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EPA Grant to Chesapeake Bay Governors School Will Teach Environmental Issues to Elementary Students

Release Date: 7/29/1999
Contact Information: Roy Seneca (215) 814-5567

TAPPAHANNOCK, Va. -- A $14,600 grant from the EPA will establish a unique environmental education program for elementary students in 12 school districts in the middle peninsula and northern neck regions of Virginia.

Under the program, which was awarded to Essex County Public Schools, 11th and 12th graders from the Chesapeake Bay Governors School for Marine and Environmental Sciences will research environmental issues in their geographical area and then create a corresponding educational project to teach third, fourth and fifth graders.

Twelve school districts send 11th and 12th grade students for half-day sessions at the Chesapeake Bay Governors School, where environmental issues are integrated into college-level math and science classes. Under the grant program, called "Project REACH (Recognizing Environmental Activities Creating Health Hazards)," these students will be divided into teams to focus on specific community environmental issues relating to the Chesapeake Bay that impacts the younger students’ lives.

"This project will address the educational priorities of community issues and health by focusing on the well-being and preservation of the Chesapeake Bay and its tributaries," said W. Michael McCabe, regional administrator for the mid-Atlantic region.

EPA’s education grant program is designed to stimulate grass-roots environmental education. In the mid-Atlantic region, 25 grant recipients include schools, civic groups and non-profit organizations. Nationally, $3 million was awarded in 1999.

For more information on this grant, contact Nan Ides at (215) 814-5546. EPA’s regional Internet home page also has general information on the grants: https://www.epa.gov/region03.