The Department of Environmental Protection awarded $304,137 in environmental education grants to 110 schools, universities, non-profit organizations, and conservation districts across Pennsylvania.
“Funding environmental education projects, like these, is an important function of government that works,” Acting DEP Secretary John Quigley said. “I am pleased that we can support these initiatives that not only educate our young people about today’s environmental issues, but also realize tangible environmental benefits.”
In Berks County, the following received grants: Alvernia University $3,000; Borough of Kutztown $296; Foundation for the Reading Public Museum $1,150; and The Rodale Institute $3,000.
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.
The grant program was established by the Environmental Education Act of 1993, which mandates setting aside 5 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 on Environmental Education; or call 717-772-1828.
