on the people and places that shaped their journey, the challenges of pursuing environmental work, and the importance of making knowledge freely available to others.

“Before this award, I never considered myself an environmental educator, even though I’ve been teaching people how to fell trees, read landscapes, use binoculars, and identify birds for over 20 years.”

They described teaching not as traditional schooling, but as an enthusiastic exchange of knowledge, particularly with those who have been deliberately excluded from it.

Layla also spoke candidly about the personal challenges and rewards of dedicating their life to environmental work, including the uncertainty, difficult decisions, and perseverance that have accompanied their journey.

“I encourage you to dig a little deeper, be a little more honest, and be a little more true to yourselves.”

And, in true Layla fashion, said with their whole chest.

Environmental Education Is for Everyone

Since 1978, the Rhode Island Environmental Education Association has worked to advance environmental education across the state, bringing together educators, organizations, advocates, and community leaders.

RIEEA’s mission reflects something we believe deeply at WRWC: environmental education isn’t limited to classrooms, textbooks, or traditional teaching roles. It happens when neighbors learn to care for trees together, when someone spots a bird for the first time, when volunteers restore a forest, and when communities discover new ways to connect with the land and water around them.

Layla embodies that spirit every day.

Their work reminds us that environmental education is about more than sharing information. It’s about building confidence, creating opportunities, strengthening relationships, and making sure everyone has a place in caring for our environment.

Congratulations, Layla!

From all of us at the Woonasquatucket River Watershed Council, congratulations, Layla!

We are incredibly grateful for the energy. Your dedication to making environmental education welcoming, accessible, and meaningful is exactly what this recognition celebrates.

Thank you to the Rhode Island Environmental Education Association for recognizing Layla’s work and for celebrating the many educators making a difference throughout Rhode Island.

And to our Environmental Education team Will and Gianna as well we our Community Action team Shiloh and Nicole, thank you for representing WRWC and celebrating Layla at the ceremony!

Learn more about the 2026 RIEEA Environmental Education Award winners and explore WRWC’s programs and opportunities to get involved at wrwc.org.