The Department of Environmental Protection this week announced 129 grants totaling $738,965 to create and develop projects that enhance environmental education in Pennsylvania.

The grants were awarded to schools, universities, nonprofit organizations and county conservation districts to create and develop projects that will help to increase environmental literacy among Pennsylvanians.

Projects range from creative, hands-on lessons for students to teacher-training programs and ecological education for adults. Topics include watersheds, wetlands, Pennsylvania ecosystems, and renewable and nonrenewable energy resources.

They include grants like those to the Pennsylvania Resources Council - $10,000 for pre-service teacher training workshops on watershed issues for Slippery Rock University education majors (Butler County) and the Pennsylvania Environmental Council - $1,500 for Erie Basin watershed education resources (Crawford County) and $1,500 to purchase educational materials related to renewable energy sources (Monroe County) and for watershed-related programs like: Berks County Conservation District - $7,950 for creation of a watershed-based source-water education program for middle schools, Bucks County Conservation District - $ 1,480 for watershed educational materials for district education and outreach programs and to Stream Restoration Inc. - $9,961 for teacher training on coal mining and acid mine drainage.

The grant program was established by the Environmental Education Act of 1993, which mandates setting aside 5 percent of the pollution fines and penalties collected annually by DEP for environmental education in Pennsylvania.

Since the inception of the environmental education grant program, DEP has awarded almost $4 million in grants to support the environmental education efforts of schools, county conservation districts and other nonprofit organizations throughout Pennsylvania.

A complete list of grant awards is available online.

NewsClips: Better Education on Environmental Issues Purposes of Grant

9/15/2006