Profiles of Environmental Education Grants Awarded to Organizations in Nebraska
- Indicates a Headquarters grant
- 2014
- 2013
- 2011
- 2010
- 2009
- 2008
- 2007
- 2006
- 2005
- 2004
- 2003
- 2002
- 2001
- 2000
- 1999
- 1998
- 1997
- 1996
- 1995
- 1994
- 1993
- 1992
2014 Grants
CNL World $91,000.00
Dr. Catherine Lockwood, 343 Morehead St., Chadron, NE 69337
http://www.cnlworld.org/Exit
Watershed to Wetland
The Watershed-to-Wetland Institute is an intense ecology classroom and field-based experience for an underserved area of the Flathead Reservation of northwest Montana. Two five-day Watershed-to-Wetland Institutes are offered in the summer of 2016 and 2017. The Institute includes 2 V2 days field experience and 2 V2 days of in-class training on skills and techniques, applications, topic-specific mini lectures by regional and national experts on wetlands, water quality, watersheds, restoration issues, species of concern, mid explanation of how to integrate materials, field experiences, and Traditional Ecological Knowledge into the teachers' curricula and application for students within an environmental science field of study. A Watershed-to-Wetland website houses Institute content (including pre- and post-information), collected field data, and a monitoring database for continued support of field Observations and data recording of water quality and species of concern.
2013 Grants
Omaha Healthy Kids Alliance $200,000
Kara Eastman, 5006 Underwood, Omaha, NE 68132
Omahahealthykids.org
Grassroots Latino Environmental Education (GLEE)
The Grassroots Latino Environmental Education (GLEE) program focuses on indoor environmental education (i.e., on topics such as indoor air, toxins, chemical safety, and healthy housing) within the Latino community by training local residents as promotoras. Promotoras are lay Latino community members who receive specialized training to provide basic health education in the community. Subject matter such as the topic of environmental health is more readily accepted and accessible when provided through promotoras, whose trust and local connection within the community is often immediate.
2011 Grants
Board of Regents, Univ of Nebraska, University of Nebraska -Lincoln $41,752
Tapan Pathak, 312 North 14th Street, Alexander Building West, Lincoln, NE 68588-0430
Climate Masters of Nebraska: Stewardship and Climate Change
This project will implement a 10-week training course for 50 volunteers. Upon completion of the course and 30 hours of community service, volunteers will become certified Climate Masters. These Climate Masters will commit to take actions against climate change. Those involved with this venture will assist the community in becoming more knowledgeable and in making informed decisions to address climate change issues, which is expected to result in a more sustainable environment. Educational Priority: Community Projects, Environmental Priority: Taking Action on Climate Change. Audience: 50 volunteers during a 2-year period from communities cross southeast Nebraska, each of whom will make a commitment to take actions regarding climate change and motivate others. To assist the community in becoming knowledgeable and making informed decisions regarding climate change issues, which is expected to result in a more sustainable environment. This project will involve the public making decisions on how to reduce greenhouse gas emissions to alleviate the impact on the environment.
2010 Grants
University of Nebraska at Omaha $48,724
Alan Kolok, 6001 Dodge Street, Omaha, NE 68182
Davis Prairie Data Shack Project
As part of this project, students develop research projects to assess environmental impact of various land uses on water quality. Water quality experiments are run at the Davis Prairie Data Shack (DPDS), a small (200-foot) data acquisition station. This project provides high school-age students an opportunity to conduct inquiry-based experimentation and learn about environmental issues such as suburban and urban runoff, water pollution, and environmental quality of the Elkhorn River and watershed. Students also learn about genetically modified crops, nanoparticles, veterinary and human pharmaceuticals in the environment, and climate change. At the end of the project, students produce a video documenting their investigation process and results. The DPDS website provides educational materials to high school students in support of this project.
2009 Grants
Board of Regents University of NE-Lincoln $24,556
Joan Mendoza-Gorham, 312 North 14th Street, Lincoln, NE 68588-0431
Environmental Research Opportunities
Environmental Research Opportunities is a project that teaches and prepares high school students for careers in science and environmental fields. Students participate in a 5-week workshop to learn about engineering, technical trades emerging in green building construction, wastewater treatment, wetlands, and grasslands. Through this workshop, students increase their knowledge about environmental research methods, analysis, and data collection. To learn about environmental issues and resources, students participate in field trips to national parks and an environmental center. In addition, they develop an environmental research project to study environmental issues such as climate change, environmental health, environmental justice, stewardship and sustainability.
Doane College $27,082
Nancy G. Wehrbein, 1014 Boswell Avenue, Crete, NE 68333
No Stream Left Behind
A volunteer stream monitoring network is recruited and trained as part of the No Stream Left Behind project. Volunteers participate in water ecology and aquatic analysis techniques. The project encourages citizens of Fillmore, Gage, Jefferson, Saline, and Thayer Counties to protect and improve local water quality by raising awareness of water quality problems and including citizens in monitoring and intervention. The result of No Stream Left Behind is a network of trained, involved citizens working to learn about, monitor, improve, and teach others about water quality in the area.
2008 Grants
Groundwater Foundation $19,000
Cindy Kreifels, 5561 South 48th Street, Lincoln, NE 68516
Waterways Education for Urban and Rural Youth
Waterways for Urban and Rural Youth is a creative outdoors water project to encourage creative play and inquiry-based learning methods. This project builds awareness and establishes a connection to nature and to groundwater. This project teaches information on groundwater to students in kindergarten through grade 12. Students have an opportunity to attend field trips to learn about groundwater, nature, and the environment. Project partners also encourage creative water activities to be incorporated and delivered to existing youth programs throughout Nebraska.
Nebraska Game and Parks Commission $20,000
Jeanine Lackey, P.O. Box 30370, Lincoln, NE 68503
Nebraska's Bird Diversity - An Educational Toolbox
Teachers create a tool box composed of curriculum on CDs that contain videos, slide shows, and interviews, a teacher’s manual on each topic, resources, classroom activities, and lesson plans. This tool box covers topics such as avian adaptations, bird species at risk, habitat needs, and ecoregion-specific information. Students, teachers, and landowners receive information on Nebraska’s birds, habitats, and the environment. Copies of the tool box are distributed to teachers in grades 5 through 8 during workshops at schools, nature centers, and conservation organizations held across the state. Two of the workshops focus on training resource professionals, the public, and landowners; the other two focus on teachers. These materials have the potential to reach students, landowners, and resource professionals throughout Nebraska.
2007 Grants
Niobrara Council $12,624
Pamela Sprenkle, P.O. Box 206, Valentine, NE 69201
Niobrara National Scenic River Literacy Outreach
This river education and outreach project covers Brown, Cherry, Keya Paha, and Rock Counties in Nebraska. The project involves the Niobrara Council, which creates a river education library of educational materials consisting of books, software, and equipment to be used by the community. Council staff work with teachers to incorporate river issues into science and humanities classes. This project teaches the community about issues that affect the river. Students become involved in service learning; river preservation, local river cleanup days, and river scouting projects. These activities teach students how to protect the natural resources of the Niobrara National Scenic River.
2006 Grants
Chadron State College $9,067
Chadron State College, 1000 Main Street, Chadron, NE 69337
Environmental Stewardship of Streams in Northwestern Nebraska
Chadron State College faculty and students organize and participate in a stream monitoring program for secondary school teachers and students. This project promotes environmental stewardship of streams in northwestern Nebraska. Teachers and students participate in field trips to study sites and to Project WET workshops. In addition, secondary school teachers participate in biology courses that consist of trips to study sites and Project WET workshops. These activities improve their teaching skills in science education. A biological assessment course is taught on how to conduct volunteer stream assessments. Students create digital maps of study sites, a database of all results, and a Web page for participants to use and share data as they work through the project. Additionally, they learn about environmental careers while assisting secondary school teachers in stream monitoring.
Keep North Platte & Lincoln County Beautiful $13,577
Angela King, 715 South Jeffers, P.O. Box 313, North Platte, NE 69103
Storm Water Protection Education
Keep North Platte & Lincoln County Beautiful educates the public on the causes and effects of storm water pollution and on behaviors to prevent and reduce storm water pollution. Keep North Platte & Lincoln County Beautiful also educates and provides opportunities for members of North Platte and Lincoln County to address community issues on storm water management and protection. The organization works with the city’s storm water protection programs by educating the public on how storm water systems work and how proper household hazardous waste options can help protect local water systems. Presentations are also given to service organizations and at business association meetings. Furthermore, educational materials on preventing storm water pollution are provided to participants. Finally, community members participate in local events such as home shows to give presentations on storm water pollution.
The Groundwater Foundation $14,439
Cindy Kriefels, P.O. Box 22558, Lincoln, NE 68542
H20 on the Go Train-the-Trainer
The Groundwater Foundation provides on-the-go education in ground water to elementary and middle school students where they are, rather than bringing children to ground water education events. The foundation works in partnership with the Westside Boys & Girls Club of Omaha, U.S. Geological Survey’s Iowa Water Science Center, the Kansas Association for Conservation & Environmental Education, and the Missouri Department of Natural Resources. Educators learn how to adapt existing ground water education lesson plans and hands-on activities into their programs. Educators then deliver these programs to elementary and middle school students in informal educational settings for children, such as camps, summer day programs, after-school programs, and boys and girls clubs. The Groundwater Foundation trains nonformal educators throughout EPA Region 7 (Iowa, Kansas, Missouri, and Nebraska) to use the H20 on the Go Train-the-Trainer model in programming. The training sessions begin with basics of ground water and then teach educators how to incorporate fun, hands-on ground water education into existing programs. Educators offer a 4- to 6-hour training that includes basic information on ground water, lesson plans with ideas for hands-on activities, and tools for adapting lessons and activities to fit differing settings and audiences.
2005 Grants
Nebraska Rural Water Association $6,939
Barney Whatley, 3390 Ponderosa, Wahoo, NE 68066
Watering the Grass
Watering the Grass raises the awareness and involvement of the public in protecting drinking water supplies. After they complete a survey on water use and knowledge, residents receive free water testing from the Future Farmers of America. The water is tested for nitrates and other parameters. High school students map potential contaminants on the wellhead protection area map and help water operators complete contaminant source inventories. Older students mentor elementary students by providing water education using ground water models and the “test your well” program.
The Groundwater Foundation $62,318
Cindy Kreifels, P.O. Box 22558, Lincoln, NE 68542-2558
Awesome Aquifers for the Science Olympiad
The goal of this project is to encourage and challenge middle school students to learn about the nature and value of aquifers and groundwater. In 2003, The Groundwater Foundation (TGF) introduced Awesome Aquifers into the Science Olympiad as a pilot competition. The Science Olympiad is a program for middle and high school students that consists of science-oriented tournaments held at the local, state, and national levels. The project builds on the success of the Awesome Aquifers pilot effort by expanding the competition to the national level to provide hands-on, experience-based groundwater education to a larger audience. During their preparation for the Awesome Aquifers competition, middle school students conduct groundwater research, design and build model aquifers, and identify possible groundwater remediation techniques. The students then present their findings at local, state, and national Science Olympiad tournaments. While the students conduct research, they learn about the importance of groundwater systems and are exposed to career opportunities in the environmental science field. To promote Awesome Aquifers and support its long-term sustainability, TGF produces Awesome Aquifers kits for students who are interested in competing. These “starter kits” include a demonstration video, written instructions, basic groundwater information, and materials for constructing model aquifers. Key TGF partners in the project include the U.S. Geological Survey, individual Science Olympiad organizations, the American Water Works Association, the Water Systems Council, and the Groundwater Resources Association of California.
The National Arbor Day Foundation $48,380
Susan H. Wirth, 211 North 12th Street, Lincoln, NE 56508
Conservation Education Pathway
A tram trail for a conservation education pathway at Arbor Day Farm that connects many conservation demonstrations into a one-of-a-kind environmental education experience is under construction as part of the Conservation Education Pathway. The Arbor Day Foundation creates interactive environmental education learning stations at key points along the pathway. This project serves as an outdoor campus for middle and high school students, for Future Farmers of America and 4-H groups, and for University of Nebraska students in agriculture, forestry and urban planning. Students explore sustainable agriculture practices at the learning stations. The stations are equipped with audio-active interpretive panels and environmental education kits that contain professional equipment and supplies for hands-on environmental education. This project serves as a model to educate current and future farmers, landowners, and community planners about alternative agricultural practices that are more sustainable and have less environmental impact on soil and water than current methods.
2004 Grants
Educational Service Unit #15 $20,930
Paul M. Ekberg, P.O. Box 398, Trenton, NE 69044
Invasive Species in Wetlands and Prairie Ecosystems
Designed for teachers and students in Nebraska and Kansas, this project gives participants the opportunity to investigate the adverse impacts of two invasive species, Canadian geese and red cedar trees, on pond water quality and native prairie grasses. The participants propose possible solutions to these problems and implement approved solutions in a pond-prairie ecosystem in south-central Nebraska. Ten environmental research teams, each consisting of one teacher, four students, and one community member, visit the pond-prairie site to gather pertinent data about the effects of the large populations of Canadian geese and red cedar trees on environmental quality. All the data collected, interactive educational activities, and final assessments of the solutions implemented are placed on the Internet for use by teachers, students, and communities. School visits are conducted to provide project information and assistance. A total of 10 teachers and 40 students in grades 5 through 8 are invited to attend project workshops and participate in pond-prairie activities.
Keep North Platte and Lincoln County Beautiful $12,292
Angela King, 715 S. Jeffers, P.O. Box 313, North Platte, NE 69103
Recycling Projects
This project provides hands-on recycling, litter prevention, and water conservation activities for students. Teachers and their students visit recycling centers, and the students design gardens at their schools, as part of an environmental service project. As part of the project, the students explore waste handling techniques and study how today’s waste management methods will affect future generations. Project workshops for teachers are conducted by Keep North Platte and Lincoln County Beautiful.
2003 Grants
Keep Lexington Beautiful $2,559
Cyndi Smith, P.O. Box 70, Lexington, NE 68850
Storm Drain Markers
The Storm Drain Markers project addresses the problems associated with people’s dumping of oil and other products into storm drains. The City of Lexington provides the labor to apply the 500 curb markers, which say "NO DUMPING" in both English and Spanish. The goal of the project is to improve water quality by notifying city residents that dumping into storm drains is prohibited.
Nebraska Game and Parks Commission $4,850
Karen Palazzolo, P.O. Box 30370, Lincoln, NE 68503-0370
Wildlife Education Grant
The Nebraska Game and Parks Commission is purchasing Wildlife Education Trunks for distribution to six district offices. Each trunk includes animal furs, skulls, and bones; prairie plants; insect identification materials; outdoor education supplies; and related curriculum materials. The district offices are using the trunks for educational programs related to wildlife and conservation. The trunks are available for loan to schoolteachers, parents conducting home schooling, and other educators.
Solid Waste Agency of Northwest Nebraska $24,784
Frank Nemeth, 1010 East Niobrara Street, Chadron, NE 69337
Recycling and Composting Workshops
This project provides educational programs about recycling, material reuse, and resource conservation for civic organizations, schools, and workshops. The recycling training focuses on buying products with recycled content. School educational programs are conducted using video presentations and samples of recycled material such as compost, chipped glass, and crushed concrete. Backyard composting workshops provide community residents and students with an opportunity to learn about composting yard waste and food scraps. Students receive information about the items manufactured using tree products. The outcome of the project is a demonstration to the community about how to buy recycled products and how to recycle, reuse, and reduce waste materials.
The Groundwater Foundation $11,230
Susan S. Seacrest, P.O. Box 22558, Lincoln, NE 68542
Awesome Aquifers for Science Olympiad
The Groundwater Foundation has developed a groundwater-related event for high school students competing in a Science Olympiad throughout EPA Region 7. The foundation works with Science Olympiad leaders, coaches, and students. The students learn about groundwater and design and build groundwater flow models in Science Olympiad tournaments in Iowa, Kansas, Missouri, and Nebraska. The project increases high school students’ understanding of groundwater concepts.
2002 Grants
Keep North Platte Beautiful $12,902
Sara Morris, 715 S. Jeffers, North Platte, NE 69103
Magic of Recycling
This educational program brings recycling and litter prevention awareness to the community and schools. The project includes school workshops, discussion sessions with teachers and the media, and presentations to businesses and government agencies.
Nebraska Alliance for Conservation and Environmental Education $50,365
Marian Langan, P. O. Box 85344, Lincoln, NE 68501
Building Capacity for Environmental Education in Nebraska
This project addresses capacity building and education reform through the development of a comprehensive state Environmental Education Master Plan. The target audience includes environmental education leaders, informal and formal educators; legislators; state and federal agencies; business and industry; representatives of the Nebraska Department of Education; youth group leaders; and urban, rural, and agricultural groups. Workshops provide environmental education providers and users with training in a variety of topics. This project will establish the foundation to provide statewide professional training in environmental education. Support for the project comes from Audubon Nebraska; the Folsom Children’s Zoo; the Geographic Educators of Nebraska; the Groundwater Foundation; Keep Nebraska Beautiful; Keep Lincoln & Lancaster County Beautiful - Lincoln-Lancaster County Health Department; Nebraska Project WET/Nebraska Project Learning Tree - University of Nebraska Cooperative Extension 4-H; Nebraska Project WILD - Nebraska Game and Parks Commission; the Nebraska Public Power District; the University of Nebraska Cooperative Extension - Thurston County; and the Urban League of Nebraska.
University of Nebraska $24,666
Julia Torquayi, 303 Canfield Administration Building, Lincoln, NE 68583
Connecting Children to Environment
The program teaches children about the interdependence of the life cycle through developmentally appropriate activities and teaches early childhood teachers how to incorporate environmental education concepts and activities into their curriculum. This project involves 100 preschool-aged children and their families representing 16 different countries; 100 college students working towards degrees in child development, early childhood education, and elementary education; 20 toddlers and their families; and 5 toddler teachers. An interactive workshop is held for 100 participants, including early childhood teachers and in-home child care providers. Early childhood educators implement environmental education activities incorporating investigation, analysis and problem-solving, such as creating demonstration gardens. The final product is a framework for teaching environmental education concepts to young children. A summer solstice festival is held in June 2003.
2001 Grants
Educational Service Unit 15 $23,930
Paul Ekberg, P. O. Box 398, Trenton, NE 69044
Wetland Restoration Project
Teachers and students from Nebraska and Kansas investigate three specific types of wetland environments to determine their effects on water purity, as well as to examine the diversity of plant species. Using the wetland sites as models, participants develop and help implement a wetland management plan for a new wetland area to be developed on land in south-central Nebraska that is the property of the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers.
Keep North Platte & Lincoln County Beautiful $10,420
Sara Morris, 715 South Jeffers, North Platte, NE 69103
Magic of Recycling
The project provides a venue through which 1,915 students and 26 teachers in North Platte share historical and environmental information with people of all ages and interests through “hands-on” and public speaking (drama or storytelling) formats. Students are involved in three learning activities that lead students to study respect for the Earth as evidenced in the historical models of caring for the Earth exhibited by Native American and pioneer cultures. Students then develop their own respect-for-the-Earth service projects based on the Reduce, Reuse, and Recycle message set forth by Timothy Wenk in Thematic of Recycling, an award-winning presentation. Trips to Dancing Leaf Lodge and Living History Day give the students an historical perspective on the close ties that Native Americans and pioneers had to the Earth. The Magic of Recycling introduces students to the hands-on paper recycling program being established in the schools. Fourth graders lead their respective schools in setting up a school recycling site and introduce those programs to the public at PTA meetings and during visits to senior centers and retirement homes.
Keep Omaha Beautiful, Inc. $3,056
Cindy Smiley, 1819 Farnam Street, Suite 306, Omaha, NE 68183
Ecology Day Camps for Kids
The project is a week-long program that educates 25 students in grades 4, 5, and 6 who live in inner-city neighborhoods about the environmental issues that affect their communities. The students take part in a day camp program and travel by bus to environmental areas and businesses in Omaha. The students participate in five different projects. Each day, activities focus on a particular theme: water quality, litter, recycling, nature studies, and environmental issues. The students visit a water treatment plant and participate in water games adapted from the curriculum Aquatic Project Wild. They also carry out a litter cleanup project adapted from the Waste in Place curriculum, travel to illegal dump sites, and make a “garbage pizza.” The students visit one of the city’s recycling centers, take a nature walk in Fontenelle Forest to conduct an animal study and tree and leaf studies, and travel down the Missouri River by boat.
Leopold Education Project $5,000
Wendy Cheek, 503 Taylor Circle, Papillion, NE 68046
Leopold Education and Learning Tree Projects
Nebraska Leopold Education and Nebraska Project Learning Tree is conducting one workshop of two days in length and four single-day educator workshops to train 80 educators of students in grades 7 and 12. Both formal and informal educators participate in the workshops. The teachers receive hands-on training in conservation education, forest ecology, and fire management of forest prairies. Educators receive training in three Project Learning Tree environmental education program modules and learn strategies for integrating the materials into existing curricula and programs.
Lincoln Public Schools Foundation $5,000
Sonya Ekart, 5901 O Street, Lincoln, NE 68501
Beattie Elementary Outdoor Learning Project
Students create an outdoor garden for use in learning about the growing cycle. Students learn about the elements needed to grow a garden and how the environment affects those elements. The students construct six raised-bed garden plots in which they plant flowers and vegetables. The students conduct experiments to learn how plants grow. The experiments vary according to the grade levels of the students.
2000 Grants
Inner City Coalition on the Environment $4,935
Barbi Hayes, P. O. Box 3822, Douglas County, NE 68103
City to Prairie: An Outdoor Classroom for Inner-City Youth
This outdoor classroom experience introduces students to the fundamentals of managing terrestrial and aquatic systems. The project focuses on hands-on activities for inner city young people. It provides them an opportunity to experience diverse environments not found in a typical urban setting. Students visit an urban site for comparison, and then are introduced to a 40-acre site in western Douglas County. Students conduct field experiments, such as species identification, surveying and mapping, and soil and sampling and analysis of water. The experience demonstrates the link between classroom theory and applied environmental science and exposes the young people to various environmental professions, as well.
Nebraska Game & Parks Commission $6,675
Carl Wolfe, 2200 North 33rd Street, Lincoln, NE 68503
Linking Project Wild Activities with Nebraska's New Education Content Standards
Nebraska Project Wild is conducting a workshop to correlate Project Wild activities with the Nebraska State Mathematics and Language Arts Standards. The resulting product, a correlation guide, is disseminated through workshops and through a searchable database on the Game and Parks Commission's web site.
Nebraska Groundwater Foundation $7,250
Susan Seacrest, P. O. Box 22558, Lincoln, NE 68542-2558
Awesome Aquifer Club
The Groundwater Foundation educates fourth- and fifth-grade teachers and students throughout Nebraska, Iowa, Kansas, and Missouri about the effects of groundwater contamination on human health. That objective is accomplished through the development of a classroom-based program called the Awesome Aquifer Club (AAC). The Groundwater Foundation distributes an AAC kit that includes a groundwater model, a teacher's manual, student activities, and such classroom items as posters. Each student receives the Groundwater Gazette newsletter three times a year, an invitation to participate in the Nebraska Groundwater Festival, and instructions on how to develop and implement a community service project. A video is developed and distributed that explains the importance of groundwater protection to the students, their parents, and their teachers.
1999 Grants
Central Community College $8,770
Nancy Bjorkland, P. O. Box 4903, Grand Island, NE 68802-4903
Teacher Training in Issues Related to the Quality of Air, Water, and Land
Under the project, 20 four-hour workshops are being held at public schools in the Central Community College and Education Service Unit #9 areas for educators, students, parents, and community members. After the workshops, a one-week course provides further in-service training to 20 educators. The goal of the project is to improve teaching skills and to meet the state's standards for science education. Central Community College, Education Service Unit #9, and Hastings College are partners supporting the project.
Imperial Grade School $23,558
Paul Ekberg, 520 East 9th, Imperial, NE 69033
Light Dam Environmental Education Project
This project establishes a six-member environmental research team representing six schools in Kansas and Nebraska. The team gathers baseline data from a selected study area, researching the effects of confined livestock operations on Enders Reservoir, to which runoff eventually flows. Using multimedia capabilities, participants develop an environmental enhancement plan for the area. The partners that support the project include the game and parks authorities of the two states; the city of Imperial, Nebraska Environmental Trust; the University of Nebraska; the Upper Republican Natural Resources District; and the Nebraska Resource and Conservation Service.
Nebraska State 4-H Camp $4,960
Bernie Lorkovic, P. O. Box 87, Halsey, NE 69142
NatureLink, an Outdoor Education Weekend for Families
NatureLink provides an outdoor educational experience to urban and suburban families from culturally diverse backgrounds. The weekend program includes workshops during which parents experience the outdoors with their children. Intergenerational participation reinforces the message that natural resources must be protected for future generations. Partners in the project include the Big Brothers and Big Sisters organizations.
Thurston County Cooperative Extension $5,000
Janet Nielsen, 303 Canfield Administration, Lincoln, NE 68588
Environmental Education Workshops for Native American Students
Under this project, three day-long workshops teach students in fourth and fifth grades and their teachers from Umonhon Public School how to identify pollution and give them the opportunity to work on solutions. The educational priority is to communicate the principles of environmental justice, while increasing in the students an awareness of their historical connection to the earth. Partners in the project include the Omaha Tribe, the Omaha Boys and Girls Club Youth Center, and the Carl T. Curtis Health Center Education Program.
1998 Grants
Hebron Public Schools $8,080
Jeff Neff, P. O. Box 9, Hebron, NE 68370-0009
ALPHA Project to Test Surface Water
Under this project, students in Hebron High School's advanced biology courses use advanced data collection technology to study interactions among ecological systems and apply the knowledge they gain to make informed decisions. The students also use the Internet to collaborate with students in other schools in the state. The project is intended to meet the National Education Goals 2000 and the goals of strengthening mathematics and science education established by the Nebraska State Board of Education.
Lincoln-Lancaster Environmental Health Division $53,900
Jane Storey, 3140 N Street, Lincoln, NE 68510
Environmental Education for Child Care Providers
The Environmental Health Division of Lincoln-Lancaster County educates child care providers about hazards in the environment that can pose threats to the health of children in their care. Topics explored include lead, molds, cleaning agents, and carbon monoxide. Training is made available to care providers in the home and in day care centers through in-service meetings, workshops, health fairs, and mailings to all licensed child care facilities. Providers also have the opportunity to earn credit hours that will help them meet requirements for maintaining their licenses. Partners in the project are the University of Nebraska, the Family Services Association, the Nebraska Health and Human Services System, and local hospitals.
Nebraska Groundwater Foundation $8,750
Susan Seacrest, P. O. Box 22558, Lincoln, NE 68542-2668
Groundwater Protection Through Local Action
This project produces a 15-minute videotape, Groundwater Protection through Local Action, that demonstrates the importance of educating community residents about protection of groundwater and involving them in efforts to do so. The video is intended for broadcast on the Nebraska Educational Telecommunications (NET) channel and distribution through the Nebraska Groundwater Foundation in an effort to reach the state's Groundwater Guardian communities in both rural and urban areas. Portions of the video are to be made available on the foundation's World Wide Web site.
Thurston County Extension Service $5,000
Janet Nielsen, P. O. Box 245, Walthill, NE 68067
Native American Students Learn Responsibility Toward the Environment
The project educates the 75 fourth grade students at the Walthill Public School, all of whom of are Native Americans of the Omaha Tribe. The students learn about their responsibilities toward their environment as an aspect of their tribe's historical relationship with the earth. The curriculum is designed to introduce a different environmental and cultural component each week. Elders of the tribe share historical information about their relationship to the earth and the responsibility it entails. This project is a partnership effort of the Thurston County Cooperative Extension Service and the Walthill Public Schools.
1997 Grants
Chadron Clean Community System, Inc. $2,709
Lois Cawrse, 250 Main Street, Chadron, NE 69337
Waste-In-Place & Waste: A Hidden Resource
This project provides the first teacher workshop in Northwest Nebraska related to solid waste management for 25 teachers in a three-county area. The teachers in turn present the materials to 625 students, who then share the information with their families. Partners in the project include the city of Chadron; the Forest Service, U.S. Department of Agriculture; the Nebraska Environmental Trust; and the Nebraska Department of Environmental Quality.
Lincoln-Lancaster County Department of Health $4,800
John Chess, 3140 N Street, Lincoln, NE 68510-1514
Environmental Education for Groundwater Quality in Domestic Water Wells
This project builds upon the Lincoln-Lancaster County Department of Health's (LLCDH) Groundwater and Environmental Self-Help Check List Program. With a target audience of rural homeowners, acreage owners, and farmers, as well as high school students, the project educates participants about groundwater quality and protection of that resource and demonstrates how to evaluate the adequacy of domestic water wells. The curriculum unit introduces hydrology, describes methods of installing wells, and teaches participants how to check the quality of groundwater. The unit is available to teachers and other adults for use in supplementing the well check list. Partners in the project are LLCDH, the lead agency; the state's Department of Health; and the University of Nebraska.
Nebraska State 4-H Camp $4,960
Bernie Lorkovic, P. O. Box 87, Halsey, NE 69142
NatureLink, Family Outdoor Education Weekend
NatureLink provides a meaningful outdoor educational experience to urban and suburban families from low-income and culturally diverse backgrounds. The program, presented over a three-day weekend, includes workshops organized as family Learnshops, during which parents experience the outdoors with their children. Such intergenerational participation reinforces the message that natural resources must be protected for future generations. Mentors work with families during the weekend and make a commitment to keep in touch with the families after the program has ended. Partners in the program are the Big Brothers and Big Sisters organizations, whose members work with single-parent families and at-risk youth.
1996 Grants
Educational Service Unit #13 $25,000
Penny Businga, 4215 Avenue 1, Scottsbluff, NE 69361
Exemplary Teacher Training
The Exemplary Teacher Training project improves environmental education teaching skills for teachers of kindergarten through eighth grade by the development and implementation of an environmental education curriculum and teacher resource guide unique to western Nebraska. Teaching skills are enhanced by training lead teachers and through the dissemination workshops at which the guide will be available in both printed and electronic (Internet) form. The target audience is 500 teachers and 6,200 students within 20 school districts throughout western Nebraska.
Lincoln Children's Museum $4,825
Lindy Bull, 121 S. 13th St., Lincoln Square, Lincoln, NE 68508
Water Resources Exhibit & Workshop
Lincoln Children's Museum Water Resources Exhibit & Workshop increases public understanding of urban and rural water sources and the impact of human activities as they relate to the quality and quantity of these sources. The target audience includes preschool and elementary-age children and their families. An interactive exhibit allows children and their families to explore the sources of community and rural water supplies. Workshops are being conducted for the general public using groundwater models.
Nebraska Association of Resources Districts $15,000
Craig Gottschalk, 601 S. 12th St., Suite 201, Lincoln, NE 68508
1996 National Envirothon Competition
The 1996 National Envirothon Competition enhances student and teacher interest and participation in environmental education. The project increases state participation from 30 to 40 states, Canadian participation from one to four provinces, and participation from three states of Mexico. Envirothon stimulates accelerated growth of the Nebraska state environmental education program.
Nebraska State 4-H Camp $5,360
Bernie Lorkovic, P. O. Box 87, Halsey, NE 69142
The NatureLink Family Outdoor Education Weekend
The NatureLink Family Outdoor Education Weekend is a family-oriented outdoor environmental education program designed to link people to nature and the environment and in doing so, helps to educate the public to appreciate and conserve natural resources. The target audience is approximately 100 people from urban and suburban families who spend a weekend to incorporate hands-on experiential environmental education activities.
Prairie Plains Resource Institute $5,000
William S. Whitney, 1307 S. Street, Aurora, NE 68818-2126
Summer Orientation About Rivers (S.O.A.R.)
Summer Orientation About Rivers (S.O.A.R.) is a two-week day camp for 120 students from grades three through six. The primary purpose is exposing elementary students to watershed concepts, biodiversity, and ecological relationships. Concentration will be on aquatic and terrestrial aspects of the Platte River ecosystem. A secondary purpose is the use of classroom teachers which will result in a teacher training program.
1995 Grants
Nebraska Department of Environmental Quality $25,000
Elbert Taylor, P. O. Box 98922-Statehouse Station, Lincoln, NE 68509-8922
Hanna's View: An Interactive Theater Production on Water Quality
The organizers of this project seek to develop an interactive theater production on water quality to be performed over 100 times state-wide to 4th through 8th grade students. A training kit for other theater groups will also be produced to duplicate the performance. The play will give students accurate knowledge about water quality and teach them age-appropriate actions to prevent water pollution.
Omaha Tribe of Nebraska $24,825
Mark Versch, Dept. of Natural Resources, P. O. Box 368, Macy, NE 68039
Environmental Education Initiative of the Omaha Tribe
This project will initiate an "Environmental Education Council" to coordinate and encourage environmental studies in elementary and junior high curricula, and to disseminate consumer education on household hazardous products, waste, and related environmental issues. Participants will conduct a train-the-trainer session on household hazardous products and wastes. A lending library of household hazardous and waste management reference materials and resources also will be developed.
University of Nebraska, Lincoln $24,903
Marion H. O'Leary, 206 Biochemistry Hall, Department of Biochemistry, Lincoln, NE 68583-0718
The Nebraska Distance Learning Water Research Program
The purpose of this project is to produce a distance-learning program (using Nebraska's Neb*Sat satellite system) for Nebraska science teachers. The primary target audience is 100 Nebraska science teachers who participate in the SEER distance learning program. The secondary target audience is approximately 10,000 students. The project is expected to increase knowledge of Nebraska's water quality and to increase students' understanding of science, the environment, and research.
1994 Grants
Nebraska Groundwater Foundation $9,480
Susan Seacrest, P. O. Box 22558, Lincoln, NE 68542-2558
Groundwater Festival
The purpose of this grant is to help the Nebraska Groundwater Foundation to match secondary students with an interest in groundwater with environmental professionals in a mentor relationship. Student and mentor recruitment, training, and recognition will be built on established Groundwater Festival partnerships with state agencies, higher education, and natural resource districts. Specific objectives of the project includes the creation of a visual product suitable for public demonstration while promoting communication and cooperation between students and groundwater professionals.
University of Nebraska $4,000
Joel Cahoon, South Central Research & Extension Center, P. O. Box 66, Clay Center, NE 68933
Irrigation Workshop
The primary goals of this project are to demonstrate and evaluate techniques that reduce deep percolation of irrigation water below the active root zone in furrow-irrigated fields and to narrow the gap between irrigation application amounts and the actual amounts of water extracted by the crop. The results of the project will be presented at an irrigation workshop in Clay County and at the Central Plains Irrigation Short Course and Equipment Expo, which annually attracts more than 300 irrigators from three states.
University of Nebraska $5,000
Shirley Niemeyer, University of Nebraska, Lincoln, NE 68588
Interactive Computer Program for Pollution Prevention
The goal of this project is to transfer existing pollution prevention technology to consumers and householders through the use of a touch-screen, interactive, multimedia computer program. The multimedia program has the potential to improve environmental education teaching through use in educators' workshops, conventions, or displays. It builds on state and local government capacity to develop and deliver environmental pollution prevention educational programs.
1993 Grants
Educational Service Unit #3 $5,000
Patrick T. Geary, 4224 S. 133rd Street, Omaha, NE 68137
Environmental Education Needs
For this project, environmental agency specialists work with educators of kindergarten through 12th grade students to create a vision of environmental education needs. Curriculum and materials will be used by 25 school districts serving nearly 100,000 students in the Omaha area. This is the second year of a three-year Master Plan developed under the 1992-93 project which is funded by EPA.
Governor's Council to Keep Nebraska Beautiful $7,280
Jane Polson, 605 S. 14th, Suite 411, Lincoln, NE 68508
Train the Trainer
The "Train the Trainer" teacher workshops will be conducted in four locations throughout the state with 48 teachers chosen to attend. The immediate goal of the project is to provide classroom activities for students in grades kindergarten through 6 using an environmental curriculum entitled Waste in Place. The secondary goal is to have the 48 teachers share their knowledge with at least 480 additional classroom teachers through in-service training. This project could, in the end, reach as many as 12,000 to 24,000 additional students.
Nebraska Groundwater Foundation $5,000
Susan C. Seacrest, P. O. Box 22558, Lincoln, NE 68542-2558
Children's Groundwater Festival Educators Workshop
The Children's Groundwater Festival Educators Workshop demonstrates, promotes, and facilitates the effective use of hands-on groundwater education in the classroom. Workshop objectives include: training 200 Nebraska upper elementary teachers to use hands-on activities to teach about groundwater, distributing 200 copies of the festival's "how-to" manual Making Waves, and motivating 100 teachers to use workshop activities in their classrooms during the 1993-94 school year.
Prairie Plains Resource Institute $5,000
William S. Whitney, 1307 L. Street, Aurora, NE 68818
Summer Orientation About Rivers (SOAR)
Summer Orientation About Rivers (SOAR), is a two-week day camp for 112 students from grades 3 through 6. The primary purpose of the program is to expose elementary-aged students to watershed concepts, biodiversity, and ecological interrelatedness. Concentration will be on aquatic and terrestrial aspects of the Platte River ecosystem.
University of Nebraska $5,000
Robert H. Stoddard, 303 Administration Building, Lincoln, NE 68588-0135
Crane Meadows Nature Study Center
This grant funds the creation and publishing of an activity packet of educational materials for the Crane Meadows Nature Study Center to enhance the lessons of classroom teachers who teach about the environmental issues of the Platte River region. The activity packets will contain materials on migratory birds, the geography of the flyway, and the complex human environmental interactions of the region.
University of Nebraska $5,000
David Keith, Department of Entomology, Lincoln, NE 68583-0816
Pest Management in an Urban Setting
The project involves the development of materials demonstrating how integrated pest management principles can be applied in the urban setting to reduce chemical use in homes, lawns, trees and shrubs and, ultimately, runoff in surface waters. School children will develop an understanding of insects and learn that most insects are in fact harmless or beneficial. Children will learn the benefits and risks of pesticide use and develop an understanding of food production.
1992 Grants
Educational Services Unit #3, Omaha, NE $5,000
Omaha, NE 68137
Identifying Environmental Education Needs
This project will allow environmental specialists to work with educators from area school districts, kindergarten through 12th grade, in identifying the environmental education needs of this area.
Governor's Council to Keep Nebraska Beautiful $4,887
Lincoln, NE 68508
Train the Trainer
This "Train the Trainer" project will provide an opportunity for 40 Nebraska elementary educators to attend one of four one-day workshops.
Lakeview High School $750
Columbus, NE 68601
Groundwater Testing
Lakeview chemistry students have been testing the quality of the groundwater in Platte County for 11 different substances. This grant will allow the project to be expanded.
University of Nebraska, Veterinary Science $24,850
Lincoln, NE 68583
Livestock Waste Management Curriculum
The purpose of this project is to develop a curriculum for teaching important principles and practices related to livestock waste management.