Municipalities Preserving Open Space And Developing Green Projects With PECO Dollars

PECO has chosen 20 municipalities across the Greater Philadelphia region to receive $150,000 in grant funding as part of PECO Green Region, the company’s municipal open space grant program.
            “We are committed to reducing our carbon footprint and greening our operations at PECO,” said Denis O’Brien, PECO president and CEO. “We want to work together, with our customers and community partners, to have an even greater environmental impact through grants and educational programs.
            “We want to work together, with our customers and community partners, to have an even greater environmental impact through grants and educational programs.”
            PECO Green Region provides grants for projects focusing on open space preservation, improvements to parks and recreation resources, and conservation. Since 2004, PECO has provided nearly $800,000 toward qualifying projects.
            “Open space preservation and access to outdoor recreation are essential to the livability and prosperity of our communities,” said Molly Morrison, president of Natural Land Trust. “That is why Natural Lands Trust has been so honored to be a partner in PECO’s Green Region program. It is a wonderfully effective way to help our region’s municipalities invest in their own future.”
            In partnership with Natural Lands Trust, the region’s largest land conservation organization, PECO will award grants to the following municipalities:
-- In Bucks County: New Britain Borough ($7,500) Doylestown Township ($7,500), New Britain Township ($7,500), and Morrisville Borough ($7,500);
-- In Chester County: East Bradford Township ($5,000), East Pikeland Township ($5,000), Valley Township ($5,000), Oxford Borough ($5,000), London Grove Township ($5,000), Pennsbury Township ($2,500), and West Pikeland, ($2,500);
-- In Delaware County: Thornbury Township ($10,000), Folcroft Borough ($5,000), Haverford Township ($5,000), Springfield Township ($5,000), and Concord Township ($5,000);
-- In Montgomery County: Norristown Borough ($5,000), West Pottsgrove Township ($10,000), Conshohocken Borough ($10,000), and Worcester Township ($5,000);
-- In Philadelphia: three organizations with open space projects in Center City, Wissahickon, and Chestnut Hill each will receive $10,000. They are Enterprise Center Community Development Corporation, Friends of the Wissahickon, and Chestnut Hill Historical Society.
            Grants provided this year will support an array of green projects including the development of recreation trails, the purchase of open space, planting of trees and other vegetation, and park planning.
Municipalities can apply for a Green Region grant of up to $10,000 per project each year. 
            A committee with representatives from PECO, its parent Exelon, county agencies and conservation organizations reviews each application and selects the projects to receive funding.
            For more information, visit the PECO Green Region webpage.


5/31/2010

Go To Preceding Article     Go To Next Article

Return to This PA Environment Digest's Main Page