The U.S. EPA announced the selection of 38 organizations to receive over $3.6 million in funding for projects under the Environmental Education Grants Program. 鈥淎dvancing environmental education advances EPA鈥檚 mission because it better equips our communities with the information they need to protect public health today and in the future,鈥� said EPA Administrator Michael S. Regan. 鈥淭his year鈥檚 environmental education grant recipients will work in underserved communities across the country to foster a deeper understanding of environmental challenges and inspire action towards sustainable solutions.鈥�
The funding will range from $50,000 to $100,000, to organizations that provide environmental education activities and programs. This year鈥檚 grantees will conduct project activities in 28 states and the Republic of Palau, America Samoa, the Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands, and Guam.
This year鈥檚 environmental education projects include:
- Helping young people in New England grow into a new, inclusive generation of environmental justice problem-solvers through a series of linked experiences.
- Using urban greening initiatives (e.g., tree planting, nature-based solutions, and urban gardening) to help address the impacts of climate change and air pollution in Camden, New Jersey, an environmental justice and overburdened community.
- Transforming a state-of-the-art electric bus into a roving electric classroom that will bring immersive environmental education experiences to 21 Title I elementary schools in Henrico County, Virginia.
- Recruiting educators in Tennessee, particularly from underserved communities, to participate in a year-long cohort focused on environmental education through the lens of addressing climate change resulting in cohort members including climate change education across the curriculum.
- Educating 400 underserved youth in Milwaukee and Southeast Wisconsin on the impacts of climate change in environmental justice communities, empowering them with indigenous knowledge to combat climate change, take action, and create local solutions.
- Employing 鈥渕eaningful watershed experiences鈥� to empower students, teachers, and community members in Houston, Texas, fostering watershed stewardship to design and implement nature-based solutions to flooding that aim to reduce storm water run-off and the associated pollutants from entering the water supply.
- Engaging students from diverse backgrounds in Kansas and Missouri to come together, dialogue, and take action to address existing barriers to their involvement and interest in green careers.
- Enhancing interest, opportunities, and involvement in green careers for 100 students in rural Colorado, Wyoming, and Utah through the creation of online career resources, statewide virtual youth green careers summits, school-based action projects, mentorship programs and more.
- Braiding indigenous and western science through youth-led community action in the Republic of Palau to address contamination left behind from World War II.
- Establishing a K-12 classroom and outdoor learning space on a peatland conservation parcel in 国产麻豆r, Alaska, where school visits and field trips will enable students to directly engage with local peatlands, construct native plant gardens, and more.
The following organizations have been selected to receive this year鈥檚 Environmental Education Grants:
- CASA, Inc. (CASA de Maryland)
- Colorado Alliance for Environmental Education
- Desert Research Institute
- Ecology Project International
- Explora Science Center & Childrens Museum of Albuquerque
- Galveston Bay Foundation
- Henrico County Public Schools
- Hitchcock Center for the Environment
- Hood Canal Salmon Enhancement Group
- Hubbard County Solid Waste Conservation District
- Industry Initiatives for Science and Math Education (Ignited)
- Ipswich River Watershed Association
- Ivy Academy
- Kansas Association for Conservation and Environmental Education
- Learning Endeavors
- Louisiana Environmental Action Network
- Massachusetts Audubon Society
- Minnesota State University – Mankato
- Mississippi State University
- Missouri River Bird Observatory
- National Wildlife Federation (Atlanta)
- National Wildlife Federation (Houston)
- Neighborhood House of Milwaukee
- New Haven Ecological Project
- New York Sun Works
- Nooksack Salmon Enhancement Association
- Openlands
- Protect Our Water Jackson Hole
- Rowan University
- Sierra Streams Institute
- Takshanuk Watershed Council
- The Living Classrooms Foundation
- Trail Blazers
- University of Alaska – Anchorage
- University of Maine
- Upper Iowa University
- Women for a Healthy Environment
- Youth Environmental Alliance