Profiles of Environmental Education Grants Awarded to Organizations in Ohio
-Indicates a Headquarters grant
- 2015
- 2011
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2015 Grants
Columbus State Community College $91,000
Jeffrey Bates, 550 East Spring Street, Columbus, OH 43215
http://www.cscc.edu/Exit
Green Infrastructure Educational Program
Columbus State Community College and its sub-grantee partners implement a green infrastructure educational program to educate 60 low-income, inner city residents on green infrastructure concepts. The project, which is aligned with the City of Columbus initiative to improve sustainable, environmentally friendly storm water retention, empowers disadvantaged populations with skills to earn a livable wage as landscaping and grounds keeping workers. The 6-week course provides local residents with the entry-level skills to implement environmentally friendly alternatives to the current Wet Weather Management Plan required under an Ohio Environmental Protection Agency consent order that consists of wastewater treatment plant upgrades, storage tanks, tunnels, and piping augmentation. The environmentally friendly alternatives involve installing rain gardens, porous pavements, gutter and downspout improvements on private property, and other more sustainable measures. The project goal is to offer a Green Infrastructure Educational Program that enables the City of Columbus to implement an environmentally friendly program titled “Blueprint Columbus. Clean Streams. Strong Neighborhoods” to maximize rainwater retention and minimize runoff into the wastewater sewer system. Participants also gain hands-on training and experience that can be applied toward an associate degree at Columbus State Community College. Entering and rising in the career pathway is a means for breaking the cycle of poverty while infusing environmental literacy through education.
2011 Grants
Environmental Health Watch $81,432
Stuart Greenberg, 2500 Lorain Ave, Suite 201, Cleveland, OH 44113
Green Houses & Greenhouses
Environmental Health Watch partnered with the Buckeye Area Development Corporation and Rid-All Green Partnership to educate 200 residents on decision-making regarding community agriculture, healthy/green housing issues, and partaking in community development. The community is comprised of an older, African-American population ridden with high unemployment rates, housing health hazards and the challenge of being a food desert. The partnership implements a showcase of best practices in green building, transit-oriented design, urban agriculture and societal inter-dependence to broaden community awareness. The public is educated about potential environmental hazards, such as radon and lead, in their homes and communities. Through energy efficiency programs for their homes, and planting community gardens, residents and tenants are provided with personal action opportunities. Working relationships between residents and community development authorities focus on urban infrastructure sustainability such as public transit, green space, and accessibility. Developers and contractors integrate sustainability principles to promote environmental education for urban redevelopment and community organizing to the public. The partnership's objective for the Buckeye neighborhood offers an alternative model that strives to replace consumption and waste with preservation and regeneration to residents and the area.
2010 Grants
Cleveland Botanical Garden $44,360
Molly Molpus, 11030 East Boulevard, Cleveland, OH 44106
Green Corps
Cleveland Botanical Garden's Green Corps is a work-study program in urban agriculture that employs youth ages 14 through 18 from five of Cleveland's under-served neighborhoods. Student operation of urban farms during weather-permitting months facilitates education in agriculture, plant biology, nutrition, ecosystems, watersheds, conservation, and sustainability. To facilitate better retention of environmental knowledge by the students, the project provides an expanded after-school program curriculum. The expanded program focuses on environmental stewardship and community-based environmental education. Classroom teaching, field trips, and hands-on methods are used increase students' knowledge of pollution prevention, energy efficiency, urban conservation, sustainability, watershed protection, and biodiversity during the school year. The new year-round program includes both the student operation of urban farms and the after-school program. Program participants receive service-learning credit from the Cleveland Metropolitan School District.
2009 Grants
Cincinnati State Technical and Community College $30,000
Ann Gunkel, 3520 Central Parkway, Cincinnati, OH 45223
Environmental Mountain Ecology Course
The Environmental Mountain Ecology course is designed to expose college students who are focusing on environmental studies to principles of ecology as they pertain to mountain ecosystems, which are vastly different than the ecosystems generally found in Cincinnati, Ohio. The Environmental Mountain Ecology course is designed to expose college students who are focusing on environmental studies to principles of ecology as they pertain to mountain ecosystems, which are vastly different than the ecosystems generally found in Cincinnati, Ohio. The course provides students with hands-on training in areas that cannot be learned in the local region and provides a broad exposure to environmental careers, environmental challenges, and potential solutions. Field activities include vegetation analysis using a variety of techniques and taxonomic keys. Terrestrial vertebrates are monitored and identified with field guides. Students study and analyze ecosystem areas of varying elevations, slopes, and exposures (to fire and flooding). The impact of human activities is studied at mining, Superfund, and logging sites and at wastewater treatment facilities. Geologic formations unique to these areas and river ecosystems are also analyzed. The course provides students an opportunity to engage in a variety of practical studies in real world situations. Students interact with professionals in the field of environmental education and learn first-hand about problems facing the environment, while proposing solutions that can help address these concerns. The course ends with a capstone project designed to pass on knowledge the students have gained to other students and the community.
Mill Creek Restoration Project $98,500
Robin Corathers, 1617 Elmore Court, Cincinnati, OH 45223
Mill Creek Green Schools/Green Infrastructure Pilot Program
The Mill Creek Restoration project (MCRP) offers education and service learning focused on green infrastructure strategies that can reduce the volume of urban storm run-off to Mill Creek. The project uses a variety of venues for learning, including classroom presentations, field reconnaissance and observations, environmental design workshops, hands-on fieldwork, and water quality monitoring. MCRP offers teacher and volunteer training on how to implement the program at the Metropolitan Sewer District of Greater Cincinnati (MSD) Industrial Waste Laboratory. In collaboration with teachers, MCRP offers interactive classroom presentations on topics that include sustainability concepts and practices, urban storm water runoff, and the science of watersheds and ecosystems. Field activities offered to students emphasize both analytical and creative thinking to improve their urban environment. With the help of a multidisciplinary team and volunteers, students in grades 6 through 12 of the Cincinnati Public Schools (CPS) district research, design, and install green infrastructure projects on school campuses using methods such as reforestation and green roofs to prevent storm water runoff. In addition, students are responsible for monitoring and tracking storm water runoff from their school to Mill Creek using a combination of sewer maps, field trips, and geographic computer software. Other field activities offered to students include soil and water testing at Mill Creek. At the end of the year, students present the field research along with recommended green storm water projects to an all-schools assembly hosted by MCRP. Partners include the CPS district, the City of Cincinnati, the Metropolitan Sewer District of Greater Cincinnati, and a variety of Mill Creek businesses and donors.
2008 Grants
Ohio River Foundation $19,592
Erin Lang Crowley, P.O. Box 42460, Cincinnati, OH 45242
School Rain Garden
In greater Cincinnati, there is a significant lack of education and information about the Ohio River and its watershed, even though it is a source of drinking water to millions of people. The first function of this project is to provide hands-on learning about watersheds and stormwater management. The school rain garden is an education-outreach and stewardship program geared for students in grades 6 through 12. The second function is to enable students to design and implement rain gardens that serve as a model for the community at large. Designing and building rain gardens further develops skills in math and science.
2007 Grants
Communities in Schools $18,943
Beth Urban, 510 East Broadway, Columbus, OH 43214
Recycling Awareness
Communities in Schools provides environmental education opportunities to students in after-school programs. The opportunities focus on community issues of (1) litter, (2) lack of environmental stewardship, (3) waste reduction (4) limited willingness to recycle, and (5) limited access to free recycling centers in low-income areas of Columbus. Students learn the effects of littering along with the value of recycling and environmental stewardship. Goals are achieved through use of EPA’s Planet Protector and Make a Difference curriculum and field trips and by starting recycling programs in each participating school. The project is implemented in three phases: (1) educational programming during the after school program, (2) active participation in school and community recycling, and (3) promoting greater access to recycling bins for the school community. Students involved in the project educate the Solid Waste Authority of Central Ohio and the local government about the importance of recycling.
2006 Grants
Cuyahoga Community College Metro Campus $13,949
Kimberly Royal, 700 Carnegie Avenue, Cleveland, OH 44115
The Euclid Creek Watershed: Community Stewardship Through Environmental Education
The Euclid Creek Watershed project develops a multi-disciplinary course about the watershed for local teachers and community group leaders to educate and increase environmental stewardship. The course involves both classroom instruction at Cuyahoga Community College and hands-on field instruction at the watershed. The project produces an educational water quality assessment DVD that details the physical, chemical, and biological sampling techniques used by teachers, students, and other stakeholders. The DVD is disseminated to teachers at middle schools, high schools, and environmental organizations, and through the Cuyahoga Community College Web site and Smart TV community cable channel. The project primarily reaches middle and high school teachers and students. An additional target audience of other informal educators affiliated with organizations that promote conservation and stewardship is reached. The project increases stewardship through a better understanding of the integrated cultural and ecological history of the watershed, which helps educators and students appreciate the quality of the watershed.
Ohio River Basin Consortium $5,700
Tiao Chang, Ohio University, 147 Stocker Center, Athens, OH 45701
Workshop for Secondary School Teachers: Current Status of Ohio River Waters
The goal of the Ohio River Basin Consortium for Research and Education is to promote inter-institutional research and education in water-related concerns and other environmental issues in the Ohio River Basin. The consortium, a group of universities, colleges, governmental agencies, industries, and individuals, has organized a special workshop on the river-wide status of the Ohio River waters based on the River Run 2005. The Ohio River Run 2005 was a 981-mile snapshot of the Ohio River at low flow. During this time, scientists and students monitored the physical, chemical, and algal responses to the river from inputs from its tributaries and from point source effluents, such as wastewater from Cincinnati, Louisville, and Pittsburgh. The workshop is conducted based on the data collected from the 981-mile Ohio River. Secondary-school teachers, especially from economically disadvantaged areas, are recruited and selected for participation.
2005 Grants
Mill Creek Restoration Project $89,750
Robin Corathers, 1617 Elmore Court, Cincinnati, OH 45223
Mill Creek Watershed Environmental Education Programs
One goal of the Mill Creek Restoration Project (MCRP) is to strengthen and enrich learning opportunities for students and members of the local community in the Mill Creek watershed. Mill Creek is a polluted and degraded river that flows through economically depressed inner-city neighborhoods of Cincinnati, Ohio. Members of MCRP, a nonprofit organization, are working together to improve both the environmental conditions and educational opportunities at Laughing Brook, a new environmental education facility located in the Mill Creek watershed. For example, MCRP is installing sculptures covered with moss and wetland plants that help to cleanse storm water runoff, building a boardwalk for observation purposes, and creating a butterfly garden that serves as habitat for local species. Both students and adult volunteers are engaged in planting native species in the butterfly garden and in monitoring water chemistry within the watershed. In another MCRP educational program, students learn firsthand about habitat restoration and reforestation by planting shrubs and trees on the Queen City Freedom Trees site, a blighted property located in a heavily commercialized area within the Mill Creek watershed. In addition, students in local middle and high schools participate in a special problem-solving project that focuses on reducing the volume of solid waste and construction debris that must be disposed of in landfills. The students conduct research to determine whether potential waste materials could be reused or recycled at the Laughing Brook and Queen City sites and develop reuse and recycling prototypes that could be replicated in the future. In conjunction with the National Underground Railroad Freedom Center, MCRP also produces educational materials that illustrate the important role of Mill Creek during the time of the Underground Railroad. Key MCRP partners include ArtWorks, the National Underground Railroad Freedom Center, and Hamilton County Environmental Services.
Ohio Environmental Council $10,000
Micah Vieux, 1207 Grandview Avenue, Suite 201, Columbus, OH 43212
Black River Watershed Safe Fish Consumption Project
In its effort to educate people about the dangers of contaminant exposure via fish consumption, the Ohio Environmental Council provides educational workshops for conservation and public health groups, conducts seminars in hospitals and clinics, and partners with a group that offers health education and parenting skills for teenage mothers. The Ohio Environmental Council trains community supporters, healthcare providers, and high school teachers on the best ways to communicate Ohio’s sport fish consumption advisory and how to minimize exposure to contaminants to preserve good health.
2004 Grants
Camp Fire USA Northeast Ohio Council $5,000
Barbara Smith, P.O. Box 516, 516 Leffingwell Road, Canfield, OH 44406
Environmental Education and Awareness Activities
In this project, the Camp Fire USA Northeast Ohio Council teams up with neighborhood centers to bring environmental education activities to an after-school site on the east side of Youngstown, Ohio. Approximately 40 inner city youth learn about trees, forests, rainforests, earthworms, soil composition, threatened and endangered habitats, recycling, waste reduction, and the difference between landfills and dumps.
Seneca County General Health District $5,000
Deborah Magers, 71 South Washington Street, Suite 1102, Tiffin, OH 44883
Home Sewage Treatment Education
Through a series of home inspections conducted by the Seneca County General Health District, Clinton Township residents are being educated about the proper way to operate their home sewage treatment systems. A homeowner’s guide on the subject has been developed, and homeowners are being taught about human health threats associated with pollution from malfunctioning septic systems. The guide provides tools to help homeowners make responsible decisions concerning the operation of their home sewage treatment systems.
Youngstown State University $25,000
James Shanahan, One University Plaza, Youngstown, OH 44555
Mahoning River Education Project 2004
The Mahoning River Education Project is the outcome of an EPA sustainable development challenge grant. The project increases the awareness of middle school students regarding the importance of the Mahoning River to the region’s future. As part of the project, 4,800 middle school students and 290 teachers are given the opportunity to engage in hands-on studies of the river’s systems. Students at each middle school grade level focus on a theme, such as ecosystems; the water cycle; water quality; or land, rocks, and soil. Student activities and indicators are matched with Ohio's academic content standards by grade level.
2003 Grants
Youngstown State University $21,285
Marcia Barr, One University Plaza, Youngstown, OH 44555-3355
Waste Minimization Workshop for Youngstown Students and Teachers
In this project, fifth- and sixth-grade teachers from the Youngstown public and Catholic schools participate in "train the trainer" workshops that meet the Ohio Department of Education's technology standards. The workshops, with the participation of 11 public and 5 Catholic schools, provide an interactive chemistry demonstration and instruction on waste reduction and pollution prevention as well as ecosystem protection. The teachers learn how to access databases in order to determine what waste minimization regulations affect their schools. Tests are given before and after workshops so that project staff members can determine the training’s effectiveness.
2002 Grants
Clark Center Alternative School $5,000
Elizabeth Houck, Route 1, Box 15, Marietta, OH 45750
Phase Two of the Butterfly Exodus Garden Enterprise
The grant supports the second phase of the butterfly exodus project. As part of the project, students plan, design, and build an observation deck near an existing butterfly land lab. The deck provides students, teachers, and outlying school districts with the opportunity to conduct environmental workshops. Students collaborate with teachers to plan and implement the first butterfly count.
Environmental Health Watch $25,000
Stuart Greenberg, 4115 Bridge Avenue, #104, Cleveland, OH 44113
Reducing Children's Exposure to Pesticide and Asthma Triggers
Parents of children with asthma and managers of residential and childcare buildings learn how to adopt integrated pest management methods. Educational sessions are organized in cooperation with neighborhood health centers and professional organizations of managers of residential buildings and child care centers.
Geauga Soil and Water Conservation District $5,000
Mara Simpson, 14269 Claridon Troy Road, P. O. Box 410, Burton, OH 44021
Non-Point Source Pollution Awareness Program
The district presents programs and plans events to educate the public on three concepts: the detrimental effect improper disposal of hazardous waste has on streams, rivers, and lakes; watershed drainage and the important role Geauga County serves in water quality as home to the headwaters of four major rivers; and the role each individual plays in the understanding and prevention of all types of non-point source pollution.
Ohio State University at Lima $33,723
Lynn Sametz, 4240 Campus Drive, Lima, OH 45804
At-Risk Youth and the Environment
This project builds on a successful hands-on integrated program for at-risk students in alternative education settings previously piloted in the area. The project engages students and their teachers at three local alternative high schools in an interactive model environmental education program that features research of local environmental issues. Students interact with local environmental professionals to identify target issues. Employing an interactive problem-solving approach, the goal of the program is to enable at-risk youth to become educated, involved environmental stakeholders within their communities. Students from the Lima City High School Science Department serve as mentors during part of the program. The Ohio State University at Lima is working in partnership with the Lima City Schools Science Department, the Lima City Schools Alternative School, Allen County Educational Service Center, and the Opportunity for Parenting Teens Program.
Ohio State University Research Foundation $21,762
Rossane Fortner, 1960 Kenny Road, Columbus, OH 43210
Lake Erie Distance Education for the F.T. Stone Laboratory
The F.T. Stone Laboratory instructors are able to reach mainland classrooms in underserved areas and bring them on a virtual field trip to Lake Erie while integrating lessons into their science curriculum. An interactive seminar series about Lake Erie issues is also available to college students and the public.
Public Broadcasting Foundation of Northwest Ohio $7,390
Kathleen Smith, 136 Huron Street, P. O. Box 30, Toledo, OH 43697
Run River Run
About 400 people are participating in a series of 10 to 15 workshops during which they will learn how geography, geology, farming practices, and industrial activity affect the area's water supply, and what needs to be done to protect and improve it.
2001 Grants
Clark Center Alternative School-Washington County Educational Service Center $5,000
Emily Hayes-Newman, Route 1, Box 15, Marietta, OH 45750
Butterfly Exodus Project
Clark Center Alternative School provides high-quality, hands-on environmental education as a tool for motivating at-risk youth. Youth collaborate with key partners to plan, design, and create an indigenous butterfly and bird land laboratory on the school grounds. Students work in teams with naturalists to cultivate a garden made up of plants that attract native birds and butterflies. With walking paths to provide easy access, the land laboratory gives students an opportunity to observe, investigate, and record the life cycles, behavior, and migratory patterns of native butterflies and birds. Students also develop presentations on the benefits of preserving natural habitats that they deliver to schools and community organizations.
Cleveland Metroparks - Division of Outdoor Education $11,058
Robert Hinkle, Garfield Park Nature Center, 11350 Broadway Avenue, Garfield Heights, OH 44125
Project Watershed
Cleveland Metroparks expands its existing outreach program on watersheds to include the following new or updated items: 1) curriculum materials, 2) laminated wall maps of the watershed, 3) interactive exhibits, 4) interactive computer programs, 5) teacher workshops, and 6) a watershed web page. The goal of the project is to develop a watershed resource to be shared among 34 naturalists who disseminate the information in schools, through Metroparks’ programs, and to members of the community at various locations.
2000 Grants
Better Housing League of Greater Cincinnati, CLEARCorps Cincinnati $9,965
Dot Christenson, 2400 Reading Road, Cincinnati, OH 45202
Lead Awareness for Families Train-the-Trainer Program
The Better Housing League of Greater Cincinnati provides training to day-care facility staff in principles of adult education and lead awareness safety. Day-care staff facilitate three sessions at centers that serve low-income families in Cincinnati and Hamilton County, one session with parents and caregivers and two sessions with children at the facility. More than 600 individuals will be trained through this program which will serve as a model for other daycare facilities.
Mahoning Valley/Northeast Ohio Camp Fire Council $6,230
Barbara Smith, P. O. Box 516, 3712 Leffingwell Road, Canfield, OH 44406
Environmental Olympics
Mahoning Valley/Northeast Ohio Camp Fire Council teams with Organizacfon Civica y Cultural Hispana Americana, Inc. (OCCHA) to bring environmental education activities to OCCHA's afterschool site on the south side of Youngstown. The program teaches 40 inner-city, high-risk youth from 8 to 13 years of age about their local environment through field trips and hands-on service learning projects. Among other evaluation measures, Mahoning Valley/Northeast Ohio Camp Fire Council tracks student self-esteem throughout different phases of the project.
University of Findlay, College of Education $5,000
Gwynne Stoner-Rife, 1000 North Main Street, Findlay, OH 45840
Pesticide Education for Teachers of Northwest Ohio
Under its preservice and inservice teacher education initiative, the University of Findlay offers a multimedia software (CD-ROM) package related to pesticide education. The technology-based education program focuses on a proactive, prevention-oriented approach to environmental problems related to current agricultural practices in the use of chemical insecticides. The program reaches 60 graduate-level teachers and 20 preservice undergraduate teachers.
1999 Grants
Environmental Education Council of Ohio $125,685
Deb Wandala, 397 West Myrtle Avenue, Newark, OH 43055
Ohio Infrastructure for Success
This project implements Ohio's strategic plan for environmental education. The goal of the project is to build capacity in the state for environmental education by expanding upon existing collaborative efforts to create both a leadership network and a programmatic infrastructure that will foster long-term grassroots initiatives. That goal will be achieved by meeting six objectives: 1) to expand and coordinate leadership by establishing a statewide steering committee and interagency government council, 2) to establish an environmental education center to develop programmatic infrastructure, 3) to use marketing strategies to increase awareness of environmental education, 4) to develop and adopt guidelines for best practices, 5) to establish an environmental education research consortium to coordinate research efforts, and 6) to assess the availability of environmental education to pre-service and in-service educators. The target audience of the initial implementation efforts is those people who provide environmental education to young people and adults, including formal and informal educators who teach children of all ages, as well as colleges, universities, agencies, and other organizations.
Hamilton County $4,405
Suzanne Magness, 250 William Howard Taft Road, Cincinnati, OH 45219
Teacher Workshop: Exploring the Environment and Decision Making
Through two teacher workshops, Hamilton County seeks to educate middle school teachers about waste reduction and issues related to air quality. The teacher workshops incorporate hands-on lessons from both the Exploring the Environment curriculum and the Decision-Aiding Tools curriculum. In addition, professionals in the solid waste and air quality areas work in partnership to make presentations about local community health, solid waste, and air quality issues.
Miami Valley Earth Central, Inc. $4,125
Bonnie Bazill-Davis, 81 Halifax Drive, Vandalia, OH 45377
ScienceWorks
The goal of the ScienceWorks program is to sustain the interest of girls in the field of environmental science. To achieve that goal, women in a variety of careers in the environmental sciences visit the classrooms of sixth grade girls and engage them in environmental activities and experiments. Teachers participate in a miniworkshop that helps them understand the program and assist in accomplishing its goals. As the final project of the program, participating students design an experiment for the Children's Water Festival.
1998 Grants
Cleveland State University $23,963
Frank Johns, 1983 E. 24th Street, Cleveland, OH 44115
Hands-On Science Teaching
The Center for Environmental Science, Technology, and Policy, in collaboration with the Education Department, provides two intensive, interactive teacher workshops for 16 educators from the local school district. The first two-hour workshop provides teachers with the theory behind hands-on, problem-based science education. They also learn how to use the equipment necessary for the project. After the first workshop, teachers design their own activities using the information they have acquired. The second two-hour session provides the teachers with the opportunity to present and discuss their proposed activity for peer review. Teachers then return to their schools and implement their projects. A final workshop will be held at the end of the school year to evaluate the success of the modules.
Keep Akron Beautiful $5,000
Paula Davis, 850 E. Market Street, Akron, OH 44305
Science Education for Public Understanding Program Fellows Institute for Northeast Ohio
The Science Education for Public Understanding Program (SEPUP) is a comprehensive, 12- module unit, through which teachers learn to teach science in the context of societal issues. Keep Akron Beautiful conducts a workshop for 20 educators in northeast Ohio; during the workshop, the teachers learn 4 of the 12 modules. During the five-day workshop, educators receive hands-on training that they then use in their classrooms. On the fifth day of the workshop, teachers design a plan of action for disseminating the curriculum throughout their school districts. At the conclusion of the workshop, participants receive three of the modules to take to their respective districts for use in training others. Follow-up with participants will be conducted in the spring of 1999.
1997 Grants
Case Western Reserve University $4,988
Glenn Odenbrett, 10900 Euclid Avenue, Cleveland, OH 44106
Watershed Education
The Watershed Education Project seeks to educate more than 200 students, primarily African American, enrolled in a local underserved school district. Case Western Reserve University recruits, trains, and deploys a corps of 10 student environmental leaders who serve as role models and liaisons between the school district and the environmental education organizations that are partners in the project. The student leaders educate other students about watersheds, water quality, and water pollution. Students engage in hands-on activities and experiments in the classroom and visit the partner environmental education organizations to apply the knowledge they have acquired. The university also integrates hands-on watershed education activities into pre-college summer programs for minority students. Through environmental service learning projects, students monitor water quality and evaluate contamination of soil.
Environmental Education Council of Ohio $25,000
Deb Yandala, 397 W. Myrtle Avenue, Newark, OH 43055
Ohio EE 2000 - Building State Capacity
This project implements a statewide strategy for building environmental education capacity in Ohio. It promotes interdisciplinary environmental education that conforms with the current education reform efforts in the state. Under the project, a broad-based planning group develops and implements a statewide strategic environmental education plan, incorporates current research related to reform-based education and comparative risk into the plan, distributes the plan statewide for comment, and forms work groups to implement the plan. Participants in the project include policy makers, educators, representatives of business and industry, members of citizen groups, and staff of state agencies. Partners in the project are the Environmental Education Council of Ohio, the Ohio Alliance for the Environment, the Ohio Department of Education, the Ohio Department of Natural Resources, and the Ohio Environmental Protection Agency.
Environmental Mobile Unit $5,000
Sharon Edwards, 5431 Tallawanda Lane, Oxford, OH 45056
The M.O.L.E. Project
The Measuring Our Local Environment (M.O.L.E) project is designed to strengthen the environmental problem-solving skills of both teachers and students through observation and evaluation of their local environments, as well as action to improve those environments. A naturalist from the environmental mobile unit (EMU) works with teachers to develop lesson plans that give students the opportunity to investigate a number of environmental issues, at both local and regional levels. Students gather data and exercise their problem-solving skills while learning about water quality, air quality, wildlife habitat, and soil. The naturalist also educates teachers, students, and their families about pollution; helps teachers improve their skills in teaching environmental topics; and supports the goals of the state's education reform efforts. More than 50 teachers and 1,500 kindergarten through sixth-grade students participate in the EMU program.
1996 Grants
Cuyahoga Valley Environmental Education Center $4,525
Deb Yandala, Director, P. O. Box 222, Peninsula, OH 44264
All the Rivers Run
The All the Rivers Run project consists of teacher education workshops for 300 elementary and middle school teachers in northeastern Ohio on ecosystem protection, biodiversity, and water quality issues in the Cuyahoga River watershed. The workshops are based on the center's newly developed inquiry-based curriculum. Workshops prepare teachers to bring their students to the Cuyahoga Valley Environmental Education Center for participation in a four-day residential environmental education program.
Glendale Habitat Discovery Garden, Inc. $4,786
Selene Loomis, 400 West Glendale Avenue, Bedford, OH 44146-3299
Glendale Habitat Discovery Garden
Participants in the Glendale Habitat Discovery Garden project are working with Glendale Primary School to improve and expand the land laboratory that currently exists on the school grounds. The organization will also work with the Bedford City school district to integrate environmental education materials into the school's curriculum. The focus of Glendale's hands-on education program, which targets staff, PTA members, and students, is on biodiversity and sustainability.
Rivers Unlimited Mill Creek Restoration Project $35,000
Robin Corathers, Suite 610, Two Centennial Plaza, 805 Central Avenue, Cincinnati, OH 45202
Exploring the Mill Creek Valley (Phase II)
The Rivers Unlimited Mill Creek Restoration project develops environmental education methods and materials for use in middle and senior high schools and communities near the severely polluted Mill Creek ecosystem in southwest Ohio. Exploring the Mill Creek Valley (Phase II) is working to motivate the communities to improve the quality of the creek by creating computer simulations of healthy landscapes and incorporating this information into interactive/multimedia materials and public exhibits. The target audience is 104 teachers and adult volunteers and 800 participating high school students attending 15 schools in the Mill Creek area.
University of Akron $23,954
Dr. Helen Qammar, Department of Chemical and Civil Engineering, University Research Center, Akron, OH 44325-2102
Vertical Integration of Environmental Design for Engineering Students
Vertical Integration of Environmental Design for Engineering Students is a new environmental design curriculum being developed to engage engineering students in practical field experience. The curriculum presents students with a realistic case study about a small urban company in northeast Ohio and teaches them how to develop a pollution prevention and waste remediation design for the company. It is designed so that students can continue their work on the curriculum as they progress through their undergraduate degree program. The university hopes to promote environmental careers through the program and will share the course framework with other schools.
University of Cincinnati, School of Planning/DAAP $5,000
Dr. Jan Fritz, Professor, Box 210073, Cincinnati, OH 45221-0073
Environmental Justice Workshops
University of Cincinnati's School of Planning is integrating the topic of environmental justice throughout workshops on habitat, waste, environmental health, and water. Workshops target elementary teachers, camp counselors, and youth program directors who work with inner-city children in Cincinnati. In addition to highlighting a multitude of environmental education resources, the workshops require participants to critically examine local environmental justice issues.
1995 Grants
Talawanda City Schools $5,000
Sharon Edwards, 131 W. Chestnut St., Oxford, OH 45056
PAWS: Projects to attract wildlife to schools
The purpose of this project is to train 45 teachers of kindergarten through 4th grade on how to use school grounds to learn about habitat improvement methods. Workshops will focus on using the scientific method with students and feature sessions on how to conduct biotic surveys.
1994 Grants
Clintonville Academy $4,600
Christine Sellers, 3916 Indianola Ave., Columbus, OH 43214
Assessment of Adena Brook
This grant funds a project to give elementary students the opportunity to participate in a comprehensive educational experience through stream and watershed assessment of the Adena Brook. The project will initially serve 40 5th and 8th grade students and will include delineation of drainage boundaries, biological assessment, chemical sampling, and an environmental exchange program with another school.
Environmental Health Watch $5,000
Stuart Greenberg, 4115 Bridge Ave., Cleveland, OH 44113
Indoor Air Issues
The purpose of this project is to raise the general public's awareness of indoor air issues and help citizens make informed and responsible decisions that affect their home environment. Funds will be used to develop a decision-maker's guide for families and to support presentations on household pollutants to a wide variety of civic organizations. The guide will walk homeowners through the risk assessment and management process to enable them to determine whether there is a need for action in their homes and which course of action to take to minimize risk from indoor air pollutants.
Rural Action $5,000
Heather Cantino, 36 S. Congress St., Athens, OH 45701
Pest or Guest?
The purpose of this project is to carry out an educators' training project in integrated pest management entitled "Pest or Guest?" Funds will enable at least 75 teachers of kindergarten through 12th grade to participate in workshops that prepare them to teach integrated pest management curricula to students in five local school districts. Workshops will teach educators to engage students in interdisciplinary, community-based, problem-solving related to pollution prevention.
1993 Grants
Marietta College $4,000
Dorothy J. Erb, Marietta, OH 45750
Women in the Sciences
The purpose of this project is to enhance Marietta College's Academic Alliances for Environmental Education network. The network consists of public school teachers, college science faculty, and specialists from local industry. Participating 5th through 8th grade teachers will field test lesson plans under the mentorship of college science faculty and environmental industry specialists. Students seeking certification to teach science will also work with the teachers during the field testing.
Northeast Ohio Greens $4,500
Alanna Meyers, 1328 West 59th Street, Cleveland, OH 44102
Growing Together Organically
The "Growing Together Organically" project uses local garden sites to teach organic gardening and composting methods to elementary students in low-income areas, homeless women and children, and runaway adolescents in the Cleveland area. This project will build on an environmental education grant that the organization was awarded by EPA in 1992.
University of Findlay $4,870
Natalie Abell, Division of Teacher Education, 1000 N. Main Street, Findlay, OH 45840
Pest Management Alternatives
This grant funds a project to conduct pre-service teacher training seminars to graduate-level elementary and middle school teachers on integrated pest-management alternatives. Teachers will expose more than 900 students to the strategies and data they learned at the workshop. Students will apply their knowledge beyond the classroom to farm settings.
Wooster City Schools $4,280
Kevin Hennis, 144 N. Market Street, Wooster, OH 44691
Stream Monitoring Program
This project will allow high school math and science students to engage in a stream monitoring program. Students will collect and statistically analyze data on the biological, chemical, and physical factors of a stream that flows through Wooster.
WSOS Community Action Commission, Inc. $5,000
Julie Ward, P. O. Box 590, 109 S. Front Street, Fremont, OH 43420
Health Hazards of Indoor Air Pollution
The purpose of this project is to educate more than 4,000 economically-disadvantaged senior citizens about the health hazards of indoor air pollution. Problem-solving modules will be developed that emphasize pollution prevention and energy conservation. Once piloted, WSOS will disseminate materials through a network that reaches 153 grassroots organizations in the states surrounding the Great Lakes.
1992 Grants
Bowling Green State University $4,956
Bowling Green, OH 43403
Early Childhood Environmental Education Network
This project will involve an international network of more than 60 individuals who will establish an information-sharing network focusing on the development, expansion, and evaluation of quality programs in early childhood environmental education.
Miami University, Department of Zoology $1,986
Oxford, OH 45056
Lake Erie and Local Endangered Species
This project will involve developing and implementing enhancements to curricula for educators of kindergarten through 6th grade, on Lake Erie and local endangered species.
Northeast Ohio Greens $2,500
Cleveland, OH 44133
Growing Food Without Pesticides
This grant will fund a project to educate low-income and area students on how to grow and preserve nutritious food without the use of pesticides. Participants will use vacant lots and low-income housing areas to grow their crops.
Tuscarawas Soil and Water Conservation District $5,000
New Philadelphia, OH 44663
Impacts of Non-point Source Pollution
This project will involve educating elementary, high school, and college students to identify the impacts of nonpoint source pollution on the county. The project will demonstrate land management techniques through the establishment of six land lab sites throughout the county and using a curriculum booklet.