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Two Connecticut Groups Receive $21,619 of EPA Environmental Education Grants

Release Date: 10/15/2003
Contact Information: Margot Perez-Sullivan, EPA Press Office (617-918-1060)

BOSTON- The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency today announced it has awarded $21,619 of $198,700 in environmental education grants to two Connecticut organizations. The two organizations are among 20 recipients throughout New England.

Selected from among 89 applicants nationwide, the two Connecticut organizations that received the grants were the Science Center of Connecticut in West Hartford and Progressive Training Association in Bridgeport.

The grants are targeted to organizations that tackle community issues, environmental justice, environmental education and environmental health issues.

"Environmental education is an important building block for ensuring a safe and healthy environment for future generations," said Robert W. Varney, regional administrator of EPA's New England Office. "These grants will support many of the state's most exciting environmental education programs focusing on such issues as lead education, air pollution and environmental justice issues."

• Progressive Training Association is receiving $4,969 for Project PEEAL (Parent Empowerment and Education About Lead) to educate parents of young children slated to be released from correctional facilities about the dangers of lead poisoning. The program will offer monthly workshops at the North Avenue Jail in Bridgeport and program coordinators plan house visits to assess a given family's need for lead education while also strengthening the capacity and the skills for parents to advocate on their children's behalf.
  
• The Science Center of Connecticut, partnering with the Boys and Girls Club, is receiving $16,650 for its summer ozone monitoring program which will integrate an ozone monitoring project and a five- week air pollution curriculum. The program will reach 250 diverse youth in eight of the state's urban communities, utilizing hands-on interactive techniques to educate students on environmental health threats in their community while tackling important issues including environmental justice.