California Area to receive $30K DEP grant
California Area School District was the only district in Washington County to receive funding through the program.
California Area School District was the only district in Washington County to receive funding through the program.
California Area School District will receive state funding to enhance environmental education.
The Pennsylvania Department of Environmental Protection recently announced it would award $980,256 in Environmental Education Grants to 56 projects to promote environmental education and stewardship across the state.
Nearly all of the projects will support people in environmental justice communities, which are composed of people who are more threatened by climate change, air pollution and water pollution.
The DEP Environmental Education Grants program prioritizes proposals that engage youth or adults who live, work, or attend school in environmental justice areas.
Funding for 97% of projects support educational activities that will benefit people living in environmental justice areas.
The 2024 funded projects will deliver a wide range of environmental learning opportunities including providing youth with unique immersive field experiences, engaging community residents in practical climate mitigation projects, supporting school districts’ efforts to develop new STEELS standards- based curriculum and more.
California Area was one of the only school districts in the Mon Valley — and the only one in Washington County — to receive funding through the program.
CASD will receive $30,000 for the “Bringing Biology to Life” project to create an environmental education program for high school biology curriculum that aligns with the new Pennsylvania State Science Standards.
California Area School District Superintendent Dr. Laura Jacob said last year the district was awarded an Environmental Education Grant to create an Outdoor Science School. The past two summers more than 75 students in elementary and middle school grades had the opportunity to develop science standards outside.
“It’s off the grid, and anything they do needs to use renewable energy,” Jacob said. “It was really successful last year and is off to a good start this year.”
This year’s Environmental Education Grant will be used to further establish that curriculum.
“It’s about expanding our curriculum and reaching those standards, getting kids away from their text books and getting their hands dirty so they are feeling, smelling and tasting science,” Jacob said.
The course is expected to start before next spring to give educators time to develop the curriculum.
“This is our way of bringing this to the high school and then hopefully brining it to lower grades,” she said. “These grants, our overarching goal is to be K-12, but we have to start somewhere. We plan to expand on it each year to try to make that happen. We’re going to change the curriculum, get kids engaged, more experimentation, more integrated labs, more experiences while they are learning.”
DEP Acting Secretary Jessica Shirley said funded projects help educate people about the air they breathe and water they drink daily.
“These projects help connect people to the ways we can protect the air we breathe and the water we drink, and many of them encourage learning at any age whether you’re a kid or an adult,” she said. “Nearly every grant we are awarding will support people in environmental justice communities to improve educational opportunities and people’s connections to their environment.
“Meaningful environmental education programs provide opportunities for participants to make informed decisions leading to actions that result in sustainable communities and a healthy environment.
Environmental Education grant applicants include schools and colleges, environmental and community- based organizations, county conservation districts and eligible businesses. Applications for the 2025 Environmental Education Grants Program will open in August, with applications due in mid-November.
The Environmental Education Grants Program was established by the Environmental Education Act of 1993, which mandates setting aside 5% of the pollution fines and penalties DEP collects annually for environmental education in Pennsylvania.
To date, DEP has awarded more than $14 million in Environmental Education Grant funding to support more than 2,200 projects.