Friday, March 29, 2024

EPA awards $3.3 million for environmental education

The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) this week continued the Environmental Education (EE) Grants Program with approximately $3.3 million in funds earmarked for 35 grants in 24 states, Puerto Rico and the District of Columbia.

The EE Grants Program began in 1992 with a focus on funding projects that promote public awareness and a public informed on issues impacting the environment and the steps that can be taken to protect it. In the 23 years since its creation, the program has funded over 3,600 projects with approximately $65.5 million.

This year’s grant winners applied in February and March and beat out a pool of more that 400 projects. The EPA selects projects that create, use or disseminate environmental education, and this year’s grantees include school-based, after-school and non-formal projects.

Grants in this round of the program ranged from $40,000 to $192,000 and address issues as varied as air quality and recycling. Some of this instalment’s winners are a study of Monarch butterflies, a classroom simulation of the United Nations Climate Summit, and a teacher training program that will allow educators to conduct watershed and stream monitoring.

The EPA expects to call for proposals for locally focused projects again this winter.