The National Nursing Centers Consortium will provide five Philadelphia-area organizations with an estimated $25,000 in funding to support community-based environmental education projects aimed at empowering people to take better care of their local environment, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency announced Friday.

The funding comes via a $150,000 EPA grant to the nonprofit NNCC to support environmental education projects throughout the mid-Atlantic region.

“NNCC’s environmental education programs have a proven track record of reducing environmental risks that threaten the health of children and underserved communities disproportionately,” said EPA Regional Administrator Shawn M. Garvin. “I congratulate all of the awardees as they take this important work to the next level.”

“As a leader in children’s environmental health, NNCC is very excited to work with EPA and to use our more than decade-long experience in helping grantees reach the program’s goals of increasing knowledge and awareness of environmental issues and increasing the number of students, teachers and community members taking responsible actions regarding the environment,” said Tine Hansen-Turton , NNCC’s executive director.  “There is no doubt that these grants will have a tremendous impact in our region, reaching more than 2,000 people, many of whom are from disadvantaged communities, and will help both them and our environment for decades to come.”

The projects include:

-- Briar Bush Nature Center in Abington, Pa.  - - Briar Bush will create a group of environmental stewards from local upper-elementary, middle and high school students to work on improving the quality of local creeks, streams and wetlands, and advocate for others in the community to get involved.

-- Sustainable Business Education Initiative - - A project to assist local businesses in Philadelphia with improving their environmental and social impacts.

-- Public Health Management Corp.  - - This Eco Warrior project will promote environmental awareness and community action among 400 Philadelphia elementary school students in six Out-of-School-Time programs.

-- GreenTreks Network - - This project will develop activities that connect polluted runoff with health threats and show how simple acts of “greening” can improve water quality.

-- Puentes de Salud - - A program designed to educate Latino immigrant families in Philadelphia about environmental hazards in the home and how to reduce their exposure to those hazards.

The funding was announced during an event Friday at Briar Bush Nature Center.  Along with the five Philadelphia-area grants, EPA and NNCC also announced funding for 10 other projects in Delaware, Maryland, Virginia and West Virginia.

More information, visit EPA’s Environmental Education Program Grants webpage.

2/25/2013