Profiles of Environmental Education Grants Awarded to Organizations in Georgia
- Indicates a Headquarters grant
2014 Grants
Captain Planet Foundation $91,000
Karan Wood, 133 Luckie Street, Atlanta, GA, 30303
http://www.captainplanetfdn.orgExit
Grant in a Box
Thirty teachers from two or more states in EPA Region 4, working in small cohorts of 2-4 per district, will field-test in the “Environmental Stewardship Grant in a Box” model by attending a three day professional development workshop in Atlanta, followed by monthly meetings in their cohorts to participate in HOWs: Hands on Webinars with activities related to online content. In a scaffolded approach that challenges teachers to progressively build capacity for facilitating environmental stewardship, they will begin engaging students in inquiry investigations and stewardship projects for which supplies and directions are included in one of four “Grants in a Box,” each of which is designed around an EPA environmental priority area. After successfully completing and reviewing these projects with their classes, teachers will work with students to design an innovative environmental stewardship project that addresses an authentic local need, for which a $1000 EPA sub-grant will be awarded.
2011 Grants
Upper Chattahoochee Riverkeeper, Inc. $16,508
Ms. Rebecca Klein, 916 Joseph Lowery Blvd., Atlanta, GA 30318
Rain Harvesting Program
This project “The Rain Harvest Program” will expand the existing program to reach over 1,500 citizens and students in learning to preserve water resources during droughts and fast growing populations. This will be accomplished by hosting at least 40 rain barrel workshops with civic and low-income groups, businesses, and schools. Participants will learn how to retrofit and install rain barrels constructed from recycled Coke syrup drums. The goal is to install 1,500 rain barrels over the next year, saving roughly 1,080,000 gallons of water per year. This will be taught in conjunction with educating the importance of capturing rain for use in gardens and outdoor landscaping.
2009 Grants
Jekyll Island Foundation, Inc. $29,000
Terry Norton, 381 Reverview Drive, Jekyll Island, GA 31527
Sea Turtle Education Project
The Sea Turtle Education Project (STEP) addresses issues of coastal ecosystem vulnerability and reducing human impact. STEP engages public and private school students in grade 3 and their teachers in a three-part environmental educational outreach program using the evidence-based "Amazing Adaptations," "Georgia's Sea Turtles," and "Garbage in the Water" curriculum for third graders. STEP increases student understanding of, and appreciation for, conservation efforts related to the Southeast Coastal environment. These outcomes are achieved by engaging public and private school students in on-site workshops, field trips, and guided investigations. Students participate in research and creative problem-solving to develop strategies for reducing the adverse impact of humans on Georgia's coastal ecology and sea turtle populations.
Upper Chattahoochee Riverkeeper, Inc. $25,000
Sally Bethea, 916 Joseph E. Lowery Boulevard, Atlanta, GA 30318
Lake Lanier Aquatic Learning Center
The Lake Lanier Aquatic Learning Center offers learning opportunities aboard a specially equipped floating classroom. This hands-on laboratory is used to study the lake's ecology and its local watersheds. This project provides students from diverse communities with information to help teach their families, friends, and neighbors how to preserve their water and how to use it more efficiently. It also offers an opportunity for students and teachers to make the connection between the waterways that supply their drinking water and their daily lives through hands-on, problem-solving activities.
2007 Grants
Keep Covington/Newton Beautiful $14,000
Laura Riley, 1124 Clark Street, Covington, GA 30014
Detective Seymore Green Puppet Show
Keep Coving/Newton Beautiful is the local affiliate of Keep America Beautiful and Keep Georgia Beautiful. This non-profit organization coordinates production of a new puppet show each year. The shows are written with interesting characters and catchy songs to teach environmental concepts. The puppets repeat these messages and songs on commercials broadcast on local cable television. The group has a volunteer puppeteer team that travels to all elementary schools in Newton County as well as to clubs, churches, and other organizations to stage the puppet show. The primary goal is to inspire everyone in Newton County to take responsibility for a clean and beautiful community by recycling. The purpose is to educate children about procedures and benefits of recycling in a way that is fun and memorable for them.
2006 Grants
Bibb County Board of Education Keep Macon Bibb Beautiful, Inc. (KMBB) $10,000
Karl Johnston, 601 Mulberry Street, Macon, GA 31201
Waste In Place
The Keep Macon Bibb Beautiful program hosts workshops for teachers in grade 3 in the Bibb County Board of Education (BOE) system. Bibb County has committed to implement an environmental education program throughout the school system that teaches children how to make personal and informed choices that will positively affect the environment around them. The curriculum, Waste in Place, uses an integrated approach to manage municipal solid waste. It includes a multitude of hands-on projects to teach environmental stewardship as well as responsible solid waste management practices that may be implemented in schools and homes. Students enrolled in grade 3 in the 31 elementary schools in Bibb County receive instruction from teachers who participate in the workshops.
Medlock Elementary School $4,000
Paige Stanfield, 2418 Wood Trail Lane, Decatur, GA 30033
Georgia Native Plants: Teaching Skills and Stewardship Through Gardening
The Medlock PTA sponsors the Georgia Native Plants Initiative at Medlock Elementary School, which supports and enhances an already established gardening program. By working directly with soil, seeds, and plants, students learn about the life cycles of plants and flowers, the animals these plants support, and the importance of habitat and environmental stewardship. Pre-kindergarten through grade 5 students participate in this endeavor. Benefits of the project include an improved community garden and butterfly habitat, which not only teaches and serves the teachers and students, but also senior citizens, providing a location for environmental learning, community activities, and community environmental stewardship. Special needs students are included in the target audience. Teachers participate in 2-day Project WILD workshops, which focus on teaching skills, strategies, and proven instructional tactics that help motivate student learning and participation.
2005 Grants
Georgia Department of Natural Resources $55,000
Kimberlee Bailey, 4244 International Parkway, Suite 104, Atlanta, GA 30354
Building Capacity for Environmental Education in the Southeastern States.
Through this project, the Georgia Department of Natural Resources (GDNR) is creating a Web-based environmental education clearinghouse for each of seven states and is developing an integrated environmental education Web site for the southeastern United States. The project builds on an effort initiated in 2000 to develop a Web site intended to disseminate information about environmental education activities, opportunities, and resources in Georgia. Using the Web site developed for Georgia as a model, GDNR is developing state-specific environmental education Web sites for Alabama, Florida, Kentucky, Mississippi, North Carolina, South Carolina, and Tennessee. The Web sites provide environmental education lesson plans and curriculum guides; information about grants, awards, outreach programs, field studies, and conferences; and news about professional learning courses for formal and nonformal educators. Each site also contains a directory that provides educators with access to a searchable database of environmental education organizations, schools, and resources. The sharing of quality resources on the sites and the exchange of information among the sites' users increase educators' ability to provide effective environmental education programs and reduce duplication of effort across states. GDNR's Web site development effort could be replicated in other regions. Key GDNR partners in the project are the Environmental Education Alliance of Georgia, the Georgia Department of Education, the Georgia Department of Community Affairs, and the Georgia Parent Teacher Association.
Southeastern Natural Sciences Academy $7,728
Lauren Lott, 540 B Telfair Street, Augusta, GA 30901-2301
Environmental Education Loan Box Program
This project extends the success of the "loan box" program to the Southeastern Natural Sciences Academy Nature Park's new field trips and revamps the materials and supplies of existing loan boxes. The loan boxes provide kindergarten through grade 12 teachers with introductory information about nature park field trips and classroom activities to use both before and after the trips. The academy's education programs at the nature park offer students hands-on, engaging activities that inspire curiosity and facilitate learning. The academy assembles 14 new loan boxes that correlate to seven new field trips and revises 21 loan boxes that correlate to seven existing field trips. The goal of this program is to intensify environmental stewardship throughout the educational system.
Upper Chattahoochee Riverkeeper, Inc. $25,000
Page Gleason, 3 Puritan Mill, 916 Joseph E. Lowery Boulevard, Atlanta, GA 30318
Partners for Clean Water After-School Program for Hispanic Youth
The outreach program, Partners for Clean Water, focuses on developing environmental stewardship in Hispanic students in grades 5 and 6 and their parents in Hall County. Stewardship is developed through a series of eight field trips and a variety of environmental lessons. Partners for Clean Water exposes participants to various aspects of the watershed, including creeks, the Chattahoochee River, and Lake Lanier.
2004 Grants
Board of Regents of the University System of Georgia on Behalf of the University of Georgia $19,120
Dr. Jim Affolter, 2450 S. Milledge Avenue, Athens, GA 30605
Teacher-Training Web Site for the Georgia Endangered Plant Stewardship Network
This project involves development of a Web site to serve as an integral component of a successful environmental education program created by the Georgia Plant Conservation Alliance in 1996. The Georgia Endangered Plant Stewardship Network is a teacher training program that emphasizes rare plants, threatened habitats, and conservation biology as a focus area for science education. The training program includes teaching manuals, lesson plans, science kits, slide shows and a newsletter. The training materials are placed on the Web site along with tools such as an interactive Lesson Planner that will facilitate use of the materials in classrooms across the state. Educators have first access to the Web site at a new teacher training workshop.
DeKalb County Park and Recreation Department $5,000
Dave Butler, 1300 Commerce Drive, Suite 200, Decatur, GA 30030
Constitution Lakes Wetland Monitoring
The intent of this project is to introduce students and teachers from urban schools to the value of wetlands, particularly in an urban environment, as well as wildlife habitat, water quality, and flood reduction. Students and teachers visit a wetland site and are provided with water quality test kits and other materials. The project is conducted using Project WET (Wonders of Wetlands) resources and Adopt-A-Wetland program techniques supplied by the Georgia Department of Natural Resources. The teacher training includes both classroom and field study. The community, which consists largely of a minority population, uses this information to address issues related to wetlands, wildlife, and water quality.
2003 Grants
Georgia Department of Natural Resources $2,185
Brenda Bettross, 3723 Mistletoe Road, Appling, GA 30802
Programming Kits for Teachers and Volunteers
Throughout the year, school groups and other organized groups request outdoor educational programs provided by Mistletoe State Park. Most of these groups consist of approximately 40 children. Mistletoe State Park staff members develop programming kits for teachers and volunteers that provide the opportunity for larger organized groups to participate in their environmental education programs. Each kit contains a detailed lesson plan on an environmental topic, posters, activity sheets, and hands-on materials that provide a better understanding and respect for the environment. Orientation packets introduce teachers, group leaders, and volunteers to the opportunities that the programming kits create for larger groups.
Georgia Water and Pollution Control Association $2,750
Bryan Wagoner, P.O. Box 6129, Marietta, GA 30065
"Water Works" - A Professional Science Educator's 2-Day Environmental Training Workshop
This project provides a 2-day workshop that offers teachers information and practical training about the most important water quality and water resource issues facing Georgia today. Fifty secondary-level science educators from across Georgia have been given the opportunity to learn about water resource curricula during this training workshop. The workshop includes plenary sessions that highlight local and statewide water-related challenges as well as numerous hands-on sessions. These sessions are based on the Water Source Book curricula developed by EPA and other partners.
National Wildlife Federation $22,000
Vicki Seastrom, 1330 West Peachtree Street, Suite 475, Atlanta, GA 30309
Schoolyard Habitats and Community Outreach: Take It Home
The National Wildlife Federation's (NWF) Schoolyard Habitats and Community Outreach: Take it Home project is a model initiative to directly magnify the power of NWF's existing programs and resources by combining and delivering them in innovative ways and by using schools as gateways to increase community involvement. NWF targeted 12 schools to participate in this project. Five of the schools are in underserved and culturally diverse neighborhoods in inner-city Atlanta. For all 12 schools, NWF provides teachers with basic materials, guidance, and follow-up support. To fully implement and test the model, NWF works intensively with students, teachers, other school personnel, and community supporters at the five inner-city schools. The project's goal is to empower students and teachers to practice environmental stewardship as they come to understand that their health and well-being are directly linked to conservation of water resources, wildlife, and habitat.
2002 Grants
Driftwood Nature Center $5,000
Ann Marie Wilson, P. O. Box 20712, St. Simons Island, GA 31522
Adopt-A-Stream Program
Driftwood Nature Center is expanding its program to include the Adopt-A-Stream program to its curriculum. During the academic year, 5,000 fourth- through eighth-grade students from Georgia, Florida, North Carolina, and South Carolina visit the center for 3 days to learn hands on about its diverse ecosystem. Each visiting school specializes its learning experience by choosing from over 20 different courses, all geared towards Georgia's education standards, to supplement classroom curriculum. The Adopt-A-Stream program is included in these options. This hands-on, one-on-one program is filled with activities that teach decision-making, critical-thinking, and problem-solving skills for students and community members. Driftwood Nature Center has visits from an average of two school groups per week for 28 weeks of the year. Not only do the residential students participate, but the program is also offered as part of the Center's summer camp experience.
University of Georgia Cooperative Extension Service $21,635
John W. Worley, 621 Boyd Graduate Studies Research Center, Athens, GA 30602
Environmental Training for Confined Animal Feeding Operators
The goal of this project is to provide assistance to farmers in Georgia with confined animal feeding operations. The objectives for this project are to: (1) improve the county agents' ability to educate and assist farmers in their geographic areas through improved tools and dissemination of current information; (2) educate farmers so they will improve their environmental management and comply with current environmental regulations; (3) provide necessary knowledge and materials for farmers to work with county agents in the development of a plan to properly deal with animal waste on their farm; and (4) continue to provide technical assistance to farmers and county agents regarding animal waste issues and regulations. A training program is offered to farmers in a 2-day interactive seminar conducted by scientists and extension specialists from the University of Georgia and the Georgia Department of Agriculture. Continuing education and assistance is conducted by county agents at the local level. This assistance requires the enhancement of current Internet-based and printed tools. County agents also disseminate new information on regulations and environmental issues.
Upper Chattahoochee Riverkeeper Fund, Inc. $37,500
Bill Crawford, 1900 Emery Street, Suite 450, Atlanta, GA 30318
Watershed Patch Project - Teaching Children to Be Good Stewards of Their Watersheds
Using a modified version of the EPA's Girl Scout Water Drop Patch Project, the project expands on the successful Riverkeeper Youth Network to the headwaters of the watershed located in several counties of northern Georgia. The program involves rural students in grades 5 through 8 in a year-long, hands-on study of the Upper Chattahoochee watersheds. Teachers receive training and educational materials to support student efforts to perform chemical and biological adopt-a-stream activities, participate in a cleanup, attend environmental education field trips, and to learn how to assess the health of a stream. Other students are provided with an overview of activities they can do to protect and preserve local water resources. Partners include the Elachee Nature Center, Georgia Adopt-A-Stream, the Chestatee Watershed Association, and the Soque Watershed Association.
2001 Grants
Camp Fire Boys and Girls, Inc. $5,000
Marian Long, 100 Edgewood Avenue, Suite 528, Atlanta, GA 30303
Camp Taccoa: Wetlands and Wildlife
With the Wetlands and Wildlife project, Camp Taccoa is upgrading its environmental education program for students, educators, and summer campers to include an in-depth look at wetlands and animals that inhabit wetlands. The project has three components: 1) to offer environmental education at Camp Taccoa as a field trip destination for students, 2) to offer separate workshops for teachers to increase their knowledge of wetlands and habitats for use in the classroom, and 3) to strengthen the environmental education experience offered to summer campers. During the school year, children from counties in the area take field trips to the camp to participate in its environmental education program. In the summer, campers participate in the program.
Dade County School System $1,667
Jane Underwood, P. O. Box 188, Trenton, GA 30752
Project Learning Tree Teacher Training - Awareness of Environmental Connections
The purpose of the project is to enhance the instructional capabilities of teachers in Dade County by providing them with additional resources to extend existing programs and to support the development of additional programs that offer real-world connections among elements of the curriculum that help deepen students' understanding of and involvement in environmental issues. The local office of the Georgia Forestry Commission, as well as the regional office in Rome, provide training in the Project Learning Tree Program for Dade County teachers (of pre-kindergarten programs and in kindergarten through grade 12) during a one-day workshop. The program uses resources from the forest as a "window" to diverse environments. Throughout the activities, students are involved in investigative and decision-making processes.
Georgia Forestry Foundation $22,417
Carla Rapp, 500 Pinnacle Court, Suite 505, Norcross, GA 30071
Expanding the Mission of Georgia Project Learning Tree
The project enhances and expands Project Learning Tree in the state of Georgia. Project Learning Tree exposes teachers and environmental educators to an interdisciplinary curriculum for pre-kindergarten children and students in kindergarten through grade 12 that focuses on the total environment -- land, air, and water. Like the national model, Georgia Project Learning Tree trains volunteer facilitators throughout the state, who in turn use Project Learning Tree's tested and frequently evaluated curricula to conduct workshops for educators. Statewide education reforms, including specific recommendations related to the quality core curriculum and character education mandates, are incorporated into the workshops.
Piedmont Park Conservancy $4,500
Kendra Cotton, P. O. Box 7795, Atlanta, GA 30357
Piedmont Park Outdoor Environmental Education Center
The program takes students out of their traditional classrooms to learn and study in one of Atlanta's oldest and most environmentally diverse public parks. The program is being expanded to include all public schools in Atlanta, Boys and Girls clubs, scouting organizations, private after-school programs, and other youth groups. The program is designed to teach students the value of parks to a community and promote respect for our environment. Students study various aspects of atmosphere, biology, land and soil, horticulture, and water, at levels appropriate to each grade. They also learn about the necessity that all citizens act wisely to preserve and protect the green spaces of parks while they enjoy the wonders of the park and nature.
Southeastern Natural Sciences Academy $4,650
Elisabeth Schhussler, 540 B Telfair Street, Augusta, GA 30901
Educational Kit Loan Program
The Southeastern Natural Sciences Academy is developing and operating Phinizy Swamp Nature Park. The focus of the park's environmental education program is the school tour. The purpose of the project is to assemble 32 loan kits that specifically correlate with the tours offered at Phinizy Swamp Nature Park and to make those kits available to teachers in the area who book tours at the park. Loan kits are developed in four areas: wetland habitats and organisms, watersheds and pollution, stream ecology, and health and wastewater and drinking-water issues. Each loan kit contains established curricula, such as books or videos, supplies for classroom activities, and information about careers. The instructions include specific outlines and planning guides for using the kits for various lengths of time, providing flexibility and ease of use. The loan kits are made available during the week of their scheduled field trip to enhance the value of the students' visit to the nature park.
Stephenson High School $5,000
Lillian Johnston, 701 Stephenson Road, Stone Mountain, GA 30087
Interactive Education: Outdoor Classroom
During the past two years, Stephenson High School, with support from local businesses and the community, has built an interactive outdoor classroom. The project expands that effort and involves students and teachers in various subject areas, thereby promoting interdisciplinary learning. Students apply scientific skills to collect, analyze, and process seismographic data associated with the Norris-Lake fault line, identify the nutrients in soil, scrutinize nearby streams and creeks to determine the effects of increased construction of housing in the area on water quality, and participate in the construction and management of two heated greenhouses and one seasonal shaded greenhouse with a fresh-water pond habitat. The ultimate goal for the projects is to enhance students' test scores by providing them practical, hands-on experiences, as well as to introduce them to careers in environmental fields.
Vines Botanical Gardens Foundation, Inc. $5,000
Aaron Paulsen, 3500 Oak Grove Road, Loganville, GA 30052
Nature�'s World Wide Web
Vines Botanical Gardens Foundation is a non-profit organization, the mission of which is to promote gardens and gardening as a means of returning to and promoting better understanding of the environment. The program Nature's World Wide Web, offered to the students of metropolitan Atlanta, emphasizes the elements of an ecosystem and the roles that both living and non-living elements play in keeping an ecosystem intact. The project provides opportunities for elementary students from low-income families in Gwinnett County, Georgia to visit the gardens and to participate in the program.
2000 Grants
Chattahoochee High School $18,875
Dell Pamplin, 5230 Taylor Road, Alpharetta, GA 30022
Active Riparian Commensal Habitats Education Network
Active Riparian Commensal Habitats (ARCH) is the creation of advanced placement environmental science students at Chattahoochee High School, in cooperation with the Fulton County government, the Ekistics Group (landscape architecture), the Georgia Institute of Technology, and the Georgia Environmental Protection Division. After observing an existing retention pond over several years, students developed the concept for an environmental education center, the ARCH. The site is a multi-use facility where the sciences and the arts can be taught in collaboration. The goals are to participate in a real-world application of science and engineering through the design and construction of a wetland treatment system and environmental education and sampling stations; to build an amphitheater for students of art, drama, and other areas of study; and to establish a network for promoting and sharing the ARCH project with audiences of all backgrounds.
Georgia Department of Natural Resources $40,000
Mark Smith, 4244 International Parkway, Suite 104, Atlanta, GA 30354
Environmental Education Enhancement and Coordination
The mission of the State of Georgia Environmental Protection Division (EPD) is to provide citizens of Georgia with clean air, clean water, healthy lives, and productive land by ensuring compliance with environmental regulations and by assisting others to participate in activities that improve their environment. Recognizing the need to build capacity by improving and enhancing environmental education efforts, coordinating activities, and using available technologies, EPD and its partners bring together existing groups, compile existing environmental education information, identify needs, and act as a clearinghouse. Following an interagency capacity-building summit to help determine how environmental education organizations can work together more effectively to promote environmental education in Georgia, a Web site is being developed to disseminate information about environmental education activities, opportunities, and resources. The interactive Web site provides users access to curriculum guides and useful information that increases public awareness, as well as links to local, state, federal, nonprofit, private, and for-profit resources. Current environmental education providers, as well as others in the teaching community, students, public officials, and private citizens, are the intended audience of the project. Key partners in the project include the Environmental Education Alliance of Georgia, the Georgia Department of Education, and the Georgia Department of Community Affairs.
Piedmont Park Conservancy $4,500
Karen Schaefer, P. O. Box 7795, Atlanta, GA 30357
Piedmont Park Outdoor Environmental Education Center
The goal of the project is to create the Piedmont Park Outdoor Environmental Education Center. The center adapts existing environmental education activities and curricula to the ecosystem of an urban park. During field trips to Piedmont Park, students in kindergarten through grade 12 programs in Atlanta, Georgia and their teachers employ the outdoor discovery learning activities to investigate and learn about environmental issues. Through hands-on experiences, urban inner-city school children acquire the ability to think critically about the relationships between human development and natural ecosystems. By making outdoor environmental education available to the largely minority, low-income urban population of the Atlanta school system, the project provides an opportunity for those children to gain an understanding of the natural environment and motivates them to make informed decisions about environmental issues.
University of Georgia $5,000
Janet Valente, 612 Graduate Studies Building, Athens, GA 30602
Power to our Children
The project is designed to educate, support, and motivate teachers, children, and families to understand energy conservation issues, both at school and at home, to gain control of their environment and of energy costs. A teacher-educator consultant works with Head Start teachers and, in collaboration with an energy education program specialist, teaches educational workshops for Head Start pre-kindergarten teachers, children, and families. One hundred families participate in interactive family training and in evaluating the project.
1999 Grants
Camp Fire Boys and Girls, Inc. - Georgia Council $5,000
Marian S. Long, 100 Edgewood Avenue, N.E., Suite 528, Atlanta, GA 30303
Camp Toccoa: Tawasi Wetland Project
Camp Toccoa, the resident camp and environmental education center for Camp Fire Boys and Girls - Georgia Council, offers a natural wetlands area and nature center that have been enhanced for educational purposes. The Tawasi Wetland Project brings 1,000 students and teachers from Stephens County to the site by providing scholarships for the students and teaching modules for the teachers. Using a specially developed curriculum, Camp Toccoa's staff teach students and educators the importance of wetland areas to the environment and the crucial link between wetlands and the greater watershed.
Georgia Environmental Organization (GEO) $5,000
Glenn Delfish, 3185 Center Street, Smyrna, GA 30080
Urban Environmental Outreach Experience for High School Students and Teachers
This project for 96 high school students and teachers in the metropolitan Atlanta area offers participants the opportunity to learn about point- and non-point-source pollution and other water quality issues through experimentation and problem-solving activities. Each of four outings takes 24 students, teachers, and staff of the Georgia Environmental Organization (GEO) on raft trips on the Chattahoochee River, departing from the camp site at the GEO. During the raft trips, the participants learn and practice environmental stewardship techniques. Funding by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) will provide scholarships and support the purchase of equipment for the raft trips.
Greater Atlanta Community Corps, Inc. $5,343
J. D. Ferguson, 250 Georgia Avenue, Suite 205, Atlanta, GA 30312
Young Atlantans for the Environment (YAE)
This program allows 60 middle and high school students living in the west Atlanta watershed the opportunity to learn about water quality through hands-on activities and research. The partners supporting the project are the city of Atlanta, Georgia Adopt-a-Stream, and the Georgia Department of Natural Resources. Through the research they perform, which necessitates interaction with the community and subsequent publication and presentation of the findings, it is expected that water quality issues will be addressed and will influence local policy.
1998 Grants
Chatham County Board of Health $4,900
Diane Z. Weems, 2011 Eisenhower Drive, Savannah, GA 31406
Home Hazards Education and Prevention Program
This project uses the Healthy Indoor Air for America's Homes instructional materials prepared by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency to provide environmental education. Its audience includes senior citizens groups, clients of the Community Care program, and members of church organizations that provide services to senior citizens.
Georgia Envirothon $4,900
Terry Seehorn, Route 1, Box 1A1, Rabun Gap, GA 30568
A Hands-On High School Environmental Knowledge and Skills Competition
The Georgia Envirothon provides students with environmental education through competitive events held in the field. During the competition, students have the opportunity to interact with environmental professionals and explore environmental careers.
Georgia Southern University $4,960
Martha Schriver, Department of Middle Grades and Secondary Education, P. O. Box 8005, Statesboro, GA 30460-8005
Using the Outdoor Classroom
This project educates 24 middle school science teachers about the fragile ecological balance of Georgia's wetlands and prepares them to pass on their learning to 2,140 students. The teachers have the opportunity to experience hands-on-minds-on learning activities in an outdoor classroom that is located in a large wetland complex.
The Georgia Tech Research Institute $24,839
Dara O'Neil, Office of Contract Administration, Georgia Institute of Technology, Atlanta, GA 30332
Teacher Training Workshop
This project establishes a teacher training program to create a cadre of teachers of Global Learning and Observations to Benefit the Environment (GLOBE) in Georgia. GLOBE is an Internet program that allows students to enter local environmental measurements into a national database. The project trains as many as 40 teachers of science in kindergarten through grade 12 to use the GLOBE program to provide environmental education in their schools. Trained teachers using the GLOBE program encourage students to pursue environmental careers and to develop environmental awareness.
Walton County Board of Education $5,000
Loretta Altman, Loganville Middle School, 115 Oak Street, Monroe, GA 30655
Project Kids: Our Future
This community-based education initiative involves both the Loganville Middle School and the community. Together, they build an awareness of the need for conservation of natural resources through composting and recycling.
1997 Grants
Chattahoochee-Flint Regional Development Center $19,245
Lisa J. Hollingsworth, P. O. Box 1600, Franklin, GA 30217
Comprehensive Regional Environmental Database
This project provides a comprehensive regional environmental database, on CD-ROM, that includes mapped data on environmentally sensitive areas and solid waste management capacity. The project also provides a training workshop for planning commissioners, local planning staff, elected officials, and other interested persons to educate them in using the database to support the review of land use permit applications and decisions about approval or denial of such applications. The project also assists local governments in arranging special programs that introduce high school students to the CD-ROM program and its use.
Coastal Kids $4,520
Cathy Tobler, P. O. Box 21243, St. Simons Island, GA 31522
Coastal Encounters Project
The Coastal Encounters Project focuses on building the capability of local teachers and informal educators to enhance and deliver environmental education and to increase students' awareness of the effects of tourism and other local industries on the coastal environment. In four workshops, 60 teachers work in collaboration with Coastal Encounters to integrate the curriculum into current classroom instruction. Through 18 field trips, the project also provides the opportunity for almost 1,000 students to participate in hands-on activities and work on group assignments and problem-solving exercises.
Environmental Education Alliance $4,875
Deron Davis, 2125 Elachee Drive, Gainesville, GA 30504
Develop and Distribute Georgia Education Resource Guide
This project provides a resource guide to environmental education facilities throughout the state of Georgia. Educators and other interested persons can use the resource guide to find field trip locations and information that can be integrated into current environmental curricula. The guide also helps ensure that environmental information is consistent.
Georgia Envirothon $4,900
Terry Seehorn, Route 1, Box 1A1, Rabun Gap, GA 30568
The Georgia Envirothon - A High School Environmental Competition
The hands-on academic competition conducted under this project provides 148 students and 48 teachers an opportunity to enhance environmental education through interaction between agencies responsible for the protection of natural resources and educators. Students interact with natural resource professionals at competition stations that give them a better understanding of the day-to-day problems and opportunities people who hold those jobs encounter. A college and career fair is an integral part of the competition.
Seven Rivers Resource Conservation and Development Area, Inc. $5,000
Dale D. Sellers, 400 East Park Avenue, Suite 5, Baxley, GA 31513
Project Environmentally Correct
Project Environmentally Correct! addresses the issue of wetland ecosystems and provides sustained and intensive professional development to teachers and staff of the Appling County Middle School to improve instruction in environmental science. Students use two ponds that feature nesting boxes and an observation platform to study aquatic and wetland ecology, learn to conduct water testing, and study the habitats.
1996 Grants
Chattahoochee Nature Center $4,995
Michelle Stripling, 9135 Willeo Road, Roswell, GA 30075
The Wonders of the Woodlands and Wetlands
The Wonders of the Woodlands and Wetlands is a workshop that is providing environmental education skills for 25 teachers. The workshop focuses on the importance of feeling at ease teaching outdoors. The workshop will emphasize using the natural environment in developing lesson plans and curriculum units while increasing awareness of the center's resources and programs that complement the classroom curriculum.
Gordon County Schools, Gordon Central High School $4,800
Ms. Judy Peterson, 205 Warrior Path, Calhoun, GA 30703
The Wetland and Watershed (WE3) Management Program
The Wetland and Watershed (WE3) Management Program is initiating and implementing an integrated environmental education program for teachers that uses hands-on activities to develop the understanding of teachers and students regarding wetland and watershed management in the community. The primary vehicle for delivery will be workshops and outdoor classroom activities.
Upper Chattahoochee Riverkeeper Fund, Inc. $5,000
Sally Bethea, P. O. Box 7338, Atlanta, GA 30357-0338
Chattahoochee River Adopt-A-Stream Network
Chattahoochee River Adopt-A-Stream Network is an educational effort to develop six new Riverkeeper groups consisting of 100 individuals in the Chattahoochee River Watershed during the next year, and to empower citizens to take action within their own communities. Riverkeeper will assist citizens in actions to prevent or curtail pollution of the watershed. A quarterly newsletter will be distributed to inform the communities of the condition of the river and its watershed.
1995 Grants
Dunwoody Nature Center, Inc. $5,000
Deron Davis, 5343 Roberts Drive, Dunwoody, GA 30338
Nature Makes Sense
This project focuses on educating members of the community through a grassroots, community-based organization. It provides environmental education experiences for preschool children with an emphasis on preserving the environment. The project includes three major components: conducting environmental education classes for Head-Start Program participants, developing a "Nature Makes Sense" exhibit for pre-school children, and training community volunteers to work with pre-school children.
Golden Triangle Resource Conservation and Development, Inc. $4,450
Jerome Brown, 712-R County Street, Blakely, GA 31723
Operation Clean Environment
Operation CLEAN will facilitate environmental education partnerships between educational institutions, governmental agencies, and the Golden Triangle Resource Conservation and Development Area. Environmental education curricula will be purchased and distributed. A shredder will be purchased and used for composing demonstrations. The project is designed to motivate and educate high school students in solid waste management.
Northside Elementary School $4,936
Brenda A. Douce, 1815 North Chestnut Avenue, Tifton, GA 31794
Outdoor Education Classroom
This project is designed to complete an outdoor classroom area at Northside Elementary School that is currently under development. The "outdoor science" laboratory will extend teaching and learning of science beyond the confines of classroom walls. The project will serve 600 students in kindergarten through 4th grade.
Savannah-Chatham County Schools $4,935
Bethany Hunton, 208 Bull Street, Savannah, GA 31401
Oatland Island Education Center Outdoor Discovery Area Demonstration Site
The project is designed to develop an appreciation and understanding of indigenous wildlife through provision, maintenance and observation of habitat settings. A demonstration site exhibiting various wildlife habitats will be developed. Teachers, parents, and other community members will be trained in the methods used to attract wildlife to outdoor learning areas.
SciTrek, The Science and Technology Museum of Atlanta $24,982
Bernadette M. Pfeiffer, 395 Piedmont Avenue, NE, Atlanta, GA 30308
Water Source Book Dissemination and Network Project
This project targets 3rd through 5th grade teachers by creating teacher-trainers across Georgia who will train other teachers in their local partner site learning communities and involve the larger community in the students' study of water resources. The teacher-trainers will disseminate the Water Sourcebook and elicit community support and involvement in the program.
Wilderness Southeast $4,255
Kelly Cichy, 711 Sandtown Road, Savannah, GA 31410
True Project: Teaching Responsibility, Understanding, Ecology
The Teaching Responsibility, Understanding, and Ecology (TRUE) program is designed to educate public housing neighborhood youth through a grass-roots, community-based organization in cooperation with the housing authority. The participants will participate in a week-long coastal ecology camp.
1994 Grants
Bleckley County School System $4,990
Donald M. Turknett, P. O. Box 516, Cochran, GA 31014
Environmental Education Center
This grant funds the development of an environmental education center for students in kindergarten through 12th grade, which includes an outdoor classroom and natural resource study stations to emphasize hands-on learning activities.
City of Atlanta $4,735
Commissioner Remedios K. del Rosairo, Department of Water, 68 Mitchell St., Suite 5700, Atlanta, GA 30335
Water Sourcebook
This project helps to build a partnership with the Atlanta Water Department, Georgia-Pacific Corporation, Georgia Water Wise Council, and the Atlanta Public Schools to introduce the Water Sourcebook to 36,000 students in grades 3 through 5 and 1,400 teachers.
Friends of Geosphere $5,000
Deron Davis, 8615 Barnwell Road, Alpharetta, GA 30022
Working in the Magic Garden
The Working in the Magic Garden project will provide a training program for 30 teachers of kindergarten through 5th grade to establish Wildlife Sanctuary Outdoor Learning Centers at five economically-depressed, urban elementary schools.
Georgia State University $24,906
Jack Hassard, University Plaza, Atlanta, GA 30303
Teacher Preparation for Global Thinking Project
The purpose of this project is to conduct a summer teacher preparation institute based on the Global Thinking Project, a computer-based distance learning curriculum, and convene a Global Summit. The Summit consists of two days of workshops and seminars on global thinking and environmental science for eight elementary school teachers, two high school teachers, and 800 ethnic minority and low-income students in grades 5 through 7.
Golden Triangle Resource Conservation and Development Area $4,450
Jerome Brown, 1016 Lowe Road, Albany, GA 31701
Operation Clean
Participants in "Operation Clean" will develop a solid waste collection and composting demonstration site and conduct a high school teacher workshop to increase county residents' awareness of environmental issues and encourage them to take an active role in addressing environmental problems.
Griffin-Spalding County School System $5,000
Ann Nunan, P.O. Drawer N, Griffin, GA 30224
Outdoor Environmental Laboratory Urban Model
The "Outdoor Environmental Laboratory Urban Model" will emphasize ecology and biodiversity to demonstrate how elementary environmental education can be implemented in a limited natural resource environment.
Medlock Bridge Elementary School $4,995
Virginia C. Smiley, 10215 Medlock Bridge Parkway, Alpharetta, GA 30022
Living Classroom II
The "Living Classroom II" will develop an outdoor classroom area and utilize the site as a teaching laboratory to train kindergarten through 5th grade teachers in Project Learning Tree and Project Wild workshops.
SciTrek, Science and Technology Museum $24,000
Bernadette M. Peiffer, 395 Piedmont Ave. NE, Atlanta, GA 30308
Water Sourcebook
The purpose of this project is to disseminate to grades 3 through 5 the "Water Sourcebook," using a teacher training model and community partners. The project will seek to establish 200 teacher/trainers across Georgia and establish 12 partner site learning communities.
1993 Grants
Atlanta Fulton County Zoo, Inc. $5,000
Vicki Davison, 800 Cherokee Avenue, SE, Atlanta, GA 30315
Environmental Activity Boxes
This grant funds a project to develop multidisciplinary, interactive, educational activities for 20 middle and high school teachers. Ten environmental "activity boxes" will be developed for use during the one-day workshop and for use in the zoo's discovery area; the boxes will be made available to teachers for classroom use.
Clairemont Elementary School $5,000
Judy Greene, 155 Erie Avenue, Decatur, GA 30030
Clairemont Elementary School
This project will educate students and parents in identifying and correcting non-point source pollution and erosion, tree and vegetation identification, stream buffer preservation, and wetland and stream protection. Field trips to the Chattahoochee River will be scheduled.
Griffin-Spalding County School System $4,985
P.O. Drawer N, Griffin, GA 30224
Outdoor Environmental Laboratory (ODEL)
The "Outdoor Environmental Laboratory (ODEL)" project provides for the development of an outdoor classroom and environmental trail for use in holding environmental workshops for elementary and middle school teachers. These facilities will emphasize hands-on activities that teachers can duplicate in the classroom.
Montgomery County Board of Education $4,930
Arthur D. Strickland, P. O. Box 315, Mt. Vernon, GA 30445
Solid Waste Education and Recycling
The grant funds a project to develop an environmental education program for the Montgomery County, Georgia school system. The project focuses on solid waste education and recycling. An environmental education curriculum center will be developed along with teacher workshops and special programs for adults.
Park Pride Atlanta, Inc. $5,000
Allison Ickes, 675 Ponce de Leon Avenue, Atlanta, GA 30308
Atlanta Urban Tree House
The Atlanta Urban Tree House is an urban, community-based program to help minority children understand natural resource conservation concepts and careers. This project will provide instructional training to professionals who teach environmental education lessons to urban communities through two environmental workshops.
1992 Grants
Elachee Nature Science Center & Creative Museum $87,500
Gainesville, GA 30504
If Everyone Lived Like Me...
"If Everyone Lived Like Me..." involves the creation of an interactive video software program for school children and adults to inspire individual action and educated choices on consumer behavior with the goal of reducing global pollution.
Elbert County Board of Education $5,000
Elberton, GA 30635
Rivers and Watersheds
"Rivers and Watersheds" is a curriculum about rivers and watersheds designed to increase the awareness of students and educators in grades 6 through 8 of plant and animal diversity within the river, the benefits of rivers to humans, and how human activities can affect rivers.
Oconee Clean and Beautiful Commission $4,600
Watkinsville, GA 30677
Kids Environmental Talk Show
The "Kids Environmental Talk Show" project involves six environmental talk shows featuring 12 students each that will be videotaped. The shows will be shown nationwide on the local public television stations. Six classroom presentations and field trips will be used to prepare 5th through 8th graders for the talk show.
University of Georgia $5,000
Eatonton, GA 31024
Discovery Pond Laboratory Project
The "Discovery Pond Laboratory Project" is a curriculum and outdoor pond for the hands-on instruction of more than 16,000 students in grades 3 through 8 yearly. Curriculum will include water quality, lake habitat, lake biology, and demonstrations of modern measuring and diagnostic equipment.
Woodward Academy $15,880
College Park, GA 30337
Air, Soil, and Water Laboratory Excercises
This grant funds instruction and laboratory exercises for grades 7 through 12 to teach about the air, soil, and water. The project provides middle school and secondary school teachers and students with a short course in pollution detection and mitigation.