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EPA Awards Environmental Education Grants in Arkansas

Release Date: 8/21/1998
Contact Information: For more information contact the Office of External Affairs at (214) 665-2200.

    The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) announced that seven Arkansas projects have been selected to receive more than $35,000 in Environmental Education grants.

     This annual grant program was designed to promote environmental awareness and responsibility at the grass roots level. Approximately three million dollars will be awarded nationwide this year.

     "Region 6 received more than 100 applications for this year's grant competition and more than $200,000 has been awarded for environmental education projects in the five-state region. This response underscores the concern citizens throughout Arkansas, Louisiana, New Mexico, Oklahoma and Texas have for improving and preserving our environment," EPA Regional Administrator Gregg Cooke said.

     The Four County (NW) Regional Solid Waste Management District in Fayetteville was awarded $4,991 to develop and distribute a variety of programs to educate adults and children about the damage open trash burning causes to the environment.

     The Arkansas Human Development Corporation in Little Rock will receive $9,580 to help educate farmers, farm workers and their families about how to avoid pesticide exposure.

     Arkansas State University in Mountain Home will use a $4,560 grant to develop and to present workshops for high school and college chemistry teachers where they will learn how to teach classes using small amounts of chemicals. This instruction method helps create safer laboratories and reduces chemical wastes.

     The Jessieville School District #1 hopes to increase recycling and raise awareness about the potential health hazards of trash dumping. The district will use its $900 grant to create recycling collection sites and to help fund PTA-sponsored workshops promoting recycling.

     The $5,000 grant awarded to Cabot Public Schools will be used for teacher/student workshops providing new information about air and water pollution, household hazardous waste, pollution prevention, composting and recycle-reuse-and-reduce strategies. The schools will partner with Arkansas Department of Pollution Control and Ecology, Cooperative Extension Service and Central Arkansas Regional Solid Waste Management District to present these workshops.

     Central Arkansas Regional Solid Waste Management District was awarded $5,000 to create a portable three dimensional Hazards of Pollution Model for instruction in third through seventh grade classrooms. The model will demonstrate the hazards of improper disposal of waste such as open trash burning and the benefits to composting and recycling.

     Educational institutions, state and tribal environmental or educational agencies, and nonprofit organizations, including public broadcasting agencies, are eligible to apply for Environmental Education grants. Complete information and application forms for1999 grants will soon be available on the Internet at https://www.epa.gov/enviroed. After mid-September, this information also can be obtained by calling EPA Region 6 at (214)665-2204 or (800)887-6063.