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Maine Organization Selected for EPA Environmental Education Grant

Release Date: 10/05/2011
Contact Information: Paula Ballentine, 617-918-1027

(Boston, Mass. – October 5, 2011) A coastal program in Salisbury Cove, Maine that aims to encourage teachers and students to be stewards of their environment has recently been awarded a $83,628 environmental education grant by EPA.

Mt. Desert Island Biological Lab was one of 74 organizations in New England to apply for funding and one of four to receive part of the $219,094 awarded.                        

The funding will be used over two years to educate students at Bangor and Waterville Senior High School about marine vegetative environments through stewardship activities. Students will take part in activities such as eel grass restoration and long term monitoring of restored eel grass habitat.

This project expands the lab’s ecologist-in-residence program, engages inland teachers and students as stewards of local eelgrass habitat, creates a teacher internship program for inland teachers to work more closely with lab researchers, offers teachers a short course on marine habitats & climate change, and includes a marine science event presented by students.
                      
EPA funds environmental education projects that focus on educating teachers, students, parents or the general public about human health problems. These issues range from pollution; improving teaching tools and techniques for educators through workshops; building state or local capability to develop and deliver environmental education or public outreach programs; or promoting environmental careers and stewardship among students through hands-on activities.

The program also encourages projects that educate members of a community through community-based organizations, or educates the general public through print, film, broadcast, or other media to be more environmentally aware and make environment friendly decisions in their day-to-day lives.

Other New England organizations that received grants were:
 

• The Education Connection in Litchfield, Conn ($28,977) for a program aiming to integrate the environment into classrooms and involving 10 middle school teachers and up to 250 students.

• The Coalition for Buzzards Bay of New Bedford, Mass. ($67,629), which is working to educate elementary school children on water quality issues through a partnership between Bay In My Backyard, the YMCA Southcoast  and Wareham Public Schools.

• The Environmental Justice League of Rhode Island ($38,860), whose ECO Youth Multimedia Community Educators offers afterschool programs to mostly underserved high school students on air quality, toxics and  households chemicals to reduce the risks of VOCs, particular emissions and other asthma triggers.

More information:

- How to apply for EPA environmental education grants: (www.epa.gov/enviroed)

- EPA New England contact: Kristen Conroy (conroy.kristen [at] epa.gov) (617-918-1069)

The 2012 Environmental Education Grant Solicitation Notice is expected to be released in this fall with an end of the calendar year deadline.  Sign up for email notification of its release at www.epa.gov/enviroed/grants.html.

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