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Two Mass. Groups Selected for $54K in EPA Environmental Education Grants

Release Date: 02/26/2008
Contact Information: Laura Poirier, (617) 918-1079 Kristen Conroy, (617) 918- 1069

(Boston, Mass. – Feb. 26, 2008) - Two Massachusetts education organizations were recently awarded a total of $54,075 in EPA environmental education grants. The Appalachian Mountain Club received $15,000, and the Silent Spring Institute received $39,075.

“Education is a central tool in raising awareness about our environment,” said Robert Varney, regional administrator for EPA's New England Office. “By helping students learn more about our environment, we help develop citizen awareness about how to address needs for a clean and healthy environment.”

Appalachian Mountain Club, based in Boston, Mass., will use the EPA grant to work with almost 2,000 fifth-to-twelfth grade students in New Hampshire on hands-on activities in Biological Sciences (forest ecology, watershed, wildlife, winter ecology), Earth Sciences (mountain weather, geology), and Outdoor Skills (maps & compasses, teambuilding). All programs emphasize how humans affect and are related to the natural environment. Ranging between one to five days in length, the courses are shortened or lengthened to meet the needs of the individual schools. Techniques that will be used to teach these subjects in an interactive way, while fulfilling state-mandated curricula requirements, will include journaling, observation and analysis, and group discussions.

Silent Spring Institute of Newton, Mass., educates the general public, health professionals and community leaders in Massachusetts about threats to human health from environmental pollution and provides a tool that facilitates active participation in improving health by reducing environmental exposures. The Massachusetts Health and Environmental Information System (Mass HEIS) is an interactive, web-based mapping tool that allows visitors to explore how sources of pollution, indicators of environmental quality and certain health outcomes vary across Massachusetts. This organization is presenting the Mass HEIS site to over 25 organizations.

These two grants were among a total of $114,000 in environmental education grants awarded by EPA’s New England office. EPA funds environmental education projects that focus on improving teaching skills for educators, typically through workshops; educating teachers, students, or the public about the environment and potential health problems stemming from environmental pollution; helping states or communities to develop and deliver environmental education programs; or promoting environmental careers among students.


More Information:

EPA grants to AMC and SSI (http://epa.gov/region1/ra/ed/grant07.html)

EPA Environmental Education resources in New England (http://epa.gov/region1/education/index.html)

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