Students who want to explore nature and serve their communities received a boost from Eastern Kentucky PRIDE, Inc., the nonprofit organization that promotes environmental cleanup and education in southern and eastern Kentucky.

PRIDE awarded $19,000 to 76 PRIDE Clubs across the 38-county region. (Please scroll down for a list of recipients.)

The PRIDE Club Grants, worth $250 each, will be used during the 2012-2013 school year.

PRIDE Clubs are student groups dedicated to environmental education. Club members learn about nature through fun, hands-on activities. They also serve their communities by volunteering for local cleanup events and performing their own project to improve the local environment.

“PRIDE has been promoting environmental education for 15 years now, and we have seen the power students have to transform their world,” said PRIDE’s Tammie Wilson. “In PRIDE Clubs, students discover and unleash that power.”

“For example, PRIDE Club members often mentor younger students,” Wilson explained. “They have to really understand a topic so they can teach it to younger students in a creative, engaging way. All the students come away with a better understanding of how and why to care for the environment.”

“The PRIDE Club grants will make it easier for teachers and students to do their learning and service projects,” Wilson said. “We also give them a PRIDE Club manual with ideas for club organization and activities.”

Since 1997, PRIDE has presented 1,263 funding awards for environmental education, impacting 657,819 students across the region. The funds have been used for a wide variety of stewardship activities, from operating PRIDE Clubs to building greenhouses.

PRIDE was founded in 1997 by Congressman Hal Rogers and Kentucky Natural Resources Secretary James E. Bickford to promote “Personal Responsibility In a Desirable Environment” in southern and eastern Kentucky.

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PRIDE Club Award Recipients, By County

• Adair County — Colonel William E. Casey Elementary School/Adair County High School (joint PRIDE Club)
• Bell County — Page School Center, St. Julian Catholic School, Yellow Creek School Center
• Breathitt County — Rousseau Elementary School, MKCAP Head Start
• Clay County — Goose Rock Elementary School, Manchester Elementary School
• Floyd County — Prestonsburg Elementary School
• Harlan County — Cumberland Elementary School, James A. Cawood Elementary School, Harlan County Middle School, Harlan County High School
• Johnson County — Paintsville High School
• Knox County — Flat Lick Elementary School, Jesse D. Lay Elementary School, KCEOC Head Start, Lynn Camp Elementary School, Lynn Camp Middle School, Lynn Camp High School, St. Camillus Academy
• Laurel County — North Laurel Middle School, South Laurel High School
• Lee County — Beattyville Elementary School, Lee County Middle School, Lee County High School, MKCAP Head Start, Southside Elementary School
• Leslie County — Hayes Lewis Elementary School, Leslie County High School
• Letcher County — Arlie Boggs Elementary School, Letcher County Central High School, Letcher Elementary School, Martha Jane Potter Elementary School
• McCreary County — McCreary Academy, McCreary County Central High School, Pine Knot Intermediate, Whitley City Elementary School
• Menifee County — Menifee County 4-H Council
• Metcalfe County — Metcalfe County High School
• Monroe County — Gamaliel Elementary School, Tompkinsville Elementary School
• Morgan County — Morgan Central Elemetnary, Morgan County 4-H
• Owsley County — Owsley County Elementary School, Owsley County High School
• Perry County — Hazard High School
• Pike County — Feds Creek Elementary School, Pikeville High School, Shelby Valley High School, St. Francis of Assisi School
• Pulaski County — Hopkins Elementary School, Meece Middle School, Pulaski County Public Library, Science Hill Independent, Somerset Christian School, Somerset Community College, Somerset High School, Sunrise Children’s Services
• Rockcastle County — Mt. Vernon Elementary School
• Rowan County — MSU – Center for Environmental Education
• Russell County — Russell County Middle School
• Taylor County — Campbellsville Child Development, Campbellsville University
• Whitley County — Boston Elementary School, Corbin Educational Center, Corbin Elementary School, Corbin High School, Corbin Middle School, Corbin Primary School, Pleasant View Elementary School, Whitley Central Intermediate, Whitley County East, Whitley County Middle School, EKU – Corbin Campus
• Wolfe County — MKCAP Head Start

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