HARRISBURG – Gov. Tom Corbett has announced that he is awarding $309,626 in environmental education grants to 111 schools, universities, non-profit organizations and conservation districts across Pennsylvania.
“Each year, these grants are awarded to deserving organizations to educate Pennsylvanians about important environmental issues,” Corbett said. “Their work plays in integral role in the preservation and enhancement of Pennsylvania’s air, land and water.”
Grant recipients will use the funding for various initiatives, including farm field days, summer camps, exploratory learning activities, professional development and explanatory signage along watersheds. Through these initiatives, students, teachers, farmers and others will learn about a variety of environmental issues ranging from pollination, stormwater management and hydroponics in agriculture, to Marcellus Shale and the Chesapeake Bay, among other topics.
“These projects will use proven best management practices to educate Pennsylvanians about their environment,” Department of Environmental Protection (DEP) Secretary E. Christopher Abruzzo said. “Funding environmental education initiatives is an important part of fulfilling DEP’s mission.”
The grant program was established by the Environmental Education Act of 1993, which mandates setting aside five percent of the pollution fines and penalties DEP collects annually for environmental education in Pennsylvania.
For more information about environmental education, visit www.dep.state.pa.us and click “Environmental Education,” or call 717-772-1828.
Editor’s Note: Grant recipients are listed below with the award amounts, alphabetically by county. Organizations that are marked with an asterisk (*) represent the total of two awards.
Adams
Upper Adams School District – $3,000
Vida Charter School – $3,000
Gettysburg College – $3,000
Allegheny
Gove Group, Inc. – $3,000
Western Pennsylvania Conservancy – $3,000
Shaler Area School District – $1,989
Allegheny County Conservation District – $3,000
Pittsburgh Regional Center for Science Teachers – $3,000
Pittsburgh Parks Conservancy – $3,000
Pennsylvania Resources Council, Inc. – $2,976
Penn State Extension of Allegheny County – $3,000
Beaver
Pennsylvania Association of Environmental Educators – $3,000
Berks
Reading Area Community College – $2,960
Berks County Commissioners, Parks and Recreation – $3,000
Twin Valley School District – $1,553
Blair
Hollidaysburg Area School District – $2,928
Bradford
Bradford County Conservation District – $1,807
Bucks
Falls Township Senior Citizens, Inc. – $3,000
Bucks County Conservation District – $3,000
The Pen Ryn School – $3,000
Butler
Butler Area School District – $2,560
North Main Street Church of God – $3,000
Carbon
Carbon County Conservation District – $3,000
Centre
Penns Valley Conservation Association – $3,000
Chester
Downingtown Area School District – $3,000
The Land Conservancy for Southern Chester County – $3,000
Green Valleys Association of Southeastern PA, Inc. – $2,882
Urban and Rural Science Alliance, Inc. – $2,975
Pennsbury Historic Preservation, Inc. – $2,970
Great Valley Nature Center – $2,500
Owen J. Roberts School District – $1,207
Clearfield
Graham Township – $3,000
Crawford
National Audubon Society, Inc. – $3,000
Allegheny College – $3,000
Cumberland
Diakon Lutheran Social Ministries – $3,000
Shippensburg University of Pennsylvania – $2,960
Mechanicsburg Area School District – $2,905
Dauphin
Dauphin County Parks and Recreation – $3,000
Pennsylvania Association of Conservation Districts, Inc. – $3,000
Center for Dairy Excellence Foundation of Pennsylvania – $3,000
National Audubon Society, Inc. – $2,983
Harrisburg Area Community College – $2,344
The Covenant Community Corporation – $2,995
Delaware
Upper Darby School District – $3,000
Nicholas Newlin Foundation – $3,000
Elk
Elk County Conservation District – $3,000
Erie
Erie County Conservation District – $2,177
Environment Erie – $3,000
Perseus House Charter School of Excellence – $1,440
Millcreek Township School District – $3,000
Northwest Tri-County Intermediate Unit #5 – $2,755
Erie City School District* – $5,400
E.F. Smith Quality of Life Learning Center – $3,000
Erie Day School – $3,000
Fort Le Boeuf School District – $1,750
Franklin
Wilson College – $3,000
Huntingdon
Huntingdon County Conservation District – $1,975
Juniata
Juniata County School District – $2,750
Lackawanna
Lackawanna County Conservation District – $2,095
Lancaster
Lancaster County Conservation District – $2,704
Lancaster County Commissioners – $2,843
Lancaster County Career & Technology Center – $3,000
Lancaster Farmland Trust – $3,000
Warwick Township – $2,060
E R Martin School – $3,000
Lawrence
Lawrence County Conservation District – $3,000
Shenango Area School District – $2,997
Sarah Heinz House Association – $3,000
Lehigh
Lehigh Gap Nature Center – $2,990
Lehigh County Conservation District – $3,000
Seven Generations Charter School – $3,000
Luzerne
Hazleton Area School District – $3,000
Wilkes-Barre Area School District – $2,530
Friends of the Nescopeck – $2,998
Eastern PA Coalition for Abandoned Mine Reclamation – $3,000
North Branch Land Trust – $2,500
Lycoming
Pennsylvania College of Technology – $2,996
McKean
McKean County Conservation District – $3,000
Pennsylvania State University – $3,000
Seneca Highlands Intermediate Unit 9 & Vo Tech School – $3,000
Mercer
Mercer County Conservation District – $2,966
Montgomery
Norristown Area School District – $860
Perkiomen Watershed Conservancy – $3,000
Riverbend Environmental Education Center – $3,000
Abington Friends School – $2,908
Montgomery County Community College – $1,315
Northampton
PA Septage Management Association – $2,942
Pennsylvania Master Naturalist – $3,000
Perry
West Perry School District – $3,000
Philadelphia
Project Learn School – $2,475
Saint Joseph’s University – $3,000
Schuylkill
Blue Mountain School District – $3,000
Snyder
Lower Penns Creek Watershed Association* – $5,758
Snyder County Conservation District – $2,582
Somerset
Somerset County Conservation District – $3,000
Susquehanna
Susquehanna County Conservation District – $2,563
Union
Pennsylvania Institute for Conservation Education* – $9,000
Warren
Warren County Conservation District – $3,000
Washington
California University of Pennsylvania – $2,965
Washington School District* – $5,494
Wayne
SEEDS of Northeastern Pennsylvania, Inc. – $3,000
Westmoreland
Norwin School District – $2,953
Latrobe City – $2,391
Westmoreland County Conservation District – $3,000
Saint Vincent College – $3,000
Multiple
Conemaugh Valley Conservancy, Inc. – $3,000