Profiles of Environmental Education Grants Awarded to Organizations in Louisiana
-Indicates a Headquarters grant
- 2015
- 2014
- 2013
- 2012
- 2011
- 2010
- 2009
- 2008
- 2005
- 2004
- 2003
- 2002
- 2001
- 2000
- 1999
- 1998
- 1997
- 1996
- 1995
- 1994
- 1993
- 1992
2015 Grants
University of New Orleans $90,800
Rebecca Drake, 2000 Lakeshore Drive, New Orleans, LA 70148
http://www.uno.edu/Exit
Headwater to the Delta Connection in Louisiana
More than 25 teachers will receive the training needed to deliver content-rich lessons to more than 1,000 students in the New Orleans area through the Headwater to the Delta Connection in Louisiana project. The process involves critical thinking, problem solving and stewardship. Through the grant, funding and professional resources are provided to teachers to attend a summer workshop and implement watershed- and delta-related stewardship activities for their students in their local environments. Additionally, the project supports and expands the network of educators trained via the Headwaters to the Delta Connection as well as development of local Delta Rivers Institute workshops that will take place in St. Bernard and Orleans Parish. Participants are provided the pedagogical tools, content knowledge, confidence and professional support system to deliver environmental education experiences in their schools. Participants also explore specific science, technology, engineering and math (STEM) strategies that enrich and deepen science investigation relevant to local river, watershed and delta environments.
2014 Grants
Sewerage & Water Board of New Orleans, New Orleans, LA and St. Bernard Parish $91,000.00
Brad Klamer, 2900 Peoples Ave., Room 215, New Orleans, LA 70122
https://www.swbno.org/Exit
Ripple Effect
Ripple Effect builds water literacy across the Gulf Coast region and demonstrates a new model for design-based environmental education on water resources and management. This project works with 15 teachers to give 1,500 students the knowledge and intellectual tools with which to protect themselves, their communities, and the environment in an era of climate change and sea level rise. In partnership with Tulane University’s Taylor Center for Social Innovation and Design Thinking, Ripple Effect gathers and analyzes data about teacher facilitation of design processes in primary school settings, student acquisition of water content and design skills, and recommendations for best practices moving forward. Strengthening and growing connections between neighboring delta cities and communities, starting with New Orleans and St. Bernard Parish, this project ultimately aims to achieve 100% water literacy across New Orleans and southeast Louisiana in 15 years, so each citizen is conversant in the region’s geology, geography, hydrology, history, and public policy as they pertain to water.
2013 Grants
Lafayette Parish School Board $125,000
Burnell LeJeune, PO Drawer 2158, Lafayette, LA 70508
Lpssonline.com
H2Know
The H2Know project expands student, educator and community understanding of environmental issues, such as wetland and coastal ecosystems, diverse water quality, habitat and wildlife topics, impacting southern Louisiana. Teachers and students complete 6 field study excursions in a Bayou side Classroom to study wetland, coastal and marine ecosystems. Partnerships with The Smithsonian Associates provide 3 two-day professional development workshops for Lafayette K-12 environmental educators to enhance their ability to convert all curriculum to nature and environmental learning. University of LA-Lafayette presents 8 career development seminars to students/families to increase knowledge of postsecondary education and career opportunities in diverse environmental fields. This is important as the majority of the students are first time high school graduates and postsecondary entrants in their families. LPSS links participants to community projects which emphasize environmental restoration and community engagement in order to reinforce a deeper understanding of local natural environments and national environmental issues while strengthening K-12 academic programs for underserved, academically underperforming youth. H2Know improves community awareness of environmental issues while strengthening a community-wide imperative to protect vulnerable, valuable, and irreplaceable natural resources. Project evaluation includes improved performance on state administered academic assessments; increased environmental content in classroom instruction across all grade levels K-12; and improved community commitment to environmental protection and stewardship.
2012 Grants
Louisiana Department of Wildlife and Fisheries $150,000
Venise Ortego, P.O. Box 98000, Baton Rouge, LA 17101
Sustainably Yours: Region 6 Sub-Grants Program
The focus of this program is to provide funding to implement Sustainably Yours, a multifaceted program designed to directly target four primary groups: classroom teachers, kindergarten through grade 12 students, members of the general public and outreach professionals. This grant provides funding for two complementary programs that (1) highlight sound scientific principles, (2) increase public awareness, (3) encourage informed environmental decision-making, and (4) have a strong environmental education focus that addresses at least one of the EPA’s EE priorities and one EPA environmental priority. The Louisiana Department of Wildlife and Fisheries (LDWF) provides two new sub-grant funding opportunities and one workshop series through this grant. School Sustainability Grants are offered to encourage sustainability initiatives on kindergarten through grade 12 school campuses and actively engage students in the process. In addition, Sustainability Initiative Project funding is awarded to non-profits, agencies and other qualified groups for environmental projects impacting educators and other sectors of the public. Lastly, the funds are used to offer a marine debris workshop series to educators and school students. All recipients of funds are required to participate in public outreach through the sharing of information via web-based portals, conferences, photographic journals, stewardship initiatives or similar activities.
2011 Grants
Operation Reach, Inc. $50,000
Arthur Johnson, 2115 Carrondelet Street, New Orleans, LA 70130
Gulfsouth Youth Biodiesel Project
The Gulfsouth Youth Biodiesel Project (GYBP) is an Environmental Education project submitted by Operation REACH, Inc. Operation REACH, Inc. is a non-profit organization with the goal of providing cradle-to-careers programs which introduces students to opportunities in the “Green Collar” workforce. The goal of this GYBP is to train 70 out-of-school youth between the ages of 16 and 24 from low income communities across the New Orleans area by encouraging interest in environmental careers focusing on the collection and recycling of used cooking oil into biodiesel fuel. This project serves as a means of educating and developing leadership, environmental stewardship, and social entrepreneurship of young people by introducing them to the science of biodiesel fuel and providing them an opportunity to join the “Green Collar” workforce. This project promotes the resiliency and economic independence of New Orleans and its most vulnerable youth by creating grassroots participation in the recycling of local waste streams and blighted lots into environmentally-friendly alternative fuels that reduce emissions and global warming. GYBP combines classroom curricula with hands-on applications to teach youth and educators in the chemistry, mechanics, and environmental impact of biodiesel fuel. Participants learn the inner-workings of a diesel engine, the environmental, chemical, and mechanical processes of converting used cooking oil and other raw feedstock into biodiesel fuel, and the larger environmental implications of alternative fuels and energies, particularly as it relates to global warming and wetlands loss that is threatening the Gulf Coast region’s way of life. GYBPs goal is to provide entry into the “Green Collar” workforce by developing community leaders, enhancing work readiness skills, and improving academic success. Participants have the opportunity to network with professionals in the fields of youth development, workforce development, renewable energy, and the green economy, while developing the following skills and attitudes that lead to increased employability and self-confidence: (1) Increased understanding of environmental stewardship and sustainability, (2) Increased sense of self-efficacy, (3) Increased proclivity toward entrepreneurship, (4) Leadership skills, (5) Increased knowledge of chemistry, mechanics, engineering, and business through hands-on applications, and (6) Basic job and social skills, including interviewing, public speaking and oral presentations, working with a team, ability to work with diverse constituents, writing and reporting, and problem solving. Graduates of the training program will have opportunities to work in Operation REACH’s Gulfsouth Youth Biodiesel Project enterprise as members of the growing “Green Collar” workforce. Key partners include Delgado Community College Technical Division, Open Society Institute, City of New Orleans, Social Entrepreneurs of New Orleans, Junior League of New Orleans, Green Coast Enterprises, Orleans Parish Juvenile Court, LSU Agricultural Center’s W. A. Callegari Environmental Center, Tulane University’s Office of Environmental Affairs, and Veterans for Green Jobs. GYBP has also partnered with Michael’s Development Company (construction and development), DSAD, Inc. (heavy construction, salvage and disposal), Green Coast Enterprise (construction and development), Zeon Global (biodiesel), Golden Leaf, Goshen Energy Initiatives (biodiesel), and the Alliance for Affordable Energy (energy and other green jobs) to provide career placement for program participants. Additional partners include restaurants, chefs and industrial kitchens, including the American Culinary Association Greater New Orleans Chapter, McDonald’s, and Sodexho across the region who will provide up to 10,000 gallons of used cooking oil per month to support the project. In addition, GYBP has partnered with DSAD, Inc. (demolition and debris removal company), Goshen Energy Initiatives (fuel distributor to trucking companies across the South), and Zeon Global Energy (biodiesel pumping stations that currently run across East Texas) to purchase biodiesel fuel.
2010 Grants
Louisiana State University Agricultural Center $38,340
Patricia Territo, 401 J. Norman Efferson Hall, Corner of Highland & Parker Blvd., Baton Rouge, LA 70803-0001
Growing a Garden 101
The Louisiana State University Agricultural Center (AgCenter) is holding a summer workshop for participating school teachers to provide the knowledge and tools needed for them to implement a school garden. The workshops help teachers select a garden site, prepare soil, schedule planting dates, choose vegetable and plant varieties, and manage the garden. Students who work in gardens have an opportunity to gain hands-on experience in environmental settings and learn about agriculture, science, and wellness. Each school is receiving a garden kit with the initial materials needed for a school garden, such as shovels, hoes, hand trowels, rakes, composting bins, hoses, stakes, seed trays, seeds (a first-year supply only), vegetable books, and fertilizer. The AgCenter is also recruiting master gardeners to assist teachers and is supplementing the training with online gardening information, quarterly school garden newsletters, phone and e-mail communication, and visits to the school gardens.
2009 Grants
The Nature Conservancy $24,491
Jean Landry, P.O. Box 675 4090 Highway LA 1, Grand Isle, LA 70358
Grand Isle Maritime Forest Environmental Education Project
The Grand Isle Maritime Forest Environmental Education project focuses on bringing the local community together to work toward a unified goal to preserve and enhance the maritime forest on Grand Isle. This goal is achieved by designing and implementing an environmental education program that complements the establishment of a community-based native plant nursery. Specific objectives of this project are to promote environmental stewardship by implementing a diverse educational program for Grand Isle students in kindergarten through grade 12, teachers, and community members; collaborate with local residents, school children, and partners to identify, select, and restore important tree species indigenous to the live oak forest; and create and distribute an education brochure that highlights the project's goals, details how to properly care for the seedlings, and identifies benefits of native plant communities to restoration and protection of the island's unique maritime forest.
2008 Grants
Teaching Responsible Earth Education (T.R.E.E.) $114,483
Sue Brown, 1504 Magazine Street, New Orleans, LA 70130
Earthkeepers
Earthkeepers is part of a series of innovative programs developed for New Orleans-area school children by Teaching Responsible Earth Education (T.R.E.E.) to improve student academic outcomes and prepare students to serve as future social, civic, and environmental leaders. Earthkeepers offers both real-world exploratory learning experiences in the outdoors and hands-on activities in the classroom to teach the core life science concepts of energy flow, cycles, interrelationship, and change. Students in grade 4 are engaged in 12 interactive, problem-solving activities over 3 school days at the Jean Lafitte National Historical Park and Preserve. In addition, students complete a series of stewardship activities at home and in the classroom to educate their families and other students and to apply their knowledge to their own lives. The program teaches students that they have the ability to alter the quality of the environment and their own lives. This knowledge is imparted by immersing students in the natural world to convey essential life science concepts and engaging students in hands-on activities that reveal interdependence of humans and nature. The integration of this program into the fourth-grade curriculum advances state and local education reform goals, increases environmental stewardship and literacy, and improves sustainability for environmental education programs. Partners on this project include New Orleans charter schools, the Jean Lafitte National Historic Park and Preserve, and the College of Education at the University of Arizona.
Teaching Responsible Earth Education (T.R.E.E.) $46,984
Sue Brown, 1504 Magazine Street, New Orleans, LA 70130
Sunship III
Sunship III is a 3-day and 2-night program for seventh grade students. Sunship III offers real-world exploratory learning experiences at a 22-acre wooded outdoor classroom site and hands-on introductory and continuation activities in the classroom throughout the school year. The outdoor classroom teaches the core life sciences concepts of energy flow, life cycles, interrelationships, and change. These concepts are presented by engaging students in 12 interactive problem-solving activities over 3 school days at the outdoor classroom. In the classroom and at home, students complete a series of stewardship activities to educate their families and other students and apply their newly learned knowledge to their own lives. This program builds on grade 4 Earthkeepers and the grade 5 Sunship Earth experience that is offered in New Orleans. The goal of the T.R.E.E. organization is “to educate children and adults about the life science processes that govern our planet, to inspire them to appreciate the natural world and to motivate them to protect it”.
University of New Orleans $17,514
Diane Frances Maygarden, 2000 Lakeshore Drive, New Orleans, LA 70148
Coastal Wetlands Stewardship Project in Greater New Orleans Schools
This project involves teachers and students in a hands-on wetlands restoration project. Teachers attend a 3-day workshop, including a field trip to learn about the science of the coastal marshes and biology of the plants they grow with the students. University staff work with school teachers and students to prepare them for growing the wetlands plants in the schools. Secure growing areas are set up at each participating school. University staff provide plants and planting supplies, monitor progress, and provide classroom support as the students nurture the plants and study their growth. Science projects are developed at each stage of the simple growing and monitoring activities. At the end of the school year, students participate in planting these plants at a wetland restoration site.
2005 Grants
Lake Pontchartrain Basin Museum & Research Center $30,000
Nixon Adams, 133 Mabel Drive, Madisonville, LA 70447
Monitoring Underwater Aquatic Environments
This project employs underwater robots and their Internet-based operations to bring children close to the underwater environment to educate them about local freshwater ecosystems, interior wetlands, marine habitats and organisms, and techniques for water quality monitoring. The goal of this project is to develop an educational program for upper elementary, middle, and high school students, their teachers, and the public of the local community centered on the environmental issues of the Tchefuncte River and Lake Pontchartrain using underwater robotics. Key issues studied include water quality and pollution levels of the river and lake. The project is innovative because it combines environmental education with high-tech robotics in a manner that appeals to children. Students of engineering and environmental science at Tulane University mentor the children on environmental education and high-tech equipment such as robotics and computers. In addition to raising environmental awareness, the hands-on active learning approach encourages children’s interest in mathematics, science, and engineering. By nurturing this interest, students become motivated to study emerging areas of advanced science and engineering, such as life sciences, energy, and environmental technologies.
2004 Grants
Louisiana Science Teachers Association $12,500
Jean May Brett, 1627 Taylor Street, Kenner, LA 70062
Project DEEDS (Developing Environmental Education Decision-making Skills)
This project provides educators with the tools needed to help their students become better decision-makers regarding the environment. Learning strategies are being explored in 12, 6-hour workshops. Participants are taught to engage students in discussions of how their everyday decisions impact the environment; for example, a discussion might address environmental factors to be considered when purchasing a vehicle. At the end of the workshops, participants are be able to identify and state a decision-making problem, identify viable options, research risks and benefits, make decisions based on rational methods, and present their decisions coherently and logically.
2003 Grants
Louisiana State University $8,000
Gary Hansen, One University Place, Shreveport, LA 71115
High School Watershed Education Project
Louisiana State University offers workshops to teach scientifically sound techniques for water sampling and water quality monitoring, compiling field data, and conducting basic laboratory analyses. Field work is conducted in the Red River Education and Research Park, which is the site of cutting-edge environmental research led by Louisiana State University in Shreveport and other universities; business and industry; and city, state, and federal agencies.
Teaching Responsible Earth Education $15,755
Sue Brown, 1463 Nashville Avenue, New Orleans, LA 70115
Earthkeepers Project: Justice through Environmental Education
Two 3-day outdoor environmental learning programs are being held at Jean Lafitte National Park and Preserve and Barataria Education Center for 120 students, teachers, and volunteers from the New Orleans public school system. These programs include interactive, outdoor activities that teach the students about their responsibilities and tasks as “Earthkeepers.” For example, the students’ responsibilities include learning more about the earth, experiencing it in a new way, using their knowledge to create good environmental habits, and sharing what they learn with others. All the program components build on one another and are interconnected.
2002 Grants
Administrators of the Tulane University Educational Funds $2,421
Thomas W. Sherry, 6823 St. Charles Avenue, New Orleans, LA 70118
Learning With Birds
Tulane University is conducting a workshop taught by professional ornithological scientists and educators facilitating bird-related, technologically innovative standards-based classroom and field activities. The 2-day workshop consists of a day of classroom/computer lab activities followed by a day of field activities that use existing environmental education materials. Birds make an ideal instructional subject because they are important to the local ecology and economy and are easily observed. The workshop directly benefits New Orleans urban kindergarten through 12th-grade teachers and their students by providing them with subject-specific (biology and environmental science) lesson plans and curriculum-development guidance based on the most current local standards. Partners include local and national universities, a local public school district, professional ornithological societies, and government agencies.
Shreveport Green $5,000
Yvonne Lee, 3625 Southern Avenue, Shreveport, LA 71104
Non-Point Source Pollution Education
This project is educating local youth about the human health threat of non-point source water pollution via classroom presentations, community fairs, and summer camps utilizing the water protection curriculum produced by Earth Force. The goal is to teach 1,000 youth in Caddo Parish about watersheds and how non-point source pollution affects them through a variety of water testing and hands-on activities. Providing the students the opportunity to participate in water quality service projects, such as storm drain stenciling and an inland waterway cleanup, reinforces the learning process. Partners include Caddo Parish Parks, Caddo Parish School Board, Earth Force, General Motors, Browning-Ferris Industries, and the Caddo Parish Sheriff's Department.
Teaching Responsible Earth Education (TREE) $14,650
Sue Brown, 1463 Nashville Avenue, New Orleans, LA 70115
Teaching Responsible Earth Education (TREE)
This project is a 5-day, 4-night Sunship Earth Education Program for the John Dibert Elementary School in New Orleans, Louisiana, an inner-city public school with a minority population of 94 percent. This population lacks knowledge about environmental issues and benefits greatly from a TREE's hands-on approach to environmental education. The program teaches basic ecological and life science concepts so that students gain environmental, problem-solving and creative thinking skills. Partners include Louisiana Delta Service Corps and the United Way.
University of Louisiana at Lafayette $5,000
Coette Anzalone, 104 University Circle, Martin Hall, Room 340, Lafayette, LA 70503
Environmental Education Challenge: The Strongest Link
This project is designed to educate seventh through tenth graders in the areas of agriculture, water quality, soil analysis, animal science, aquaculture, horticulture or plant science. The program is designed to divide classrooms into five environmental stations. Objectives are to educate teachers and students about environmental issues and challenges in the region, and to develop materials and approaches for an effective regional environmental education program. Partners include Lafayette Parish School Board and Catholic schools in the area.
2001 Grants
Cenla Pride $5,000
Bettye Jones, 1014 Third Street, Alexandria, LA 71301
Teacher In-Service on Community Water Quality & Conflict Resolution
During two in-service workshops, teachers learn how to gain access to local water quality resources and how to conduct hands-on activities with their students. Interactive plastic topographical models and enviroscapes are used to demonstrate the results of non-point source pollution and stormwater runoff and the importance of wetlands. The curriculum Waste In Place, which addresses the Louisiana State environmental education benchmarks by grade level, is used. The conflict resolution program Kid’s Bridge proves beneficial in a neighborhood that is 51 percent minority.
Louisiana Nature Center $3,348
Bob Marye, P. O. Box 8700610, New Orleans, LA 70187
Environmental Health Month
The Louisiana Nature Center conducts three programs that focus on health and the environment. Topics include water quality, household environmental hazards, poisonous plants, venomous animals, pest-vectored diseases, ozone depletion, and ultraviolet radiation and skin cancer. The goal of the programs is to offer information, critical-thinking tools, and problem solving skills a family and its individual members need to reduce environmental health risks. Programs are designed for all age groups and include displays, exhibits, talks by local experts, health screenings, and crafts and games.
Louisiana Tech University $17,500
Glenn Beer, P. O. Box 3163, Lincoln Parish, LA 71272
The IDEA Place Mystery Zone Litter Project
The project is designed specifically to provide teachers a tool for use in presenting concepts related to mathematics and science in real-world applications that require students to apply content knowledge. Students adopt a location at which they can research dumping practices. Every two weeks for three months, the students collect litter from those adopted locations. The students then use tables, graphs, and other means of displaying data to study the collected litter to determine its amount and content and identify possible sources. Students prepare a final report on their findings for presentation to officials of their communities.
Nunez Community College $5,673
Sharon Flanagan, 3710 Paris Road, Chalmette, LA 70043
Resource Efficiency for the Millennium
Resource Efficiency for the Millennium is a series of community-based workshops for homeowners and small businesses. The workshops are forums for the dissemination of information about improvement of energy efficiency, wise use of water, tree and lawn plantings, and efficient automotive fuels. Under the project, four workshops are offered for citizens of southeastern Louisiana. During the workshops, experts representing the local power company, the local water company, parish water departments, and the Louisiana Cooperative Extension Service, along with experts in the use of automotive fuels and alternative fuels, present interactive sessions. It is anticipated that, as local citizens become better informed about such issues, pollution will be reduced and stewardship for the environment will increase.
2000 Grants
Cenla Pride $5,000
Bettye Jones, 802 Third Street, Alexandria, LA 71301
Water Quality Workshops
Water quality workshops keep students and community participants abreast of threats to human health posed by environmental pollution resulting from the improper handling of solid waste. Family habits of housekeeping and yard maintenance are explored in a way that allows children and their families to easily understand how their behaviors affect their surroundings. Enviroscape models are among the tools used for demonstration.
Louisiana Environmental Education Association $1,660
Jean May-Brett, 1627 Taylor, Kenner, LA 70062
Tools for Non-formal Environmental Educator Workshop
The goal of the project is to develop a statewide cadre of non-formal educators who are knowledgeable in education reform efforts across the state in the areas of science and environmental education. Those individuals use the reform tools as they revise and develop their own educational materials for their respective geographical areas to conform to mandated state guidelines. The expected outcome is strengthening of the network of the non-formal community and the formal education community.
Teaching Responsible Earth Education $20,255
Sue Brown, 1463 Nashville Avenue, New Orleans, LA 70115
Outdoor Program for Urban Youth
The Outdoor Environmental Education Program for Urban Youth is designed to increase academic achievement in science among fourth-grade students. The outdoor classroom allows urban participants to have hands-on experience of the life systems of the environment and teaches the ability to live lightly to lessen effects on the immediate environment - that is, using less water so future interactions with the natural world will be more environmentally friendly.
1999 Grants
Cenla Pride $4,054
Bettye Jones, 802 Third Street, Alexandria, LA 71301
Water Festival for Students and the Public
Students and the public are being educated about the effects of runoff from urban storm drains on groundwater and the relationship of that issue to issues that affect other natural resources. The effort thereby instills awareness and the stewardship ethic. The effects of human action on the environment, for example, are demonstrated by developing an understanding of urban storm water runoff and its effects on aquatic ecosystems; the importance of water to all life; the water cycle and the role of groundwater in that cycle; and the interdependence of plants, trees, wildlife, soil, air, and water.
Cenla Pride $7,500
Bettye Jones, 802 Third Street, Alexandria, LA 71301
Environmental Action Center
The environmental action center educates students, their families, and neighborhood and civic organizations about facts related to local environmental issues, possible causes of and solutions to environmental problems, and ways in which individuals can work to keep their community clean and healthy. Participants learn through hands-on exercises, interactive activities that build motivation, and field trips.
1998 Grants
Citizens for a Clean Tangipahoa $1,000
Ben Taylor, P. O. Box 784, Hammond, LA 70404
Bring the Tangipahoa River to the People Displays
This project uses portable tri-fold displays to present the ecology and history of the Tangipahoa River to students and citizens of the parish. Subjects include closing of the river because of high levels of contamination with fecal matter, a monthly water testing program, macro-invertebrate testing, and an anti-litter campaign. The demonstrations inform students and citizens about the problems that affect waterways, streams, and rivers.
Citizens for a Clean Tangipahoa $4,975
Ben Taylor, P. O. Box 784, Hammond, LA 70404
Why Do We Recycle?
A recycling workshop for 1,350 Tangipahoa Public School second graders makes the students aware of the need to recycle and conserve our natural resources. The students learn about the destination of items placed in landfills and to identify those items that can be recycled. Recycling demonstrations are provided.
Grayson Elementary School $5,000
Denise McCoy, P. O. Box 239, Grayson, LA 71435
Outdoor Classroom
The Outdoor Classroom provides 382 students an opportunity for hands-on environmental education. Features include nature trails, observation platforms, a weather station, flower and rock gardens, a water study area, a pond, bird feeders, nesting boxes, and soil study areas. High school students serve as mentors to younger students.
1997 Grants
Big River Council Camp Fire $5,000
Gwen Stewart, 4874 Constitution Avenue, Suite 1E, Baton Rouge, LA 70808
Primary Nature Trail
The Primary Nature Trail project gives inner-city youth an opportunity to acquire environmental knowledge and awareness through the written and pictorial information about trees and other plants that is provided along the path. The young people also observe and collect samples of lichens, fungi, and insects found in and around decaying logs. The nature trail includes a compost pile, a butterfly garden, and a wetland, as well as nesting boxes that allow observation of the occupants. Users of the trail also can observe bats, ducks, and birds in their natural habitats. In addition, an archaeological dig highlights fossils for observation.
Cenla Pride $3,800
Betty Jones, 802 Third Street, Alexandria, LA 71301
Water Quality Career Camp
The Water Quality Career Camp educates students about environmental issues to encourage their interest in environmental careers, specifically in the area of water quality. Students develop an understanding of urban storm-water runoff and its effects on aquatic ecosystems. They also attend a day camp program, conduct hands-on projects and activities, and take field trips related to water quality. A public awareness component rounds out the project.
Louisiana University Marine Consortium $18,060
John Caruso, 8124 Highway 56, Chauvin, LA 70344
Effects of Eutrophication and Hypoxia in Louisiana's Coastal Waters
The Louisiana University Marine Consortium (LUMCON), a cooperative effort of the state's 13 public universities, 6 private institutions of higher education, their governing boards, and several state environmental agencies, sponsors this project for university-level students. The project seeks to provide such students detailed, in-depth education on the widespread and closely related phenomena of eutrophication and oxygen depletion in Louisiana's coastal waters. Students involved in the project participate in one of LUMCON's three principal programs: field trip programs that enrich regular session courses and those that are conducted during spring break and summer and courses provided under the Louisiana Alliance for Minority Participation (LAMP) Program, all of which provide the students first-hand experience in the marine environment. The target audience of the project is graduate and undergraduate students enrolled in the 19 member universities of the consortium, of which five are historically minority colleges and universities. Each year, some 400 students participate in some phase of the program.
Tallulah Elementary School $5,000
Becky Lancaster, 1100 Johnson Street, Tallulah, LA 71282
Outdoor Environmental Education Classroom Problem-Solving Project
The Outdoor Environmental Education Classroom project provides students an opportunity for hands-on environmental education. It includes nature trails, observation platforms, a weather station, flower and rock gardens, a water study area, ponds, bird feeders, nesting boxes, and soil study areas. The center is a vital environmental learning resource for all students and teachers in the parish.
Xavier University of Louisiana, Deep South Center for Environmental Justice $177,485
Beverly Wright, 7325 Palmetto St, Campus Box 45B, New Orleans, LA 70125
The New Orleans Environmental Justice Education Teacher Training Program
This teacher training program addresses environmental threats to health, especially those that affect children. The project uses a newly designed curriculum that incorporates issues and concerns related to environmental justice into the regular science curriculum taught by 225 elementary school teachers. The curriculum emphasizes those issues, as well as skills correlated to Education Goals 2000, Louisiana Education Assessment and Curriculum Program Objectives, and Science 2000 objectives. Modules address lead, air pollution and asthma, pesticides, landfills, and the abandoned and possibly contaminated urban sites known as brownfields. Teachers trained through the program reach more than 6,000 students. The Deep South Center for Environmental Justice, the public school system of New Orleans, and the National Lead Information Center are partners in the project.
1996 Grants
Zachary Historical Association $5,000
Lois Hastings, P. O. Box 1144, Zachary, LA 70791
Environmental Awareness and Testing Program
The Environmental Awareness and Testing Program involves 1,000 local middle school students (of whom approximately 50 percent are from a minority population), including special education students with mental and physical handicaps. At the Zachary Historical Association's unique facility, the students are learning research and testing techniques through hands-on experiences.
1995 Grants
Baton Rouge Green $5,000
Peggy Glynn Davis, P. O. Box 66418, Baton Rouge, LA 70896
Trees For Our Children's Future
The purpose of this project is to educate public school children in kindergarten through 12th grade, within East Baton Rouge Parish, on the importance of trees in the environment. The project will produce an environmental education curriculum focusing on the reforestation of native trees. To reach the target audience, teachers will be provided training through workshops and environmental instructional materials. In addition, area schools will be provided a professionally designed tree planting plan, supervised volunteer labor to install the trees, maintenance workshops for tree care, and mulch delivery and tree inspections.
Louisiana State University and A & M College $16,000
Nancy L. Sidener, 117-D David Boyd Hall, Baton Rouge, LA 70803
Investigating Louisiana's Environmental Problems and Solutions Through Economic Analysis
The purpose of the project is to show, through integrated methods, the interdependence of problems on the environment and the rest of the economy. The target audience is 20 science teachers and 20 social studies teachers from middle schools around the state of Louisiana. The project will include the establishment of an enlightened group of educational leaders who can take back to their schools an understanding of the ramifications for society of environmental problems.
1994 Grants
Imperial Calcasieu Resource Conservation and Development Council $5,000
Jim Neveu, 2422 Port Dr., Jennings, LA 70546
Forestry Awareness Project
The "Forestry Awareness Project" will target sixth grade students in Allen and Northers Evangeline Parishes. Educators will use hands-on activities to address issues of multiple use of forests.
Sam Houston High School $5,000
Linda Wygoda, 880 Sam Houston Jones Pkwy., Lake Charles, LA 70611
Workshop for Water Monitoring
This grant funds a week-long workshop that will train educators to use hands-on water monitoring activities for the intensive study of the Calcasieu River.
Southern University and A&M College $18,000
Chukwu Onu, Southern Branch Post Office, Baton Rouge, LA 70813
Environmental Awareness and Career Training
The "Environmental Awareness and Career Training" program will use a variety of environmental education activities and hands-on experiences to improve decision-making skills of non-technical, minority college students and community leaders.
1993 Grants
City of Shreveport $5,000
Bill Robertson, P. O. Box 3602, Shreveport, LA 71133-3602
Caddo Parrish Environmental Education Mobile Unit Recycling
The grant funds for this project will be used to purchase and develop display materials and projects about recycling for the Caddo Parrish Environmental Education Mobile Unit. The mobile unit will educate students about recycling at public schools and additional private schools in remote locations.
Louisiana State University Agricultural Center $85,588
Karen Overstreet, P. O. Box 25100, Baton Rouge, LA 70894-5100
Baton Rouge Environmental Fridays Program
The "Baton Rouge Environmental Fridays Program" will empower citizens of all ages, in low-income and minority neighborhoods through workshops, newsletters, and public service announcements on such issues as indoor air quality, mosquito-borne diseases from poor solid waste disposal, household hazardous waste, energy conservation, and curbside recycling and composting.
Louisiana State University Agricultural Center $5,000
Bill Branch, Knapp Hall, University Station, Baton Rouge, LA 70803
Environmental Issue Resolution Workshops
At "Environmental Issue Resolution Workshops," adult 4-H leaders and youth will develop their critical thinking skills in evaluating and resolving environmental issues identified in Louisiana's Comparative Risk Ranking Project. Workshop participants are expected to train youth and adults in their communities upon completion of the workshop.
1992 Grants
Nature Conservancy of Louisiana $5,000
Baton Rouge, LA 70821
Environment and the Economy in Your Backyard: Forested Wetlands and Agriculture
This grant, titled "Environment and the Economy in Your Backyard: Forested Wetlands and Agriculture," will provide the tools necessary to design, develop, and distribute an educational curriculum. A sideshow will be presented that will address the functions and value of forested wetlands and their relationship to the economy.
Southern University $170,000
Baton Rouge, LA 70813
Environmental Education and Training
The goal of this project is to achieve increased minority participation in environmental education and management initiatives through a two-phase, multi-site environmental education and training program. Groups that will be affected include elementary, middle and high school students, and educators; parents; college students; and members of community organizations. The program will be simultaneously implemented in the 17 communities served by member institutions of the Historically Black Colleges and Universities and Minority Institutions Environmental Technology and Waste Management Consortium.
University of Southwestern Louisiana $23,962
Lafayette, LA 70504
Environmental Training Institute
This grants funds a collaborative project between the University's College of Education and Gulf States Utility Companies to present a summer environmental training institute for educators and college students who plan to become educators. The project will focus on environmental issues such as wetlands and on-shore and off-shore oil drilling.