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EPA Awards Environmental Education Grants in Texas

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 nine Texas projects have been selected to receive nearly $100,000 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.

     Arlington Independent School District was awarded $3,000 to help create an outdoor learning center and environmental gardens where about 600 high school students will study a variety of environmentally related subjects.

     Bishop Dunne High School in Dallas will receive $14,050 for its Five Mile Creek and Trinity River Basin Project. Students will collect and analyze samples as they study the area and produce a documentary about their findings to be aired on community access cable.

     The American Institute for Learning will use a $14,789 grant to teach hundreds of at-risk elementary and secondary students in Austin about recycling.

     The $25,000 grant to The Green Classroom, Inc., of Austin, will fund development of curriculum and materials combining hands-on learning methods and peer mentors to teach students from 30 schools about water quality and conservation.

     The West Orange-Cove Consolidated Independent School District received $22,125 for its Native Classroom, an eight-acre woodland and two-acre island area where about 3,200 students will learn about forest and wetlands ecologies. Additionally, volunteers ranging from middle school students to senior citizens will make environmental presentations  throughout the community.

     The Nature Discovery Center in Bellaire will use a $5,000 grant for the Prairie Education Project to educate children and adults about the importance of prairie environments. The grant will fund creation of a traveling Prairie Ecology Exhibit, a portable Outreach Prairie Display, and development of four curriculum units on prairies.

     An Outreach Program on Environmental Awareness at Richardson's J. J. Pearce High School will receive $4,934. The project will allow students to test scientific concepts and principles learned in the classroom through field research during ecological camping trips. The effects of the program will be expanded as upperclassmen share their knowledge and experiences with younger students.

     Another $5,000 grant will be used by the Classical Magnet School in Richardson to create an outdoor learning center for the entire school district. It will feature three native ecosystems, a grassland prairie, woodlands and wetlands areas.

     The Allen Academy in Bryan was awarded $5,000 to establish a student-created and -maintained nature center for environmental and other scientific studies.

     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.