The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) will provide almost $3 million in grants to fund environmental education initiatives in schools, universities and not-for-profit organizations in the United States.
"Environmental protection begins with environmental education," said EPA Administrator Christie Whitman. She said the grants "will help the American people make informed decisions about complex environmental issues. An informed public is EPA's best ally in cleaning up our air, water and land, so that we pass along a better world to our children."
EPA receives hundreds of applications for environmental education funding. In selecting grant winners, the agency places emphasis on projects that enhance teaching skills, build state and local capacity to develop strong educational programs, create environmental education partnerships and motivate the general public to be more environmentally conscious.
EPA headquarters handed out 13 2001 Environmental Education grants. EPA's 10 Regional Offices also awarded over 200 smaller grants nationwide for state and local environmental education projects. Additional information is available at www.epa.gov/enviroed/grants.
The recipients of grants from EPA headquarters are: Adopt-A-Watershed, Hayfork, Calif., $100,000; California Coastal Commission, San Francisco, $79,177; Environmental Education Unit, Chicago Housing Authority, Chicago, $89,325; Kansas Association for Conservation and Environmental Education, Manhattan, $38,853; University of Maine, Orono, $72,148; Maryland Department of Natural Resources, Annapolis, $51,617; Massachusetts Youth Teenage Unemployment Reduction Network Inc., Brockton, $29,722; Ypsilanti Public Schools, Ypsilanti, Mich., $74,000; Environmental Education Fund, Raleigh, N.C., $74,365; The School District of Philadelphia, $100,000; Shelby County Schools, Memphis, $97,853; Tennessee Aquarium, Chattanooga, $56,169; Discovery Creek Children's Museum, Washington, D.C., $35,000.
edited by Sandy Smith