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EE Grants Awarded in 2007
Summary by EPA Region
| Location | Number of Grants |
Total Amount |
|---|---|---|
| EPA Region 1 | 4 | $94,000 |
| EPA Region 2 | 5 | $106,901 |
| EPA Region 3 | 7 | $156,223 |
| EPA Region 4 | 5 | $94,000 |
| EPA Region 5 | 5 | $183,639 |
| EPA Region 6 | 3 | $93,998 |
| EPA Region 7 | 7 | $94,000 |
| EPA Region 8 | 4 | $168,504 |
| EPA Region 9 | 5 | $256,508 |
| EPA Region 10 | 6 | $93,974 |
| Total | 51 | $1,341,747 |
This page lists all environmental education grants awarded by EPA in 2007, organized by state. Please see EE Grants 1992-2007 for additional details about EE grants awarded by EPA.
= Grant was awarded by EPA headquarters
Alaska
Sitka Community Schools
$17,150
Curt Ledford, 601B Halibut Point Road, Sitka, AK 99835
Cutthroat Creek Environmental Trail and Preserve
The Cutthroat Creek Environmental Trail and Preserve enhances environmental education opportunities in the Sitka School District by refurbishing, expanding, and documenting the environmental trail and preserve to make it more usable for the students and staff near a local elementary school. The trail has been in place for 10 years, but is not handicapped accessible and has fallen into disrepair and disuse. The students, parents, and teachers are involved in designing the expansion, the actual refurbishing, and the ultimate re-use of the trail. Documentation and an updated curriculum that are based on the trail and preserve are presented to the teachers in workshop format and then used at each grade level in the school. Teachers receive in-service credit for attending the workshop.
California
Our City Forest
$21,100
Rhonda Berry, 595 Park Avenue, Number 100, San Jose, CA 95110
Planet Tree
The urban forest is central to the urban ecosystem, so understanding it, as well as how to care for it, is paramount. Education – teaching not only the importance of trees, but the importance of citizen involvement – is the key to a healthy urban forest and, in turn, a healthy ecosystem. Planet Tree is an environmental education and action program for students in kindergarten through grade 12. It is designed to teach and inspire students to be stewards in the community by providing interactive education in urban forestry in the classroom, through Planet Tree curriculum tailored for each grade level in kindergarten through grade 12, and by experiential learning through tree planting at their schools. The first phase of the project recruits and trains volunteers to be Planet Tree teachers. In the second phase, these teachers will offer training at schools. Train-the-trainer workshops will be used to train the program teachers. In turn, they conduct interactive Planet Tree classes in schools throughout the county. On-site tree plantings, including tree care and stewardship teachings, are provided. The program provides students the opportunity to design their own tree planting projects and offers the schools free shade trees and technical assistance to implement the projects. A key outcome of Planet Tree is increasing the students’ awareness of the need for environmental stewardship. Planting a tree is important, but it is the easy part. Caring for it takes commitment. The slogan, “It takes 5 years to plant a tree,” makes the point. By becoming involved and taking responsibility for our environment, we can build healthy, sustainable communities.
The Bay Institute of San Francisco
$92,882
Grant Davis, 500 Palm Drive, Suite 200, Novato, CA 94949
The Students and Teachers Restoring a Watershed (STRAW) Project
The STRAW Project educates kindergarten through grade 12 teachers, community educators, and students about environmental issues specific to the San Francisco Bay region. Participants gain knowledge, skills, and experience in environmental science and place-based learning methodologies that ultimately improve community environmental stewardship. Teachers and community educators participate in a 3-day training institute and subsequent workshops that focus on hands-on scientific studies of riparian and wetland ecosystems, restoration methodology, and local land use history. STRAW helps teachers develop methods for integrating environmental topics into the standard curriculum. Students attend presentations that explain the land use history, environmental problems, and objectives and methods of restoration for the specific watersheds where they will be working. The presentations prepare students to participate in professionally designed restoration projects on rural and urban creeks, including revegetation with native plants; removal of non-native invasive species; and sophisticated biotechnical work for erosion repair in riparian corridors. Students develop presentations based on data collected in the field and deliver them to other classes and STRAW staff members. Key project partners include the Marin County Stormwater Pollution Prevention Program, Marin Resource Conservation District, Sonoma County Water Agency, U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, and Point Reyes Bird Observatory.
Tuolumne River Preservation Trust
$42,900
Patrick Koepele, 914 Thirteenth Street, Modesto, CA 95354
Tuolumne River Education Project
The Tuolumne River is an invaluable natural resource to Stanislaus County. It is a source of drinking water, irrigation water, and hydroelectricity. It also supports an important ecosystem that is a habitat for several listed species. The objective of this project is a community that is well-informed about the river’s importance and is able to make educated choices about its stewardship and management. To help achieve this goal, the Tuolumne River Preservation Trust offers students, teachers, and parents a series of field trips, classroom lessons, tours of the watershed itself, and a service learning project related to stewardship of the river. Additionally, teachers undergo a separate training program that includes “Trekking the Tuolumne River” curriculum activities, use of “science suitcases” on water-related topics, and a service learning training. The audience includes students in grade 4, teachers, and parents trained as field trip chaperones. This project has at its foundation an existing California Science Standards-based curriculum (“Trekking the Tuolumne River”) designed to educate people about the river’s ecosystem and encourage its stewardship through hands-on experiences at the river and participation in restoration projects at local sites. The project is designed to encourage students to draw conclusions and evaluate their impact by monitoring and evaluating their own field work based on basic scientific constructs taught in pre- and post-field classroom lessons.
University of the Pacific
$69,626
Carol A. Brodie, 3601 Pacific Avenue, Stockton, CA 95211
Environmental Education at the Terrestrial-Marine Interface
This project is a collaborative effort that links the curriculum agendas at the University of the Pacific and the University of California, Davis, to foster interest in environmentally related career paths and to broaden societal awareness about environmental issues and the need for stewardship. The project provides formal environmental education experiences for undergraduate and graduate students through summer research projects and three class modules. During the modules, the students measure three beach profiles at locations along the Northern California coastline to evaluate beach erosion and monitor water quality and water flows in several watersheds along the Northern California coastline and in the coastal ocean. The students also learn about environmental careers during panel discussions with environmental professionals. The modules promote critical thinking and decision-making skills, cultivate stewardship, and encourage environmental careers. Each module concludes with student participants creating displays for community interaction and education and developing fact sheets and teaching packets for high school educators. A project Web site is also developed to provide a central clearinghouse for downloadable versions of teaching materials to ensure they are widely available and applied.
Colorado
National Wildlife Federation
$31,438
Alexis Bonogofsky, 2260 Baseline Road, Suite 100, Boulder, CO 80302
Creating Wildlife Habitat with American Indian Focus Schools
The concept of the Creating Wildlife Habitat with American Indian Focus Schools Project is to improve overall environmental knowledge and stewardship opportunities of students, teachers, and community members of Denver Public Schools (DPS) American Indian Focus Schools (AIFS). The environmental issues addressed by this project are habitat, habitat loss, and habitat restoration. The goal of this project is to use hands-on teacher trainings while providing opportunities in environmental stewardship to improve environmental education teaching skills of AIFS teachers, to provide teachers with opportunities to educate their students and community members about environmental issues that involve wildlife habitat, health habitats, and habitat loss, and to promote environmental careers. The audiences served by the project include educators and students in kindergarten through grade 8 from the DPS AIFS. It also includes families and interested volunteers from the participating school communities. Developed open space and agricultural land increase air and water pollution, putting a strain on the water supplies and destroying wildlife habitats. Animal populations throughout the region have experienced declines related to loss of habitat that can be traced to rapid human population growth, grassland to farmland, urbanization, and habitat fragmentation. Aimed at the educators and their students, the project is intended to increase their impact as environmental stewards and promote environmentally responsible behaviors. The objectives of this project are to (1) improve the environmental education teaching skills of educators from the Denver Public American Indian Focus Schools, (2) introduce students to local environmental issues and environmental careers, and (3) provide the AIFS schools and their communities with opportunities in environmental stewardship related to restoring and creating wildlife habitat. Delivery methods include teacher training; habitat restoration projects on schools grounds; school visits by Native American and other environmental professionals; community volunteer training; and community environmental stewardship projects.
Delaware
Delaware Ecumenical Council on Children and Families
$9,375
Rev. Robert P. Hall, 240 North James Street, Suite B1B, Wilmington, DE 19804
Environmental Education through Parent Leadership
The Delaware Ecumenical Council provides environmental education through programs that serve parents and other caregivers of children, on critical environmental issues, including home safety, habitat preservation, and other problems related to land use and industrial pollution. The Delaware Ecumenical Council educates its constituents about the dangers of pollution and strategies to address its effects. The project emphasizes the educational priority of health, along with a focus on reaching parents, counselors, health care workers, and clergy on the negative impacts of environmental pollution on the health and well-being of children and those who care for them. Several workshops are designed to address several key environmental issues, including (at a minimum) air quality, especially the problem of ozone, and particulate pollution; water safety, especially for homes with wells; and home environmental protection, especially lead, radon contamination, and mold.
District of Columbia
Casey Trees Endowment Fund
$17,030
Robin Dublin, 1425 K Street, NW, Suite 1050, Washington, DC 20005
Urban Conservation Youth Leadership Program
Activities under this project, which addresses preserving and protecting natural habitat within an urban setting, focus on natural and human impacts to watersheds, including rivers, estuaries, and bays that eventually empty into the Atlantic Ocean. The curricula and activities foster a voluntary commitment to amend behaviors and focus on achievements that will protect and improve the 40-acre natural camp habitat. This project also allows the students to study the relationships among organisms in terrestrial food chains, animals, the resources they share, and their interdependency. Students study how the streams and ponds of the camp are supplied with water, and where the water goes once it leaves the camp, along with the impacts of potential pollution and runoff. Additionally, students are exposed to environmental careers.
Georgia
Keep Covington/Newton Beautiful
$14,000
Laura Riley, 1124 Clark Street, Covington, GA 30014
Detective Seymore Green Puppet Show
Keep Covington/Newton Beautiful is the local affiliate of Keep America Beautiful and Keep Georgia Beautiful. This non-profit organization coordinates production of a new puppet show each year. The shows are written with interesting characters and catchy songs to teach environmental concepts. The puppets repeat these messages and songs on commercials broadcast on local cable television. The group has a volunteer puppeteer team that travels to all elementary schools in Newton County as well as to clubs, churches, and other organizations to stage the puppet show. The primary goal is to inspire everyone in Newton County to take responsibility for a clean and beautiful community by recycling. The purpose is to educate children about procedures and benefits of recycling in a way that is fun and memorable for them.
Hawaii
Moanalua Gardens Foundation
$30,000
Pauline Worsham, 1352 Pineapple Place, Honolulu, HI 96819-1754
Native and Invasive Species — Their Impact on Hawaii
The natural environment of Hawaii is in crisis. Of the 150 natural communities on the islands, 85 are considered critically endangered. Furthermore, Hawaii has the highest rate of bird extinctions in the world. The loss of native ecosystems, particularly forested watershed cover, has affected not only native species, but soil resources, ground and surface water, and the marine environment as well. This project produces a Native and Invasive Species instructional module that meets the Hawaii Department of Education’s (HDOE) standards for teachers and students. The eight-lesson plans and resource materials, tailored to Hawaii’s special environmental issues, are developed by a credentialed science educator. The content and practical exercises for students are designed to help students understand the concept of responsible stewardship and motivate them to become effective future workers, problem solvers, and thoughtful community leaders and participants. As a result of this project, HDOE teachers in grades 1 through 7 have a state-of-the-art Native and Invasive Species curriculum and updated resources materials. Through this teaching module, and its classroom instruction and meaningful practical exercises, students in Hawaii’s public and private schools learn the importance of respecting, caring for, and maintaining the islands’ complex, diverse, and unique ecosystems.
Idaho
Idaho Environmental Education Association
$14,530
Amy Pike, 110 East Fife Street, P.O. Box 791, Lava Hot Springs, ID 83246
Idaho’s Next Steps in Building Statewide Capacity
This project continues to increase the environmental education capacity in the state by providing a year of leadership development and strategic planning. A trained facilitator works with the association’s 11-person board to conduct a statewide needs assessment to find out the current needs of Idaho’s environmental educators; provides leadership development about the association’s place in the larger environmental education establishment; implements a recommended community relations system to improve the association’s communications and networking systems; and writes a strategic plan for 2007 through 2012. There is no statewide environmental education mandate in Idaho, so the association must be as effective and strategic as possible in its work. The grantee holds training sessions, professional facilitated meetings, semi-structured interviews (for needs assessment), and presentations at professional meetings, and participates in the North American Association for Environmental Education annual conference (in particular the affiliates pre-conference workshop). All these delivery methods are used to increase capacity building, conduct the needs assessment, build leadership development, and develop the strategic plan.
Illinois
Chicago Academy of Sciences
$16,038
Rafael Rosa, 2430 North Cannon Drive, Chicago, IL 60614
TEENS: Teenagers Exploring and Explaining Science
The education resources at the Peggy Notebaert Nature Museum are paired with the field-based environmental and conservation organizations in the Chicago Wilderness coalition to provide underserved and minority students in Chicago public high schools with opportunities to increase knowledge in environmental science; gain exposure to careers in environmental research, conservation, and education; and participate in environmental monitoring and restoration in the Chicago area. Opportunities for learning are delivered through TEEN’s program expansion model’s two new environmental career tracks for students: environmental guides (E-Guides) working alongside museum educators and translating science knowledge into interactive programming for museum visitors; and environmental investigators (E-Investigators), working alongside scientists in local environmental monitoring and conservation initiatives. The program increases or expands participants’ educational aspirations, educational and work skills, attitudes toward careers in science; attitudes in science learning; and knowledge about science and science-related careers. Outcomes include increased occupational and post-secondary aspirations among program participants, particularly in the sciences and science education; improved student knowledge of and attitudes toward environmental and natural sciences; a national model for museums to implement effective out-of-school time programs for urban teenagers in collaboration with other science research and education organizations; enhancing the ability and capacity of program partners to conduct environmental monitoring and restoration; and developing a model to build capacity for training Chicago’s and the nation’s next generation of environmental scientists and educators to reflect the region’s and nation’s rich cultural diversity.
Chicago Public Schools, District #299
$86,303
John Schmidt, 125 South Clark Street, Chicago, IL 60603
Adopt-an-Ecosystem Initiative
This initiative engages teachers and high school students in low-income communities in service-learning projects that strengthen and enhance the science curriculum and restore and conserve critical urban green and waterway spaces throughout the City of Chicago. Partnering organizations engage schools near identified ecosystems and deliver training, support, and curriculum resources. Teachers who participate in the Adopt-an-Ecosystem Initiative attend workshops to receive training that provides them with tools to enhance their knowledge of environmental issues. Teachers use classroom curricula to prepare students for stewardship activities. In turn, students learn about threats to the environment, including invasive species, development, pollution, and neglect. They also consider strategies for developing responses to restoring and conserving natural areas in the city. After the classroom lessons, students complete initial site assessments of the ecosystem chosen and spend multiple days involved in on-site restoration and conservation. Partners on this project are the Alliance of the Great Lakes, Friends of the Parks, Friends of the Chicago River, and the Field Museum.
Iowa
Iowa Lakes Community College
$15,313
Judith A. Cook, 19th South 7th Street, Emmet, IA 51334
Sustainable Energy Interactive Modules
The Sustainable Energy Interactive Modules involve college faculty who create a center for sustainable energy education. This center increases the college’s capacity to develop and deliver sustainable energy education across the State of Iowa. College faculty develop three sustainable energy education modules. In addition, a Web-based energy seminar is held for naturalists to teach them how to deliver energy education modules to students. College faculty provide naturalists and teachers with curriculum to incorporate into lesson plans. Furthermore, naturalists conduct outreach to middle school students during guest lectures to teach them about sustainable energy. Teachers develop a long-range plan to identify what needs to be done to establish the college as a sustainable energy center. Finally, students learn why sustainable energy is important and how to use energy and natural resources efficiently.
Polk County Conservation Board
$21,355
Patrice Petersen-Keys, 11407 Northwest Jester Park Drive, Granger, IA 50109
Junior High Service Learning Program
This service learning project addresses several environmental issues and develops the next generation of leaders to protect and restore native ecosystems. Environmental educators make initial presentations to students in the classroom to discuss their project. Students then visit a wetland, park, prairie, or woodland to participate in projects such as planting trees, controlling erosion, and removing invasive species. Students also learn about native ecosystems and their effects on the quality of life. This project raises awareness, has become a model program for reaching large groups of students at one time, and provides youth with the tools to become environmental stewards.
Southern Iowa Forage and Livestock Committee
$11,784
Melissa Maynes, 603 7th Street, Corning, IA 50841
Land Stewardship for Vocational Agricultural Students
Land Stewardship for Vocational Agriculture Students involves retired university extension specialists who train vocational agriculture teachers. Educators teach high school and college agriculture students about stewardship practices and how they relate to farming. Students learn the use of grasses and legume forages, about soil particles that carry water pollutants, and about croplands and grasslands. Agriculture teachers and university extension specialists demonstrate and teach land stewardship practices to students. This project provides long-term education to future land managers to encourage environmental stewardship.
Kansas
No-Till On The Plains
$13,553
Jana Lindley, P.O. Box 379, Wamego, KS 66547
No-Till on the Plains Information initiative
The No-Till on the Plains Information Initiative teaches young people, teachers, community members, and the agricultural community about the benefits that result from use of a no-till cropping system. Teachers and community members identify potential farms and farmers to be used in the project. In turn, students learn how to adopt environmentally friendly farming techniques and how no-till farming preserves the environment and conserves resources. Youth participate in field trips to observe model no-till farmers. Students also attend and present sessions on the environmental benefits of no-till farming practices at the annual no-till on the plains conference.
Maine
Mount Desert Island Biological Laboratory
$21,125
Michael P. McKernan, Old Bar Harbor Road, P.O. Box 35, Salisbury Cove, ME 04672
Marine Environmental Education at the Mount Desert Island Biological Laboratory
This project supports environmental education in the Myers Marine Aquarium, which houses unique vertebrate and invertebrate marine animals as well as algae from Frenchman’s Bay and the Gulf of Maine. Specific objectives are to (1) recruit an experienced marine environmental education teacher for the summer season, (2) modify existing and design new educational displays and aquaria by recruiting an undergraduate research intern for the summer program, and (3) enhance the education of students, teachers, and the community through monitoring using the Mount Desert Island Biological Laboratory (MDIBL) research community and the Community Environmental Health Laboratory and its ongoing environmental research projects. This project has undertaken a key partnership with the Mount Desert Island Water Quality Coalition.
Maryland
Irvine Natural Science Center Inc.
$22,838
Ilene Briskin, 8400 Greenspring Avenue, Stevenson, MD 21153
The Urban Education Program at Irvine Nature Center: Schoolyard Discovery
The Urban Education Program at Irvine Nature Center: Schoolyard Discovery
Irvine Natural Science Center is a hands-on environmental urban education program serving Baltimore City’s most economically and educationally challenged neighborhoods. This program provides curriculum-based environmental education to high school students who, in turn, become teachers and mentors to younger students in a partner elementary school. The Irvine Natural Science Center brings students, teachers, administrators, parents, and community agencies together to develop schoolyard habitats that restore and revitalize school grounds. The Irvine Natural Science Center develops leadership and vocational skills among high school students through a 6-week summer fellowship program.
Massachusetts
Appalachian Mountain Club
$15,000
Gary Gresh, 5 Joy Street, Boston, MA 02108-1490
A Mountain Classroom
Through a 1- to 5-day field trip to the Appalachian Mountain Club’s (AMC) Pinkham Notch Visitor Center, the A Mountain Classroom program exposes students to hands-on exploration in the White Mountains of New Hampshire. The program offers a unique combination of investigative lessons in ecology, exposure to spectacular mountain environments, and physically challenging activities that result in teambuilding and develop character. Curriculum options include Biological Sciences (forest ecology, watersheds, winter ecology, and wildlife), Earth Sciences (mountain weather and geology), and Outdoor Skills (teambuilding, leadership, map and compass, hiking, snowshoeing, and low-impact outdoor ethics skills). When they participate in this program, teachers observe AMC staff modeling relevant hands-on teaching and learning techniques that integrate environmental education into various disciplines. The teachers then integrate these techniques their classroom.
Silent Spring Institute
$39,075
Ruthann Rudel, 29 Crafts Street, Newton, MA 02458
Promoting a Novel Web-based Environmental Health Mapping Tool
The goal of this project’s outreach effort is to advance awareness of the link between the environment and women’s health by engaging a broad audience in using an innovative Web-based interactive geographic information system (GIS) mapping tool, the Massachusetts Health and Environmental Information System (MassHEIS). The Silent Spring Institute informs the public and community decision-makers about MassHEIS and facilitates their use of this new resource through numerous presentations to state-wide organizations of local health and decision-makers, as well as to grassroots health-affected and environmental groups. Through follow-up with users, Silent Spring evaluates (1) the impact of MassHEIS on their understanding of environmental and health issues, and (2) actions users have taken to reduce pollution, plan for improved environmental and health data collection and tracking, or promote environmental stewardship in other ways.
Michigan
Michigan State University
$40,878
Yu Man Lee, 301 Administration Building, East Lansing, MI 48824
Living with the Eastern Massasauga Rattlesnake
A network of resource personnel are established to respond to massasauga rattlesnake reports or to conduct public education. Workshops, educational materials, and personal consultations provide the public with comprehensive and accurate information, resources, and skills to make informed decisions about co-existing with the massasauga rattlesnake. In addition, landowners are provided specific recommendations about stewardship actions that they can implement to benefit the massasauga and its habitat. These efforts help to address misconceptions and cultivate greater awareness on this species and assists with implementation of needed stewardship. The project continues efforts to build a sustainable massasauga education and outreach program in Michigan. The public and landowners are reached through educational workshops; educational materials such as brochures, posters, and informational handouts and a Web page; interpretive exhibits; a locally based resource network; and the local media through a press packet, and press releases, and articles. The local resource network targets volunteers, natural resource and other professionals, and educators who conduct public education and outreach.
Mississippi
Rust College
$33,068
Frank Yeh, 150 Rust Avenue, Holly Springs, MS 38635
Rust College Environmental Health Education Program
This project proposes to achieve two goals. The first goal is to develop an environmentally friendly, informed and responsive public via environmental education. The project achieves this first goal through two main objectives: (1) chemical and microbial analyses of ground and surface water contamination by phosphates, nitrates, and microbial organisms believed to come from cattle ranching practices in three counties of rural northwestern Mississippi; (2) present and discuss research findings and data obtained in a public forum with the stakeholders of the counties. This objective is intended to educate the county leaders and citizens about risks to human health in the continued use of contaminated ground and surface waters. The second goal is to develop a sustainable environmental stewardship. An action plan is developed to address water quality restoration needs during the public forum with the leaders and citizens and during nonpublic meetings with stakeholders. Rust College has taken on responsibility to educate and train its students and the citizens of the four counties by offering service learning environmental courses for the students, summer academies for school teachers, and seminars for the public.
Missouri
Global and Multicultural Education Center
$4,838
Manny Pedram, 3009 Holmes Street, Kansas City, MO 64109-1435
Climate Change: Myth or Reality
This project involves teachers who participate in weekly seminars on climate change and teaching strategies. Staff from the Global and Multicultural Education Center, in partnership with the University of Missouri Kansas City School of Continuing Education faculty, conduct workshops for teachers. These workshops give teachers an opportunity to examine the complexity of the climate change issue. Teachers participate in exercises to develop conflict resolution and problem-solving skills. These professional development activities focus on teaching skills strategies and effective classroom techniques for teaching students about global environmental complexities of climate change. Teachers then incorporate climate change information into their lesson plans to teach students how they can become environmental stewards.
Parents as Teachers
$14,533
Kate A. McGilly, 2228 Ball Drive, St. Louis, MO 63143
Parent Education to Prevent Child Development Delays
Parents as Teachers conducts a workshop titled “Neurotoxins: Their Effects on Development, Learning and Behavior.” This project involves training early childhood professionals on how to teach women of child-bearing age and families about child development through parent education. Parents as Teachers holds a train-the-trainer workshop and conducts visits to deliver information to women on the effects of household chemicals, hazardous materials, and exposure to chemical mixtures on child development. This workshop teaches women about precautions they can take when they handle hazardous chemicals and how to prevent a broad array of birth defects and disabilities. These activities serve families with support and enhance child development through parent education.
Montana
Montana State University
$13,080
Janet Bender-Keigley, P.O. Box 170575, Bozeman, MT 59717-0575
Expanding Water Education Opportunities
The Montana Watercourse and Girls Scouts of Big Sky Council partner to provide a series of trainings for Girl Scouts and their leaders on the importance of water quality issues and clean water. Trainings include water resources components for the leader training; water education training for the residential camp counselors; and water education modules for day camp programs, providing direct education to Girl Scouts themselves and troop leaders. These trainings lead to a cadre of girls and volunteer leaders who are more aware of water quality and the importance of individual action and knowledge. In all cases, the emphasis is on empowering the leaders and their girls to think critically and to act on water resource issues that affect their daily lives.
Nebraska
Niobrara Council
$12,624
Pamela Sprenkle, P.O. Box 206, Valentine, NE 69201
Niobrara National Scenic River Literacy Outreach
This river education and outreach project covers Brown, Cherry, Keya Paha, and Rock Counties in Nebraska. The project involves the Niobrara Council, which creates a river education library of educational materials consisting of books, software, and equipment to be used by the community. Council staff work with teachers to incorporate river issues into science and humanities classes. This project teaches the community about issues that affect the river. Students become involved in service learning; river preservation, local river cleanup days, and river scouting projects. These activities teach students how to protect the natural resources of the Niobrara National Scenic River.
New Jersey
Montclair State University
$39,888
Kirk Barrett, 1 Normal Avenue, Montclair, NJ 07043
Passaic River Environmental Education and Monitoring Organization (PREEMO)
This project brings together a diverse set of schools within New Jersey’s Passaic River basin to study river ecology and water quality in the Passaic River, how rivers are affected by urbanization and pollution and, finally, what can be done to protect them by personally involving students and fostering environmental stewardship. The project includes teacher training, numerous field trips, a long-term and expanding hands-on environmental education program, and a project Web site to serve as an information repository, resource center, virtual meeting place, and clearinghouse. Data is entered online by the students into existing Internet-based data management systems. Students use data they and others collect to investigate an environmental science question and produce a report. Another output is a year-end conference that brings participating students together to present and discuss their results and other environmental concerns. The Passaic River Institute will continue to support PREEMO and its Web site in subsequent years and will seek to add more schools. This project increases student knowledge and personal involvement in environmental quality and results in better trained and more highly motivated teachers.
New York
Bronx River Alliance, Inc.
$19,875
Anne-Marie Runfola, One Bronx River Parkway, Bronx, NY 10462-2869
Bronx River Classroom
The Bronx River is a rich learning laboratory, providing youth and adults with a local natural area to explore and opportunities to engage in real-life environmental assessment, monitoring, and restoration projects. Through the Bronx River Classroom project (BRC), the Alliance Education Program provides teachers and community-based educators with training, curriculum consulting, lesson plans, equipment, supplies, and in-field support to help them become more aware of the local environment and understand its importance and how it can be protected. The goal is to enable educators to take the knowledge and skills gained from the BRC and use the river and its watershed as an outdoor classroom. By bringing youth to the river, educators not only give students a tangible place to learn about the environment, but also an opportunity to contribute to their community. These experiences create an aware, involved community and foster development of stewards to protect and improve the corridor and watershed.
Clearpool, Inc.
$15,000
Stephanie R. Bergman, 33 Clearpool Road, Carmel, NY 10512
Dual-campus Resource Investigation for New York City Kids (DRINK) Program
The DRINK program provides opportunities for students in three partner schools to engage in experiential learning to better understand watershed issues in the greater New York City area. Students explore watershed ecology of both the local, urban environment and at a preserved 350-acre campus to discover ecological processes in these systems, learn how human impacts can affect the health of a watershed, and find out what they can do to mitigate these impacts. The DRINK curricula support the New York state and city curriculum, targeting specific key ideas and performance indicators, through hands-on, inquiry-based learning in the outdoors. Students who participate in this program increase their science achievement while they develop the knowledge, skills, and commitment to integrate an environmental ethic into their lives. Additionally, students develop skills to communicate effectively and coordinate action with others.
Groundwork Yonkers
$17,878
Rick Megder, 6 Wells Avenue, Yonkers, NY 10701
Eco-Awareness and Imagination in the Outdoor Classroom
Under this project, Groundwork Yonkers develops materials and trains educators to use a new, comprehensive schoolyard garden with multiple learning environments. It is the first such teaching resource in Yonkers, the state’s fourth-largest city. Over the last 2 years, this organization has developed the garden at an elementary school with the largest enrollment of immigrant families. With students and volunteers, including senior citizens from the community, a blighted schoolyard is being turned into a vibrant, outdoor learning space. The project supports a local school by making the garden a true resource with teacher guides, teacher training, interpretive signs, and hands-on demonstrations. Groundwork Yonkers is adapting and synthesizing existing materials on schoolyard habitat and urban ecosystems for this purpose. Themes related to pollution reduction, ecological literacy, and natural life cycles are emphasized. Once it is established, this outdoor classroom will become a resource for educators throughout Yonkers.
Wildlife Conservation Society
$14,260
Lee Livney, 2300 Southern Boulevard, Bronx, NY 10460
Wild Explorations
Wild Exploration addresses the EPA goal of “educating teachers about environmental issues to improve their environmental education teaching skills.” It shows teachers how they can effectively introduce ecological concepts, with an emphasis on predator-prey relationships and reintroduction of carnivorous species; provides a balanced view of the issues involved; and captures the imagination of students, motivating them to pursue a study of the environmental sciences. The project is directed toward teachers and museum educators working in communities throughout Wyoming, Idaho, and Montana that are adjacent to the Yellowstone National Park and where the study of carnivore reintroduction is especially pertinent. A network of educators has been equipped to provide relevant environmental education, focusing on reintroduction issues for high school-level learners. The goal is a model program that could be emulated by other museums in areas where reintroduction of carnivores is being considered or has been completed. Yellowstone-area students will be prepared to participate in discussions of environmental issues related to ecology and conservation and motivated to understand how conservation efforts, including predator reintroductions, affect ecological and human-wildlife relationships.
North Carolina
Alamance County Health Department
$15,000
Marcy Green, 319 North Graham-Hopedale Road, Burlington, NC 27217
Alamance County Indoor Air Quality Improvement Project
The Alamance County Health Department uses a part-time environmental health educator who is responsible for delivering workshops and education on indoor air quality to school personnel, daycare staff, elementary students, parents, healthcare providers, and business. This educator also refers facilities to the health department for indoor air quality assessments and teaches asthmatic children in grade 3 on how to effectively manage asthma and reduce asthma triggers in their environment. This training is delivered through workshops, training sessions, educational brochures, media, newsletters, and special events. The Alamance County Health Department also develops brochures, newsletters, and flyers to inform the public on indoor air quality events.
MountainKeepers
$11,622
Nancy Reigel, PO Box 21DTS, Boone, NC 28607
Community Water Education in North Carolina's High Country
The MountainKeepers were prompted to host an environment summit in 2005 as a result of increasing concerns about regional water conditions. This summit was the driving force for this project. The goals of this project are achieved with two objectives: (1) to educate communities about the science behind the region’s water supply, and (2) to identify water-related efforts to facilitate linkages among various communities that will lead to improved environmental conditions. Participants suggested that educating communities about water would help alleviate tension between urban and rural communities. As university ambassadors, student interns work with MountainKeepers and subject matter experts to develop science-based materials and use them to increase the knowledge level about water among the region’s residents and begin a dialogue about improving water stewardship. The team also solicits information from communities about water-related efforts. For example, one community is working with an ASU professor to begin a well monitoring program because of links established at the summit. Some local residents also have constructed rain gardens to help keep pollutants from surface waterways and to contribute to groundwater recharge. This linkage facilitates long-term interaction to leverage resources, share knowledge, and work together to contribute to a sustainable, clean water supply.
Ohio
Communities in Schools
$18,943
Beth Urban, 510 East Broadway, Columbus, OH 43214
Recycling Awareness
Communities in Schools provides environmental education opportunities to students in after-school programs. The opportunities focus on community issues of (1) litter, (2) lack of environmental stewardship, (3) waste reduction, (4) limited willingness to recycle, and (5) limited access to free recycling centers in low-income areas of Columbus. Students learn the effects of littering along with the value of recycling and environmental stewardship. Goals are achieved through use of EPA’s Planet Protector and Make a Difference curriculum and field trips and by starting recycling programs in each participating school. The project is implemented in three phases: (1) educational programming during the after school program, (2) active participation in school and community recycling, and (3) promoting greater access to recycling bins for the school community. Students involved in the project educate the Solid Waste Authority of Central Ohio and the local government about the importance of recycling.
Oklahoma
Oklahoma State University
$16,600
Huantian Cao, 431 Human Environmental Sciences, Stillwater, OK 74078-6114
Building a Sustainable Oklahoma
This workshop educates the public about the presence of toxic materials in consumer products and their role in sustainable development. The workshop is titled “Building a Sustainable Oklahoma” and is presented at the annual Oklahoma Sustainable Network conference. After the conference, workshop materials are posted on the Oklahoma Sustainability Network and Oklahoma State University Web sites for wide distribution to members of the Oklahoma Sustainable Network and other interested groups or persons.
Oregon
Jackson Bottom Wetlands Preserve
$14,996
Jan Curry, 2600 SW Hillsboro Highway, Hillsboro, OR 97123
Algae-Barley Science Inquiry Project
The Algae-Barley Science Inquiry Project provides a real-world project model of science inquiry and environmental stewardship for educators and middle and high school and college students that can be transferred to the community. The first component of the project involves the students in interaction with scientists working on a wetlands-based research effort. This project studies the effects of barley straw treatment on suppression of algae and models science inquiry processes and stewardship for clean water. In the fall, a teacher workshop is held to learn, plan, and share ideas and materials. Field trips to the wetlands are held in the fall and in the spring to learn about science processes, water quality parameters, and algal data collection. The second major component of the project, during the winter, involves students in science inquiry projects or stewardship projects in the communities. In the late spring, the students present their findings at a public “Science at the Wetlands” celebration.
Tillamook School District #9
$16,904
Clair Thomas, 6825 Officer's Row, Tillamook, OR 97141
Wetland Monitoring to Promote Environmental Stewardship and Vocational Training
This grant establishes a wetland study area where students monitor conditions, design and carry out restoration projects, and analyze trends in wetlands due to human and natural causes. It also provides an outdoor laboratory to design and carry out original research. Students from advanced science classes act as peer teachers for the younger grades on field trips. Science professionals from the community work with the students to help them understand the link between the natural resources and their community. Field trips, field trip presentations, guest speakers, student peer leaders, and varied classroom activities and labs are all used in this project. As the program develops and high school students are trained, the program will expand to all grade levels with grade appropriate level material.
Pennsylvania
Southeast Pennsylvania Area Health Education Center
$17,900
Susan DiGiorgio-Poll, 35 South High Street, West Chester, PA 19382
Minimizing the Risks from Environmental Toxins through Education
Janitors, teachers, and other staff including healthcare practitioners in child care centers in Philadelphia are educated about the harmful effects to both children’s health and the environment caused by indoor air pollution, especially harsh cleaning products and pesticides used in these facilities. The health education center uses the funds to promote and increase the use of environmentally friendly cleaning products and pest control in the child care centers selected and in the home to protect children’s health. All participants attend an interactive educational session, held at the daycare center, on environmental education topics that focus on indoor air pollution and pest management.
Tennessee
Ijams Nature Center
$20,310
Paul James, 2915 Island Home Avenue, Knoxville, TN 37920
Living Clean and Green
Living Clean and Green is a series of 16 programs designed to inform the public and improve the environment. The Ijams Nature Center presents these programs to civic organizations, church groups, neighborhood associations, and garden clubs. The key concepts embraced in Living Clean and Green are natural cycles, interrelationships, biodiversity, understanding community, environmental stewardship, personal responsibility, and living in balance with the natural world. The programs are scheduled by request; these hour-long programs or workshops include a slideshow overview of the basic concepts for each program, followed by an interactive discussion. A number of the programs involve outdoor components. Programs held on site at Ijams Nature Center have added value because of the natural outdoor setting. However, many of the programs can be presented easily indoors and off site or can be modified to accommodate the audience and location of the workshop. The annual audience reached through the programs consists of members of the public, school students, and college students.
Texas
Brenham Independent School District
$27,398
Nancy Oertli, 711 East Mansfield Street, Brenham, TX 77833
Teacher Training — Outdoor Classroom
This project expands Brenham Independent School District’s (ISD’s) outdoor classroom program to include students in grades 7 and 8. As a part of this project, students in grades 5 through 8 and their teachers visit Nails Creek and Birch Creek Park and learn to use scientific methods to address real environmental problems while they develop an awareness of natural ecosystem and explore their roles and environmental stewards. This project is also supported by volunteers from the Blinn College, Texas Master Naturalists from the Gideon Licecum Chapter, and the Washington County Extension Agency.
The Artist Boat, Inc.
$50,000
Karla Klay, 4919 Austin, Galveston, TX 77551
Eco-Art Adventure via Kayak Program
The Artist Boat increases awareness among and instills an environmental ethic in middle school students. The program employs an innovative and effective inquiry-based teaching methodology, which integrates art and science to engage all types of learners — visual, auditory, and tactile. The program consists of Eco-Art Workshops (2-hour in-class workshops); Eco-Art adventures (4-hour waterborne field classes) on kayaks at Galveston Island State Park; and interdisciplinary environmental curricula in art, math, science, social studies, and English (8 pre and post classroom lessons teachers deliver). The nonprofit organization also provides faculty members with Eco-Art Professional Development training. This program meets the goals of the Texas Education Agency — Texas Essential Knowledge and Skills and Galveston Bay Estuary Program’s goals for public participation and education in the Galveston Bay watershed.
Utah
Southern Utah University
$31,886
Charlotte Pedersen, 351 West University Boulevard, Cedar City, UT 84720
Removal of Arsenic Contamination from Surface Water using Phytoremediation
The project is to clean the Desert Mound Mine from contamination by arsenic using native plants for phytoremediation. Arsenic in drinking and surface water is a major concern in the U.S. Several severe effects, such as weakening of the immune system and cancer, can be caused by exposure to arsenic. The Desert Mound Mine is a popular swimming hole for local youth and an important source of water for wildlife in the Great Basin Desert. The remediation project is used to conduct a high school teacher workshop to address an environmental component in teaching skills. The workshop is designed to help educators incorporate more applied environmental science into the science curriculum. Two workshops for high school teachers are offered state-wide through the Utah Department of Education. In addition, community seminars are advertised on the radio, in the local paper, and through fliers. Undergraduate students at Southern Utah University (SUU) are involved in all aspects of the project, from cleaning up the site using native plants to conducting field trips to the site and giving talks at local venues. An important aspect of this project is that the undergraduate students are involved in new, cutting-edge applied research. They are designing and conducting the experiment, but they are also involved in collecting the data and conveying the findings to the community at large.
Utah Society for Environmental Education
$92,100
Jennifer Visitacion, 350 South 400 East, Suite G4, Salt Lake City, UT 84111
Utah Project for Excellence in Environmental Education
Strengthening the capacity and quality of environmental education programs, non-formal educational programs, and teacher partnerships in Utah are among the goals of this project. The Utah Society for Environmental Education is inventorying state environmental programs and materials related to energy conservation, air quality, water quality, and waste management issues. A needs assessment is being conducted to identify how to best support kindergarten through grade 12 teachers throughout Utah to improve the use of environmental education as an integrated context for teaching the core curriculum. A focus group is discussing the results of the inventory and needs assessment to decide how many teachers are integrating environmental education topics into their lesson plans and the best strategy for supporting teachers to make environmental education an integral part of what they do. In addition, the focus group is developing an implementation strategy for a model program to help guide non-formal environmental educators throughout Utah about how to effectively correlate their programs to the state core curriculum while inspiring and empowering students to become more environmentally literate. Partners on this project include the Utah State Office of Education, Utah State University Water Quality Extension, Utah Project WET, Pine View High School, Utah House, Tracy Aviary, and Four Corners School of Outdoor Education/Bioregional Outdoor Education Project.
Vermont
The DREAM Program, Inc.
$18,800
Pete Land, 87 Elm Street c/o Family Center, P.O. Box 361, Winooski, VT 05404
A Participatory Environmental Video Project for Urban Youth in Vermont.
DREAM Environmental Productions empowers high school students living in affordable housing communities in Vermont with the opportunity to create videos about their local environment during a 12-week workshop. They share their videos with a larger audience through public screenings at the neighborhood family center, at a film festival, and on a Web site that they design and create. By producing their own videos, students begin to recognize and take ownership of the environment that exists, not off in the mountains, but in their backyards. Students learn to become stewards of the streams, forests, and green spaces that affect the quality of life in their communities.
Virginia
Camp Kum-Ba-Yah Inc.
$12,000
Jean Clements, 4415 Boonsbono Road, Lynchburg, VA 24503
Earth Education at Camp Kum-Ba-Yah - Hands-on Field Studies for Area Schools, Roots and Shoots Garden/Healthy Life Choices
This project helps expand the existing school field work study program to grades 3 through 5. It is an outdoor facility available for environmental study and exploration to a segment of the area population that integrates learning experiences on earth education into all camp-sponsored activities. The priority objective is to provide real-life, close and personal interaction with the environment that will result in greater respect for the natural surroundings.
Virginia Department of Environmental Quality
$62,156
Ann M. Regn, 629 East Main Street, P.O. Box 10009, Richmond, VA 23240-0009
Building Statewide Capacity by Supporting Four Regional Alliances in Virginia
Virginia’s master/business plan for environmental education for community-based programs that was adopted in 2004 is implemented through this project. The goal of the project is to build the capacity and sustainability of environmental education in the State of Virginia by implementing the plan and developing leaders to revise the plan in 2010. To achieve this goal, the Virginia Office of Environmental Education is: (1) establishing at least three regional environmental education alliances; (2) increasing membership and collaboration in regional alliances; (3) providing an annual meeting and leadership forum; (4) conducting a strategic planning and needs assessment in each region; (5) providing 3 days of professional development to meet the needs identified by each region; and (6) recognizing community-based initiatives and community environmental education leaders. This project employs a full array of communication and education techniques, including monthly electronic newsletters; Web sites; meetings; professional development workshops; an annual conference; strategic planning exercises; and printed materials aimed at increasing partnerships, and facilitating communication and networking. The project helps community-based educators connect their programs to the public, link to other statewide or local programs, and find and leverage support for their programs. The primary partner on this project is the Virginia Resource – Use Education Council.
Washington
River Center Foundation
$14,998
Robert Boekelheide, P.O. Box 3007, 2151 Hendrickson Road, Sequim, WA 98382
Teaching Science Skills/Ecosystem Protection of the Dungeness River Watershed
This grant develops and provides two continuing education workshops that help teachers develop classroom lessons about the water quality, habitat protection, fish, and wildlife of the Dungeness River watershed. These lessons help the teachers understand and use basic scientific methods, inquiry-based learning, problem solving, and hands-on techniques. The project instructs the teachers about how to apply state education testing goals and skills to watershed health on the North Olympic Peninsula. The River Center partners with the Jamestown S’Klallam Tribe, the Sequim School District, and Audubon of Washington on this project.
Stilly-Snohomish Fisheries Enhancement Task Force
$15,396
Cara Ianni, P. O. Box 5006, Everett, WA 98026
Restoration Ecology for Young Stewards
This restoration program is for students to design and implement an experimental stream restoration project within the school’s watershed. The curriculum is project- and inquiry-based and engages youth in an authentic salmon habitat restoration project. It increases environmental stewardship within the communities where it is implemented. The program works with Snohomish County Surface Water Management, local city governments, local school districts, and local tribal entities to offer students the opportunity to learn about ecosystems, enhance their skills in scientific inquiry and investigation, and design solutions to real-world problems faced by restoration professionals. The curriculum includes two field-based and seven in-class lessons. Students collect observational data, perform simple experiments, learn the life history of the salmon, conduct investigations, implement stream restoration, and communicate their learning. The project reaches classrooms within the Arlington and Snohomish School Districts.
West Virginia
Cacapon Institute
$14,924
W. Neil Gillies, Route 1, Box 326, High View, WV 26808
A New Model for Regional Environmental Education Using the Internet
The Cacapon Institute professional education and outreach staff work with the region’s schools and communities to promote watershed awareness. This grant is used to reach a teacher-targeted audience through the use of Project Learning Tree workshops, working with education faculty at universities, through personal visits to schools, and by using the teacher contacts with other environmental organizations and agencies. Teachers use Internet-based activities to educate students and help provide a unique venue for critical thinking using real science.
Wisconsin
Burnett County
$21,477
Richard Schneider, 7410 County Road, K #16, Siren, WI 54872
Grassroots Sustainable Development — Citizen and Municipality Education
Burnett County Municipal Education is implementing the Natural Step program (a philosophy of sustainable development) to communities in a two-county area. Participants, including representatives from two county high schools, are educated on subject areas where sustainable development can have a meaningful impact (education, transportation, or waste management, for example) through workshops and field trips. Using the books “The Natural Step for Communities — How Cities and Towns Can Change to Sustainable Practices” and “The Natural Step for Businesses,” introductory training sessions are taught on the community level. The goal is for participants to learn that sustainable development is one of the strategies that can be a vehicle to guide sensible development without permanent and irreparable damage to our environment.
