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Oklahoma Environmental Projects Win EPA Awards

Release Date: 7/17/2000
Contact Information: For more information contact the Office of External Affairs at (214) 665-2200.

                               
     Norman Public Schools and the Heart of Oklahoma Council of Camp Fire based in Oklahoma City will receive Environmental Education Grants of almost $10,000 from the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA). The projects increase environmental awareness while encouraging students to pursue careers in environmental fields.

     "The creativity, enthusiasm and commitment of these students and their adult sponsors will help ensure that our environment is protected for future generations. These projects are powerful examples of what can be accomplished when concerned individuals work together to improve their neighborhoods and communities," EPA Regional Administrator Gregg Cooke said.

     Norman Public Schools will receive a $5,000 grant in support of the W.O.O.D.S. Annex. Norman teachers participate in Project Wet training workshops and a four-week Naturalist in Residents program to prepare them to serve as environmental guides.

     The W.O.O.D.S. annex project is used for environmental studies including applying scientific processes of observing, counting, measuring, collecting, and drawing conclusions about organisms.

     The Heart of Oklahoma Council of Camp Fire, based in Oklahoma City, will receive a $4,788 grant in support of its program, Science-Sense. The program uses ten Braille Trail stations to transform an outdoor classroom into an area where visually impaired children and blindfolded sighted children experience nature through non-visual senses.  

     Children follow a guide rope and pause at the different stations to experience the scents, sounds and textures of plants, seeds, arachnids, mammals, reptiles, amphibians, rocks and minerals.  Each station is identified with signs in standard print and Braille, cassette tapes and brochures.

     This year Region 6 received 57 entries from Arkansas, Louisiana, New Mexico, Oklahoma and Texas. Fourteen groups were selected to receive $100,000 in Environmental Education grants.

     Since 1992, EPA has received between $2 and $3 million in grant funding per year and has awarded about 1,700 grants nationwide. More information about Environmental Education Grants and information on applying for grants to be awarded in 2001 is available on EPA's web site at https://www.epa.gov/enviroed/grants.html or by calling the Region 6 coordinator at 214.665.2204 or toll-free at 800.887.6063.