In 2009, RWA-RISE was awarded the historical Rockaway Firehouse as headquarters for The Rockaway Institute for Sustainable Environment: a center for community- based programs and collaboration focused on environmental stewardship, arts, cultural programs, and environmental concerns in the region including the environmental, economic, physical health and well being of the local Rockaway community.

In 2012 with grant money from Fiskars, RWA requested an educational garden featuring a native coastal plants garden to serve as a community gathering space and outdoor classroom to host afterschool programs teaching the science of coastal ecosystems, wetlands, dunes, and beaches of the Rockaway Beach Peninsula.