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EE Grants Awarded in 2006
This page lists all environmental education grants awarded by EPA in 2006, organized by state. Please see EE Grants 1992-2006 for additional details about EE grants awarded by EPA.
= Grant was awarded by EPA headquarters
Alabama
Alabama PALS (People Against a Littered State)
$75,000
Spencer Ryan, 340 North Hull Street, Montgomery, AL 36104
Clean Campus Program
The Clean Campus Program promotes environmental stewardship through education about litter, thereby creating a cleaner, healthier, and less polluted environment for all Alabama school systems, colleges, and universities. The program, which is focused on a variety of hands-on projects, provides students, faculty, and staff in kindergarten through grade 12 with all the tools and educational support needed to transform campuses into cleaner, safer places. These tools are supplied through seminars, educational materials, projects, and leadership and community building activities. By learning how to minimize pollution and litter at its source, the students are becoming environmentally aware and are learning how their behavior affects the environment. The faculty and staff are, in turn, learning how to build a foundation for future adult behavior and advance the concept of personal responsibility in caring for the environment. Participating schools receive, free of cost, on-site seminars, an environmental curriculum, trash bags, brochures, and on-site banners. In return, participating schools provide environmental education as part of the curriculum and are also required to support an ongoing recycling program at the school. The program partners with the Alabama Education Association and more than 400 schools throughout the State of Alabama.
Camp Fire USA Central Alabama Council
$14,295
Gen Williamson, 3600 8th Avenue, South, Suite 502, Birmingham, AL 35222
Camp Fletcher: Spring Environmental Field Trip Program
Outdoor environmental education field trips are provided to low-income kindergarten and elementary school students at no cost to schools under this grant. Students are taught the health implications of air pollution; the connections among lakes, rivers, and streams and the drinking water that comes from their taps; and learn about animal habitats, urban development, and the importance of establishing national forests, parks, and wildlife preserves. Environmental stewardship is therefore easily understood and the knowledge retained at a higher level. The method of instruction is based on Project WILD and Project Learning Tree, and is provided by volunteer teachers.
Alaska
Calypso Farm and Ecology Center 
$10,000
Susan Willsrud, P.O. Box 106, Ester, AK 99725
Schoolyard Garden Initiative
The Schoolyard Garden Initiative is a coordinated effort to create a network of school gardens across the Fairbanks-North Star Borough School District to be used for hands-on learning and environmental education. The project funds a series of teacher trainings at pilot elementary schools and a comprehensive garden-based resources guide adapted for conditions in Alaska. The gardens respond to a need for hands-on, environmentally based education in the public schools in conjunction with the desire for fresh, locally grown food. The goal of the project is to integrate garden-based environmental education into teaching the core subjects: math, English and language arts, science, and social studies. Calypso Farm and Ecology Center provides educators with a comprehensive garden-based lesson and resource guide correlated to state and local grade-specific learning standards. The manual is a collection of quality educational resources specifically adapted for garden-based teaching in the unique conditions in interior Alaska. The teacher training series focuses on improving the environmental education skills of educators to support the core subjects.
Yukon River Inter-Tribal Watershed Council
$17,682
Robert Rosenfeld, 815 2nd Avenue, Suite 201, Fairbanks, AK 99701
Reduce the Use - A Youth Initiative
Students in grades 10 through 12 work in four villages to ban plastic grocery bags and Styrofoam cups. In addition, this initiative provides education about solid waste accumulation in landfills and introduces re-usable “potlatch bags.” Youth from each of the four communities work with mentors in each community to initiate the campaign. They work with the tribal council and the city for support to ban the products identified and to educate the community through media and classroom presentations. The youth and their mentors attend a 2-day retreat to develop the campaign and a community outreach education plan. Participants also implement alternative practices by distributing potlatch bags (small canvas bags with a dish, bowl, cup, and flatware) to community members to use at every gathering. They assess the amount of waste collected from community dinners by counting the number of garbage bags and comparing the amount with the dinners that have taken place previously.
American Samoa
American Samoa Resource Conservation and Development Council, Inc.
$13,197
Paul Van Ryzin, P.O. Box 5169, Pago Pago, AS 96799
Nu'uuli Polytech High School Conservation Club
A combination of classroom presentations, hands-on plant propagation, and public outreach is used to educate high school students and the public about the issue of nonpoint source pollution. Field day events, greenhouse instruction, and communication to the public through newspapers and local public access television are also included. High school students are recruited and trained to educate village residents on topics such as stewardship, water quality, nonpoint source water pollution, and basic conservation bioengineering. Additional residents of the territory are exposed to the stewardship message through signs and local television coverage. Students learn about careers in conservation through their participation in the project. Guest instructors also discuss career options in the environmental sciences. Because local knowledge and expertise in environmental areas are low, it is planned that the student training may lead to long-term careers in the environmental sciences, which will benefit the community. The partnerships of the project fulfill a need for improving access to educational tools and curricula for teachers in the areas of conservation and plant propagation.
Arizona
Scottsdale Community College
$12,000
Roy Barnes, 9000 East Chaparral Road, Scottsdale, AZ 85256
Sonoran Desert Biodiversity Educational Outreach Program
The Center for Native and Urban Wildlife (CNUW), a conservation biology organization based out of Scottsdale Community College (SCC), anticipates reaching students in grade 4 over the next two years. The short-term goal is to instill an appreciation and understanding of biodiversity in desert ecosystems; the long-term goal is to be an additional point of reference during a student’s education, culminating in greater environmental literacy. Teachers are provided with a CNUW learning packet that contains educational materials that meet the Arizona state science standards. After they work with these materials, the fourth graders come to SCC, where they tour CNUW’s living biodiversity exhibits in Toad Hall, wildlife demonstration gardens, and a greenhouse and amphibian vivarium, and receive a presentation from the Liberty Wildlife Foundation. At these facilities, students learn about endangered species, reintroduction, restoration, the scientific method, and how all of these concepts relate to biodiversity and science.
The Arboretum at Flagstaff
$19,555
Rachel Edelstein, 4001 South Woody Mountain Road, Flagstaff, AZ 86001
Navajo Uses of Native Plants
The goal of “Navajo Uses of Native Plants” is to educate northern Arizona youth about the traditional uses of native plants and to encourage stewardship on their part. By teaching school groups to appreciate the traditional uses of native plants, local children can see that the plants are not only beautiful, but can also be part of their cultural heritage. The Arboretum plans to recruit and train contract educators from the Indigenous Studies Program at Northern Arizona University and the Navajo language program at Coconino Community College. By training Navajo educators to lead field trips, the Arboretum can offer curricula about native plants that meet the national and state standards for all area schools.
Arkansas
University of Arkansas
$20,763
Lynne Hehr, 12 Ozark Hall, Fayetteville, AR 72701
WATERS: Wonder About Teaching Enviornmentally Relevant Science
Under this grant, Arkansas environmental science educators participate in a summer environmental education institute through the University of Arkansas Center for Math and Science Education. The workshops take place on campus and at the stream site located in Fayetteville, Arkansas. During the week-long institute, teachers spend the first part of the week learning to incorporate the biological, chemical, and physical characteristics of stream quality into hands-on and minds-on activities suitable for the classroom. The remainder of the week involves an inquiry-based field trip where streamside sampling, on-site analysis, and discussions about outdoor classroom management are experienced.
California
Aquatic Adventures Science Education Foundation
$18,542
Shara Fisler, 2211 Pacific Beach Drive, San Diego, CA 92109
SEA Series Initiative
The SEA Series Initiative, a hands-on science classroom program, is provided to students in grades 3 through 6 in the San Diego region. The program at each grade level includes professional development provided to classroom teachers, experiential classroom learning, field trips, and thematic units (incorporating language arts, math, and social studies lessons that build off the environmental science theme). In addition, the program encompasses lending libraries and a community service component that enables students to translate environmental awareness into action. Through the community service component, students, families and others are engaged in environmental stewardship activities such as urban canyon restoration, street cleanups, and on-campus recycling campaigns. The program fosters education on environmental issues, demonstrates how students and families can take responsibility for the health of their community’s environment, and builds a lifetime stewardship ethic.
Catholic Charities CYO
$5,000
Deidre Rettenmaier, 180 Howard Street, Suite 100, San Francisco, CA 94105
Developing Youth as Environmental Leaders and Stewards
This project, “Developing Youth as Environmental Leaders and Stewards,” addresses challenges to the riparian corridor of two discrete stretches of Salmon Creek and one of its tributaries that run through 220 acres of coastal redwood forest in Sonoma County. The program will serve students and teachers during 5-day retreats offered 24 times throughout the year. A new creek and watershed curriculum has been introduced, emphasizing on-the-ground restoration activities that are the direct result of student field study, observation, evaluation, decision making, and problem solving. The goal is to develop the environmental leadership and stewardship skills of the students through direct exposure to local environmental challenges.
Coyote Point Museum Association
$6,900
Carl Oosterman, 1651 Coyote Point Drive, San Mateo, CA 94401
Youth Environmental Stewards Club (Y.E.S.)
This organization has launched the Youth Environmental Stewards (Y.E.S.) Club for middle school students and their families, with emphasis on weekend marine cleanup and recycling projects. The Y.E.S. Club is intended to inspire each young person to protect and preserve the local Shoreline Park by involving them in hands-on, place-based environmental works that will assist them in learning about the park’s coastal and marine ecosystems. Participants in the Y.E.S. Club learn, among many other things, the value of a healthy environment, as well as principles of scientific inquiry and how they can make a difference in the community. It is believed these rewards will encourage youth to consider environmental careers. Projects include soil and water quality monitoring; wildlife population monitoring; and marine and debris recycling. Through these activities, students are able to develop a deeper connection to the environment and begin to understand how the choices they make in their daily lives affect the natural treasures around them.
Friends of the Sea Otter
$6,000
D'Anne Albers, 125 Ocean View Boulevard, Suite 204, Pacific Grove, CA 93933
In-School Sea Otter Education Program
The In-School Sea Otter Education Program is a tool for local schools to increase the breadth of academic disciplines their students experience, emphasizing key issues such as endangered keystone species, conservation, and ecosystems. Friends of the Sea Otter plans to reach students with their in-class instruction, which includes PowerPoint presentations and hands-on stations. The objectives are to increase students’ understanding of sea otter biology and the adaptations and impediments to species recovery, thereby giving students the tools they need to protect sea otters and their habitat. Protection of this valuable species depends on the continuing education of youth by fostering awareness and introducing the concept of stewardship to younger members of the community.
Generation Green
$4,900
R.C. Ferris, 2066 Donald Drive, Moraga, CA 94556
Traveling Trash Transformations
Generation Green will provide at least 20 hands-on workshops on recycled art at libraries and farmer’s markets throughout Contra Costa County. The objective is to inspire people, through creative endeavors, to see the potential value of the raw materials that are recycled. The organization hopes to attract participants at the farmer’s markets and students at county and school libraries, who will take part in “eco art” activities that generate enthusiasm and fun, while teaching folks to use unused, recycled materials, and to think before it is thrown away. Generation Green wants to enable people to create, make, and make do; to inspire people to experiment with junk. The organization wants to help create a generation of recyclers so that it will be second nature to look at something discarded and wonder, “What else can this be?” or “What can I make with this?”
ICLEI-Local Governments for Sustainability, USA
$75,000
Abby Young, 436 14th Street, Suite 1520, Oakland, CA 94612
Climate Protection Decision-Making Tool Development and Training Project
The International Council for Local Environmental Initiatives (ICLEI)-Local Governments for Sustainability is developing a climate protection decision-making tool that enables mayors and other local officials to consider the impacts of policy decisions on local air pollution. Developed in response to the need for better tools to enhance climate protection, ICLEI based the design of the tool on greenhouse gas quantification protocols established for local governments. The tool, targeted for use by mayors throughout the U.S., provides local government staff with the analytical framework necessary to determine the impact of specific decisions on increasing or decreasing emissions of greenhouse gas and regulated air pollutants. Developed in close consultation with the extensive network of local government staff and elected officials who participate in ICLEI’s Cities for Climate Protection campaign, the tool is a stand-alone electronic survey. The survey guides the user through a series of questions that lead to an estimate of the quantity of emissions of greenhouse gases and criteria air pollutants that will be increased or decreased by appropriate policy recommendations. By using the tool, mayors and other local government officials gain decision-making skills that result in improved local air quality, reduced greenhouse gas emissions, and a better understanding of the long-term ramifications of policy decisions. Training on the use of the tool is provided at ICLEI’s annual Sundance Summit: A Gathering of Mayors for Climate Protection. The key partner in the project is the Rockefeller Brothers Fund.
Mono Lake Committee
$9,261
Bartshe Miller, P.O. Box 29, Lee Vining, CA 93541
Mono County Eastern Sierra Watershed Program
Field trips to local creeks and classroom activities combine to educate grade 6 students in the towns of Mammoth Lakes and Lee Vining, California. The program trains volunteer docents from the Stand By Me Mentor Program and teachers at a workshop to increase staff capacity to provide an appropriate ratio of students to supervisors in the field. The idea of the program is to educate students about the importance of scientific research in land stewardship. Students are introduced to field monitoring techniques and the specific topics employed in monitoring. They also learn fish surveying, stream flow measurement, and greenline transect. The results of their activities are gathered into a database that future classes can use and expand. The work that the students engage in is similar to a range of activities that local area professionals conduct in the field. These professionals, who lead the programs, have an opportunity to explain their jobs to students before they demonstrate the monitoring techniques so that students see how these activities can be part of a career in the environmental field.
Northern California Society of American Foresters
$10,000
Heather Morrison, P.O. Box 339, Camptonville, CA 95922
Forestry Institute for Teachers
The Forestry Institute for Teachers will reach teachers in kindergarten through grade 12, using the forest ecosystem as a tool to provide them the skills and knowledge to teach their students about the intricate relationship between forest ecology and sustainable forestry, and to use the ecosystem to teach universal concepts. The institute offers three workshop sessions per year in forested areas in various Northern California settings. Each session is a 6-day, hands-on field workshop. Participants are trained and encouraged to use existing materials such as Project Learning Tree, Project Wild, and Project Aquatic Wild. Field trips include a tour to spotted owl habitat, a lumber mill, an actively managed forest, a salmon-bearing stream, and a meadow restoration site.
Rising Sun Energy Center
$15,000
Ori Skloot, 2033 Center Street, Berkeley, CA 94704
Solar Education Workshop
Rising Sun Energy Center sponsors 1-day Solar Education workshops four times a year for the professional development of teachers in grades 4 through 12 to teach them how to lead conservation and renewable energy projects for their students. The workshops cover energy-efficient home design, home energy conservation, solar electricity, and solar water pumping. The teachers receive a guidebook with grade-specific curriculum and projects. Furthermore, the teachers have on-going access to an online library of solar energy and energy conservation technologies, which they can borrow to use in their classrooms. They also learn how to use solar energy technology and receive background information on the global, national, and state energy situation. This effort brings students a hands-on experience of energy education through projects such as solar race car building, passive solar home model building, solar electric wiring and circuits, and home energy efficiency retrofitting.
San Diego County Office of Education
$77,936
Brian Swagerty, 6401 Linda Vista Road, Outdoor Education, Room 410, San Diego, CA 92111
San Diego Environmental Literacy in Action
The San Diego Environmental Literacy in Action (SanDELA) project increases opportunities for professional learning in environmental literacy for educators in kindergarten through grade 12 and engages students in opportunities that build awareness of environmental issues. This program also promotes access to and participation in activities that foster environmental stewardship. To implement the project, teachers in kindergarten through grade 12 work together to develop a guidebook based on the California Science Standards and the California Education and the Environment Initiative. The guidebook, which identifies an environmental literacy issue at each grade level, describes a grade-specific stewardship project or field-based learning experience that supports the targeted environmental issue. Teachers who use the guidebook will gain hands-on, science-based examples of how to implement an environmental education program that aligns with state education standards. The guidebook is being drafted during SanDELA Academy workshops and will be tested in the field by participants. The final guidebook is being disseminated to kindergarten through grade 12 schools in 42 school districts in San Diego County and will also be available online. Four teacher workshops will be conducted on use of the guidebook. The key partners on this project are the San Diego County Office of Education’s Outdoor Education Department and the Science Department and the San Diego Science Alliance.
STAR, Inc.
$9,938
Katya Bozzi, 10117 West Jefferson Boulevard, Culver City, CA 90232
STAR Kids Lead L.A.
This program explores environmental issues pertaining to the Santa Monica Bay Watershed through hands-on watershed classes, field trips to Santa Monica Bay habitats, and real-world stewardship projects, all through daily after-school programming. The idea is to develop a model program that educates students about local environmental issues surrounding the watershed. Nine-week after-school courses are delivered centered on laboratory activities and encounters with wildlife rescues. Field trips are included to various living habitats in the Santa Monica Bay Watershed. The program culminates in a community action project, where students test their newly acquired knowledge in the real world by undertaking a service learning action project that manifests their personal concerns and visions for their own health and of the community. Examples of action projects are local beach, school, or neighborhood cleanups, wetland restorations, recycling projects, and educational murals.
The Watershed Project
$6,000
Wendy Strickland, 1327 South 46th Street, #155, Richmond, CA 94804
Healthy Schools Inside and Out
The Watershed Project is offering its “Healthy Schools Inside and Out” program in a new location: Contra Costa County. “Healthy Schools Inside and Out” is a program that builds on California’s Healthy Schools Act of 2000, which established requirements for notification on pesticide use in school buildings and on school grounds. Its 1-day workshop for teachers offers activities that will dramatically and effectively illustrate the impact of toxins on the environment and human health in ways that excite participants and stimulate them to learn and think critically. It also gives them both the tools and support to implement what they have learned with their students and communities.
Yolo Basin Foundation
$10,000
Donald Morrill, P.O. Box 943, Davis, CA 95617
Discover the Flyway Educators' Workshops
The Yolo Basin Foundation’s “Discover the Flyway” educational program is intended to make wetlands and their stewardship, in the context of the Yolo Basin, a consistent educational component of the schools of Sacramento. This project’s goal is to train teachers, volunteers, and interns so they become skilled educators for the program. Seven workshops will be delivered throughout the year. The workshops focus on many of the ecosystem processes and beneficial aspects of the Yolo Wildlife Area and nearby City of Davis Wetlands. The program seeks to expand educators’ awareness of local conservation efforts, the compatibility of urban life and agriculture, flood control, effective wildlife management, and how all these factors contribute to a healthy delta ecosystem.
Youth Employment Partnership
$13,550
Michele Clark, 2300 International Boulevard, Oakland, CA 94601
Team Oakland Environmental Stewardship Program
Youth are engaged in hands-on, nontraditional environmental education, as well as introduced to careers in the environmental field through the Team Oakland Environmental Stewardship Program. It provides a comprehensive environmental and science educational program to youth enrolled in Youth Employment Partnership’s (YEP) Team Oakland program and to students in the YEP Charter School. These youth take part in 25 hours of classroom-based education on the local marine and coastal environment, 25 hours of in-field education on coastal and marine resources and ecology, and 50 hours of cleanup at Lake Merritt and sites along the Oakland Estuary. In addition, they participate in a public awareness campaign to educate local merchants and businesses about how they can help prevent drainage of toxins to the San Francisco Bay. Educational programming is delivered by graduate students from the University of California, Berkeley’s, College of Natural Resources, and from a credentialed science teacher from the YEP Charter School.
Colorado
Colorado Allergy & Asthma Centers
$10,000
Robin Lynn Wilson, 125 Rampart Way, Suite 200, Denver, CO 80230
Breathe Better Bus Colorado Air Project
The non-profit Breathe Better Foundation (BBF) was founded in 1993 by staff and volunteers of the Colorado Allergy and Asthma Centers. Its mission is “improving the quality of life of children and adults with asthma and allergies.” The Breathe Right Better Bus is a direct service program of the BBF and promotes lung health, knowledge of asthma, and indoor and outdoor air quality issues, and reinforces youth tobacco prevention messages. The project uses existing and newly enhanced environmental education curricula to public and private schools (kindergarten through grade 8), along with local community health fairs. The program is also conducted at six sites, including several elementary and middle schools, along with local health fairs. Outcomes expected are increased student and teacher awareness of air quality and pollution issues and increased decision-making skills on how to improve air quality in their local community. The Breathe Right Better Bus has a proven 4-year record with more than 85 site visits per year.
Environmental Learning for Kids
$48,100
Stacie Gilmore, 14460 East 50th Avenue, Denver, CO 80239
Youth in Natural Resources - Science and Environmental Career Development Through Community Stewardship
Environmental Learning for Kids (ELK) is a non-profit, community-based environmental education organization with programs that give participants the opportunity to experience Colorado’s natural world. The program also enables participants to increase their science skills, participate in stewardship projects, and be exposed to careers in the field of natural resources. Youth in Natural Resources introduces youth in northeast Denver and Commerce City to environmental issues, science, natural resources, and environmental-related careers while building skills in critical thinking and providing new opportunities for youth to experience Colorado’s outdoors. ELK staff provide interactive, academically based environmental education programs and mentoring programs to students from the neighborhoods of Park Hill, Montclair, Green Valley Ranch, Montbello, and Commerce City. The delivery methods include career exploration through monthly environmental activities, college campus visits, college preparation, and summer work experience. Expected outputs include stewardship, such as pollution prevention, watershed protection, water quality monitoring, and wildlife habitat improvement, which will help the target audience become stewards in their communities while developing an informed, active constituency.
Freshwaters Illustrated
$24,200
Jeremy Monroe, P.O. Box 2252, Fort Collins, CO 80522
Riverwebs: An Educational Documentary DVD Package on Stream Ecosystems and Aquatic Conservation
Freshwaters Illustrated (FI) is a non-profit organization that works to raise public awareness about freshwater biodiversity, science, and conservation. Colorado State University (CSU) is the primary project partner, helping to facilitate production and promotion of Riverwebs. Riverwebs and its accompanying DVD, along with online resources, contributes to EPA's environmental education priority of community issues. It provides an educational resource that can help introduce a general audience, which includes classrooms and community groups, to river ecosystems, water pollution issues, and their conservation needs. The students are introduced in both formal and informal settings to the field of aquatic ecology and are provided resources and references for exploring this discipline. The educational DVD package is distributed to students in grades 6 through 12, college teachers, conservation groups, and educators through promotions with national societies and organizations. The expected output is that the DVD package and online resources will increase public awareness of freshwater ecosystems, habitat restoration and destruction, along with the continuing growth of invasive species.
FrontRange Earth Force
$15,000
Lisa Bardwell, 2120 West 33rd Avenue, Denver, CO 80211
Greenways Project: Using Stewardship of Local Greenways to Help Educators Integrate Inquiry-Based Science, Environmental Education, and Service Learning
The non-profit FrontRange Earth Force (FR Earth Force) was established in 1997 as part of an initiative sponsored by the Pew Charitable Trust, designed to encourage disadvantaged youth to become active in community service. Today, this independent organization is one of eight Earth Force field offices operating across the country. The purpose of the Greenways Project is to increase the environmental literacy of science teachers and their students and encourage participants to increase their stewardship commitment to improving and protecting the environment. The project offers professional development training on how to teach content material using effective inquiry-based strategies. Outputs include training courses, intensive workshops, and on-going coaching and technical assistance. In addition, field excursions provide hands-on instruction for teachers and their students, promote student development of a service-learning project designed to address an environmental concern, and enhance student exposure to a range of environmental careers. Students gain hands-on experience as they study native and non-native plants and wildlife, water quality, biodiversity, ecosystem dynamics, and the effects of urban growth on the system.
University Corporation for Atmospheric Research
$75,144
Timothy Spangler, P.O. Box 3000, Boulder, CO 80301
Protecting Watersheds by Educating Broadcast Meteorologists about Smart Growth
This grant is directed at broadcast meteorologists who deliver local weather reports. It enhances ongoing training efforts to provide meteorologists with core environmental knowledge that can be easily conveyed to their viewers. The Cooperative Program for Operational Meteorology, Education, and Training (COMET), part of the University Corporation for Atmospheric Research, is developing two units to train meteorologists on how to report on land use, transportation, sprawl issues, related environmental and health consequences, and the impact of these issues on local watersheds. The two new units will be incorporated into an existing online curriculum on watersheds administered by the American Meteorological Society (AMS) and the National Environmental Education Training Foundation (NEEF). The online curriculum, available on the COMET Web site, is accessed by broadcast meteorologists, as well as forecasters, colleges and universities, and the kindergarten through grade 12 community. The curriculum will also be available through AMS’ Continuing Education Program, which is required for all certified broadcast meteorologists. By learning how to incorporate environmental knowledge in daily weather reports, the meteorologists help to educate communities about the relationship between the health of watersheds and the principles and practices of smart growth. In turn, communities become better educated about local watersheds and their role in protecting them. NEEF is the partner on this project.
Connecticut
Connecticut Coalition for Environmental Justice
$10,755
Mark Mitchell, P.O. Box 2002, Hartford, CT 06145
Bridgeport Asthma Speakers' Bureau
The target audience of the Bridgeport Asthma Speakers’ Bureau is the residents in Bridgeport’s low-income neighborhoods. The speakers are drawn from neighborhood residents who are trained to educate their peers on asthma and on taking control of the indoor and outdoor environments. The first effort is focused on recruiting low-income residents who have the cultural and linguistic competency for four train-the-trainer workshops of about two hours each. Community residents and families are then invited to attend community asthma and air quality talks and strategy sessions for resolving problems. These residents are recruited through local community partners. The incentives offered to the residents attending the meetings include transportation, refreshments, and childcare.
New Haven Ecology Project
$10,022
Betsy Sneath, 358 Springside Avenue, New Haven, CT 06515
Earth Day At Common Ground
This organization holds an annual Earth Day festival for students in grades 1 through 6 and adults. During this day-long festival, participants are educated on food systems and on local, sustainable food, ecosystem protection, pollution, recycling, and organic farming. The festival raises the awareness of participants on their role in environmental protection and their connection to the natural world. These goals are achieved through interactive lessons and tours by trained Common Ground High School student and adult staff volunteers.
New Haven Urban Resources Initiative
$10,750
Colleen Murphy-Dunning, 205 Prospect Street, New Haven, CT 06511
Open Spaces as Learning Places
This project reaches students in grades 4 through 6 in an urban setting on the ecological systems around them. Open Spaces as Learning Places focuses on six types of urban open space in New Haven: school grounds, reclaimed abandoned lots that are now community-managed, city parks, rivers and wetlands, pond life, and historical cemeteries. Through these open spaces, students are educated on water cycles, nutrient cycling, wildlife biodiversity, forest structure, the connection between species and habitat diversity, and adaptation, and the impact of the urban environment on its natural counterpart. Teachers are trained to both educate the students about these open spaces and to continue the open space curriculum.
Delaware
Partnership for the Delaware Estuary, Inc.
$15,000
Kathy Klein, One Riverwalk Plaza, 110 South Poplar Street, Suite 202, New Castle, DE 19801
Teachers & Trees
Teachers & Trees is a pilot program to help teachers in kindergarten through grade 12 understand the importance of native tree restoration and the critical environmental role they play in the Delaware Estuary ecosystem. The program provides participants of the Delaware Estuary Teachers Watershed workshops the opportunity to work with scientists to learn research methods. Teachers learn about available educational resources and work toward including what they have learned into the school districts’ curriculum. The program increases awareness and develops environmental stewardship in students, parents, community landowners, and elementary, middle, and high school teachers in the estuary.
District of Columbia
Environmental Literacy Council
$15,000
Kenneth Green, 1625 K Street, NW, Suite 1020, Washington, DC 20006
A Critical Review of Energy Literacy in K-12 Environmental Education Materials
The Environmental Literacy Council has reinvigorated its review of environmental education materials and science textbooks by launching a review of materials related to energy literacy. Areas where current educational materials are considered to be falling short on teaching the fundamental scientific and economic concepts are identified to help students develop a deeper understanding of environmental issues related to energy literacy. A report generated through the review process will form the basis for the Energy Literacy Resource Guide. Middle school science teachers, curriculum coordinators, and science supervisors in school districts across the country are the target audience for this grant.
William James Foundation
$15,440
Ian Fisk, 1400 16th Street, NW, Suite 101, Washington, DC 20036
Smart Fuel Project
The William James Foundation Smart Fuel project engages middle school teachers and students of the Wissahickon Charter School located in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. Students learn to create biodiesel, a climate-friendly, vegetable oil-based fuel that reduces almost all criteria pollutants and can be used in any diesel vehicle. This program includes three major components: (1) biodiesel processor design and development, (2) on-site processing, and (3) community outreach. The main audience is middle school teachers and students, who will also provide community outreach and education on the creation and effects of biodiesel. Based on safety and other design features outlined by Smart Fuel and a system designer, students participate in the actual design of the system. The students also participate in construction and processing. Finally, the students host an evening “view and brew,” where they open the processor to the community to explain how biodiesel is created and its environmental benefits. Particular attention is paid to include other middle school students in field trips to the processor.
Florida
Duval County Health Department
Environmental Health & Safety Division
$9,881
Antoinette Jackson, 900 University Boulevard, North Suite 300, Jacksonville, FL 32211
Duval County Integrated Pest Management (IPM) Practices
The Duval County Cooperative Extension Service is providing four modules on household Improved Pest Management (IPM) train-the-trainer workshops. These modules include: (1) general IPM; (2) lawn: insect pests, disease, and weeds; (3) garden; and (4) home: ants, cockroaches, and termites. This certificate-based training is delivered to health department staff and community volunteers. The certified trainers are provided with train-the-trainer kits to deliver workshops in home improvement and hardware stores, and to neighborhood associations and community organizations. The Duval County Cooperative Extension Service uses public service announcements, health fairs sponsored by community organizations, brochures and flyers for healthcare partners, and informational resources to obtain participants once trainers have been certified.
Florida State University
$7,450
Gang Chen, 97 South Woodward Avenue, Tallahassee, FL 32306
Incorporation of Ecology and Biology Education in Environmental Engineering
Florida State University (FSU) incorporates ecological and biological sciences into its existing environmental engineering program. A curriculum on Environmental Ecology, Wetland and Environmental Restoration, and Applied Environmental Microbiology has been established to provide specialized study in environmental ecology and environmental biology. FSU uses research field facilities for teaching and provides practical experience for students to gather first-hand information on environmental restoration. This course fulfills a need since the original program offered only traditional water and air quality engineering education without specializing in the ecological and biological aspects of the environment. The project trains the students to obtain knowledge on natural sciences relevant to environmental engineering and increases their ability to understand the impact of engineering solutions in a contemporary interdisciplinary environmental issue. Their ability to work on multi-disciplinary teams will therefore be enhanced.
Resource Depot, Inc.
$4,258
Deb Romanelli, 3560 Investment Lane, #103, Rivera Beach, FL 33404
Assisting Communities to Thrive (ACT)
Resource Depot, Inc., presents a program called Assisting Communities to Thrive (ACT). This project increases awareness of the economic and lifelong environmental advantage of using free reusable materials derived from landfills. High school science teachers learn to teach multi-curriculum areas with ease through workshops, lesson plans, and field trips. These teachers are passing this information on to their students who, in turn, present workshops to multi-curriculum teachers. Additionally, students visit local businesses to distribute information and interview them about discarded materials.
University of Central Florida
$12,012
Richard Paradise, 12443 Research Parkway, Suite 207, Orlando, FL 32826-3252
Energy Conservation and Sustainability
This project addresses the community issue of energy conservation. Energy and environmental awareness workshops are conducted for students living in the university residences and building managers who administer all educational and general buildings on campus. This project is intended to change cultural thinking about energy conservation and sustainability in their community. The long-term goal is to develop an Energy Conservation and Sustainability initiative to reduce energy consumption. The medium-term goal is to reduce energy consumption along with greenhouse gas emissions by at least 10 percent. The project also provides volunteer opportunities and involves the development and distribution of a newsletter, and the conduct of energy project demonstrations.
Georgia
Bibb County Board of Education
Keep Macon Bibb Beautiful, Inc. (KMBB)
$10,000
Karl Johnston, 601 Mulberry Street, Macon, GA 31201
Waste In Place
The Keep Macon Bibb Beautiful program hosts workshops for teachers in grade 3 in the Bibb County Board of Education (BOE) system. Bibb County has committed to implement an environmental education program throughout the school system that teaches children how to make personal and informed choices that will positively affect the environment around them. The curriculum, Waste in Place, uses an integrated approach to manage municipal solid waste. It includes a multitude of hands-on projects to teach environmental stewardship as well as responsible solid waste management practices that may be implemented in schools and homes. Students enrolled in grade 3 in the 31 elementary schools in Bibb County receive instruction from teachers who participate in the workshops.
Medlock Elementary School
$4,000
Paige Stanfield, 2418 Wood Trail Lane, Decatur, GA 30033
Georgia Native Plants: Teaching Skills and Stewardship Through Gardening
The Medlock PTA sponsors the Georgia Native Plants Initiative at Medlock Elementary School, which supports and enhances an already established gardening program. By working directly with soil, seeds, and plants, students learn about the life cycles of plants and flowers, the animals these plants support, and the importance of habitat and environmental stewardship. Pre-kindergarten through grade 5 students participate in this endeavor. Benefits of the project include an improved community garden and butterfly habitat, which not only teaches and serves the teachers and students, but also senior citizens, providing a location for environmental learning, community activities, and community environmental stewardship. Special needs students are included in the target audience. Teachers participate in 2-day Project Wild workshops, which focus on teaching skills, strategies, and proven instructional tactics that help motivate student learning and participation.
Hawaii
Hanalei Watershed Hui
$17,357
Barbara Kaaumoana, P.O. Box 1285, Hanalei, HI 96714
Sediment Pollution and Erosion Control in the Watershed
This environmental education program reaches students in grades 5 and 6 on the North Shore of Kauai. Its focus is on sediment pollution in the Hawaiian watershed, how it is caused, its effects on fresh water and coral reef ecosystems, and how the pollution can be controlled. The program provides a hands-on stewardship experience that combines classroom learning with outdoor experiences. Students work together in cooperative groups to conduct field research on a local trail to assess the sediment and erosion problem. They then design and implement a community-based traditional restoration project that will reduce erosion on the trail. In a final reflective phase, the students analyze and synthesize their findings into reports and presentations that they will share locally and on their Web site.
Idaho
Friends of the Teton River
$10,584
Lyn Benjamin, 36 East Little Avenue, P.O. Box 768, Driggs, ID 83422
Blackfoot Farms Outdoor Classroom Project
The Teton Watershed Curriculum is implemented via the Blackfoot Farms Outdoor Classroom on the Blackfoot Farms Property. This curriculum was developed by Friends of the Teton River under a previous EPA grant. This curriculum is preparatory, in-field, and provides follow-up resources for learning about watershed science. Friends of the Teton River has collaborated with Blackfoot Farms on this outdoor classroom and watershed rehabilitation project for students in kindergarten through grade 12. The outdoor classroom provides two teacher workshops and teaches the existing curriculum to local students on site. In addition, two wetland ponds and Kid’s Creek are rehabilitated and monitored for native Yellowstone cutthroat trout habitat. The projects include creating interpretive signs for rehabilitating sites and the outdoor pavilion and facilitating a student-made portfolio of all activities over the length of the project. Friends of the Teton River will work with teachers in kindergarten through grade 12 and students from elementary, middle, and high schools.
Palouse-Clearwater Environmental Institute
$14,805
Greg Fizzell, P.O. Box 8596, Moscow, ID 83843
Building a Water-Conscious Moscow
Palouse-Clearwater Environmental Institute delivers locally developed, age-appropriate Water-Conscious curricula to teachers and students in kindergarten through grade 12. Classrooms participate in educational programs, and then the students are assigned to assess water use at their homes. The results are discussed in the classroom, and the students are given the opportunity to sign a pledge to be a “water-conscious citizen.” In addition, a Water-Conscious Business Program provides training and consultation to businesses in Moscow about ways to conserve; businesses that participate in the training receive recognition for their role as a regional leader in conservation.
University of Idaho
$26,708
Steve Hollenhorst, P.O. Box 443020, Moscow, ID 83844-3020
Growing What Works: A Graduate Residency and Outreach Program in Environmental Education
The University of Idaho implements a cross-disciplinary graduate course of study in environmental education that includes a one-semester teaching residency at McCall Outdoor Science School (MOSS). Graduate students from across the country and Americorps members in the community participate in the training on community ecology, environmental education testing methods, low-impact outdoor travel, and Global Learning and Observations to Benefit the Environment (GLOBE) program protocols. The graduate students subsequently serve as environmental education field instructors in a 10-week teaching residence at MOSS. Concurrently, they take three graduate-level courses and earn 15 credits over the course of the semester. Students in grades 5 and 6 participate in a 5-day ecosystem monitoring study using scientific protocols. Students spend six hours a day in the field collecting data and two hours in a laboratory setting analyzing, comparing, and synthesizing data across several different ecosystem types. Classroom teachers participate in all aspects of the field and laboratory studies. In the spring after the MOSS teaching residency, the graduate students will deliver MOSS outreach programs to additional students in grades 5 and 6 across the state.
Illinois
City of Chicago, Department of Environment, Community Programming and Outreach
$43,345
Juri Jones Moore, 30 North LaSalle Street, Suite 2500, Chicago, IL 60602
Becoming an Environmental Steward
Local university interns educate students in 24 Chicago public schools about environmental issues in the urban community. The project is an outgrowth of activities used to promote America Recycles Day and incorporates the Growing Green environmental education curriculum developed by the state Department of Environment.