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EPA Gives $75,000 Grant to Living Classrooms Foundation for Program at Masonville Cove Environmental Education Campus

Release Date: 10/02/2014
Contact Information: Roy Seneca seneca.roy@epa.gov 215-814-5567

(BALTIMORE, October 2, 2014) – The U.S Environmental Protection Agency today announced a $75,000 environmental education grant for the Living Classrooms Foundation to help the Masonville Cove Environmental Education Campus provide community outreach and watershed educational experiences to about 600 elementary students from Baltimore City Public Schools.

“EPA is excited to support this environmental education project that inspires students to achieve their potential through hands-on environmental projects,” said EPA Mid-Atlantic Regional Administrator Shawn M. Garvin. “It is essential that we educate and motivate young people about the importance of keeping our treasured waterways safe and healthy.”

The Masonville Cove Environmental Education Campus, 1000 Frankfurst Ave., Baltimore, was developed through a partnership between Living Classrooms Foundation, the Maryland Port Administration, the National Aquarium, and the Maryland Environmental Services.

“This grant from the EPA will do two great things for Baltimore: It will reduce the amount of urban stormwater runoff that flows into the Chesapeake Bay, and it will introduce hundreds of elementary students to the natural environment. That’s a win-win investment, and I am proud of the Living Classrooms Foundation and the Masonville Cove campus for having the vision to help our community in this way,” said U.S. Senator Ben Cardin.

“The Masonville Cove Environmental Education Campus provides a tremendous service to the City of Baltimore and to the state of Maryland by educating the next generation of environmental stewards,” said Congressman John Sarbanes (D-Md.). “This grant will help the campus continue its meaningful work to educate students and local communities about what they can do to safeguard not only Masonville Cove, but also the entire Chesapeake Bay watershed.”

The goals and objectives of the program at the environmental education campus include increasing public awareness about storm water runoff and how to prevent it. Ultimately, the program strives to achieve a measurable reduction of runoff pollution in the community and improve the environmental health of the Patapsco River watershed and the Chesapeake Bay.

“Thanks to this generous grant, hundreds of Baltimore City students will be better connected to our most valuable environmental treasure: the Chesapeake Bay,” said Baltimore Mayor Stephanie Rawlings-Blake. “From increased environmental literacy, to new community clean-up programs, I’m excited about what these watershed experiences will mean for our students, and for our Bay.”

The Masonville Cove Campus, which opened in April 2009, acts as a gateway to connect underserved individuals and communities to the outdoors and the Chesapeake Bay through environmental education and stewardship activities.

For more information on EPA’s environmental education grants, visit: https://www.epa.gov/education/environmental-education-ee-grants and for more information on the Masonville Cove Environmental Campus, visit: http://www.masonvillecove.org/pages/education_center/edu_center.html .