HARRISBURG – A Potter County Conservation District project is one of 56 recipients set to share nearly $1 million in Environmental Education Grants.

The Pennsylvania Department of Environmental Protection (DEP) will award $980,256 to projects promoting environmental education and stewardship across Pennsylvania.

PCCD will receive $2,307 for Supporting Place-based Water Quality Education in Northern Potter High School. The funding will train teachers on how to use water quality monitoring equipment to support place-based learning while addressing water quality and environmental issues.

“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,” said DEP Acting Secretary Jessica Shirley. “Nearly every grant we are awarding will support people in environmental justice communities to improve educational opportunities and people’s connections to their environment.”

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 many more.

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 likely open this August with an application deadline of mid-November.

More information about the Environmental Education Grant program is available on DEP’s website.