The Pennsylvania Department of Environmental Protection (DEP) has awarded $1,173,789 in Environmental Education Grants to 68 environmental education projects that will promote environmental stewardship across Pennsylvania.
"These projects help connect people to the ways we can protect the air we breathe and the water we drink, and many of them encourage learning at any age whether you're a kid or an adult," said DEP Acting Secretary Jessica Shirley. "Every grant we are awarding supports educational opportunities and will further improve people's connections to their environment."
The Environmental Education Grants program prioritizes proposals that will deliver meaningful environmental education programs to people who live, work, or attend school in areas of the Commonwealth often most threatened by climate change, and air and water pollution. This year 87% of the awarded projects will support projects that engage youth and/or adults within such areas.
The 2025 projects will deliver a wide range of environmental education programs that include providing youth with unique immersive field experiences, engaging community residents in practical climate resiliency projects, supporting school districts' efforts to develop new STEELS(opens in a new tab) standards-based curriculum, and many more.
Awarded projects are listed below. More information about the Environmental Education Grants Program is available on DEP's website, including a listing of projects that were previously awarded funding during recent years.
Notable awardees
Ellwood City Area School District has been awarded $29,250 for "Sustainable Solutions at Ellwood City Area School District." The project will launch a comprehensive aquaponics program, that fosters environmental literacy and stewardship.
Trinity Area School District was awarded $30,000 for "Sustainable Systems at TASD," that will deliver teacher (grades 6-8) water-resource trainings. Using an Aquaponics system, students will foster critical thinking, problem-solving and other "soft skills" through hands-on, curiosity-based lessons.
Wyoming Valley West High School was awarded $4,995 for "Vertical Harvesting Using Hydroponics in the Classroom." Science and home economic classes will be engaged in standards-based activities addressing water quality, soil and land and water conservation.
Ridley School District was awarded $16,889 for "Pathways to Climate Stewardship: Environmental Literacy with the Climate Action Kit." The project will train teachers and offer a platform for students to design, build and code real-world climate action solutions. Students will use a vertical aeroponic system to grow and harvest plants.
Source: Pennsylvania Government