The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) has selected three organizations in Iowa, Kansas, and Missouri to receive a total of $280,000 in Environmental Education Grants. These projects are part of a national selection of 38 organizations set to receive over $3.6 million through EPA's Environmental Education Grants program.
“Congratulations to this year’s Region 7 Environmental Education Grant selectees!” said EPA Region 7 Administrator Meg McCollister. “These organizations will connect project participants to information and resources and enable them to make tangible environmental improvements in their communities for years to come.”
The selected projects include:
- The Kansas Association for Conservation and Environmental Education (KACEE) in Manhattan, Kansas, which will receive $100,000 for its “Preparing the Next Generation for Green Careers in Climate Change” project. This initiative aims to encourage students from diverse backgrounds to address barriers to their involvement and interest in green careers. The project will serve approximately 30 educators and 1,000 middle to high-school students from six underserved communities in Kansas and Missouri.
- The Missouri River Bird Observatory (MRBO) in Arrow Rock, Missouri, which will receive $80,000 for its “Empowering Kansas City Residents to Take Environmental Action” project. This effort seeks to create more informed and environmentally conscious communities that can better protect their interests and the environment by engaging community members, business owners, community-based organizations, Title I school parents, and subaward recipients in five underserved communities.
- Upper Iowa University in Fayette, Iowa, which will receive $100,000 for its “Learning and Living in a Changing Climate” project. This program aims to educate participants on the impacts of climate change through immersive three-day educator workshops and virtual follow-up sessions. It targets pre-K to post-secondary teachers and their students as well as informal environmental educators with the goal of training 88 educators and impacting up to 4,800 students.
EPA anticipates providing funding for these projects once all legal and administrative requirements are satisfied.
Since 1992, EPA has distributed between $2 million and $3.7 million annually through its Environmental Education Grant program—totaling over $95 million supporting nearly 4,000 projects. The program traditionally provides financial support for projects that design or disseminate environmental education practices or techniques.
For more information about current award winners or future grant competitions visit the EPA’s EE Grants page.
