PRIDE Awards Environmental Education Grants Across the Region
November 23, 2016 by Angela TraverSomerset, KY — On November 3, Eastern Kentucky PRIDE awarded $77,842 for environmental education projects in its service area during the 2016-17 school year. The funding was provided through the PRIDE Environmental Education Grant Program. The program was funded by a grant to PRIDE from Appalachian Regional Commission.
PRIDE awarded the grants to schools that applied for the program across 40 counties of southern and eastern Kentucky. (For a list of grant recipients, please scroll down.) The grants can be used for a variety of educational activities that help students appreciate and care for the environment and to serve their community.
Grant applications varied greatly in theme, ranging from aquaponics to compost centers. The application review process was highly competitive with priority given to projects that addressed energy efficiency, recycling and solid waste management efforts.
“We had some outstanding grant applications this year,” said Tammie Wilson, PRIDE President and CEO. “I would like to congratulate all the students and educators who were awarded grants. It is so rewarding to see this level of commitment to environmental education.”
“As we prepare to celebrate the 20th anniversary of PRIDE in 2017, we look back at all the environmental stewards that have started though our education grant program, and we can say we truly have created a “Generation of Change,” Wilson continued. “Our region is full of natural beauty and resources and it is the youth who are working on these grant projects that will protect those resources for generations to come.”
Since 1997, PRIDE has awarded 1,567 grants that impacted 816,044 students across the region. Schools have used PRIDE funds for a wide variety of activities, such as starting recycling programs and building outdoor classrooms, nature trails, wetlands and greenhouses.
Promoting environmental education is one of the key missions of PRIDE, a nonprofit organization. The other two missions are cleaning up the region’s waterways and removing solid waste problems. Founded in 1997 by Congressman Hal Rogers and the late General James E. Bickford, PRIDE works alongside citizens, teachers and elected officials to improve the region’s environment and quality of life.
Bell County
Yellow Creek School Center – $1,500
Breathitt County
Breathitt County High School Agriculture Department, $2,750
Middle Kentucky CAP, Inc. – $2,743
Carter County
West Carter Middle School – $2,750
Clay County
KCEOC Community Action Partnership – Clay – $2,750
Cumberland County
Cumberland County Conservation District – $2,750
Harlan County
KCEOC Community Action Partnership – Harlan – $2,750
Johnson County
Johnson County Conservation District – $2,750
Paintsville High School, $2,650
Knox County
Barbourville Elementary School – $2,738
KCEOC Community Action Partnership – Knox – $2,750
Union College, $2,750
Laurel County
KCEOC Community Action Partnership – Laurel – $2,750
North Laurel Middle School – $2,700
Lee County
Lee County Head Start – $2,742
Letcher County
Letcher Elementary School – $2,500
Magoffin County
Magoffin County Cooperative Extension Service – $2,750
McCreary County
McCreary County Extension Council – $2,700
McCreary County Middle School – $2,391
Pine Knot Primary – $2,697
Menifee County
Menifee County Elementary – $1,755
Metcalfe County
Metcalfe County High School – $1,000
Owsley County
Owsley County Elementary School – $2,375
Owsley County High School – $2,750
Pulaski County
Pulaski County Cooperative Extension – $1,365
Pulaski County Public Library – $2,750
Somerset Community College – $2,750
Somerset High School – $2,625
Rockcastle County
Mt. Vernon Elementary School – $2,100
Rowan County
Morehead State University – $1,659
Morehead State University – $2,219
Russell County
Friends of Wolf Creek National Fish Hatchery – $2,750
Whitley County
Whitley County East Elementary School – $1,000
Wolfe County
Wolfe County Head Start – $2,750