Funding is now available to help schools, universities, nonprofit organizations and county conservation districts create or develop projects that enhance environmental education through the 2007 Environmental Education Grant Program.

Pre-application letters must be postmarked by December 15.

The Environmental Education Grants Program funds projects that engage students in environmental research to expand their scientific literacy and ensure a future generation of leaders who have the necessary skill and experience to recognize, comprehend and help solve the world’s most difficult challenges.

Grant amounts vary from $2,000 for mini-grants to up to $20,000 in areas designed specifically to cover timely and critically important topics, including the following:

Sustainable energy sources, such as solar, wind, biomass and geothermal, and alternative transportation fuels;

Air quality, with a focus on improvements in transportation and electric-generation to reduce ground-level ozone, or smog; and Watersheds and wetlands, focusing on abating acid mine drainage, reducing non-point source pollution and enhancing water conservation in Pennsylvania.

The state’s 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.

Schools may apply for money to integrate the academic standards for environment and ecology or the standards for science and technology into formal curriculum, or to provide lessons and field experiences that include standards-based instruction. The state-mandated standards provide a roadmap for what students must know about the environment by the end of fourth, seventh, 10th and 12th grades.

The academic standards are the focus for kindergarten through 12th-grade education grants. Specific areas of instruction include watersheds and wetlands; environmental health; agriculture and society; integrated pest management; environmental laws and regulations; and humans and the environment.

Conservation groups, education organizations, colleges and universities may apply to do professional development workshops in the field of environmental education.

County conservation districts also may apply to assist with environmental education efforts that relate to their mission. The districts can obtain mini-grants to provide educational resources that they then make available to educators in the area.

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.

Download an application manual or request an application manual by writing to the DEP Environmental Education Grants Program, P.O. Box 2063, Harrisburg, PA 17105-2063; or call 717-772-1828.

10/7/2006