 On Aug. 2, 2005, Eastern Kentucky PRIDE announced the recipients of its 2005 Environmental Education Grants. PRIDE awarded 98 grants this year, totaling $439,733, for projects that range from improving environmental resources in school libraries to constructing wetlands. The grant-funded projects will benefit more than 42,000 students across southern and eastern Kentucky during the school year, according to the information provided on grant applications.
“These grants are an investment in our young people and our region’s environment,” said Richard Thomas, PRIDE executive director. “Students are more excited to learn about science and other subjects when they have fun with hands-on projects, like working in a greenhouse and testing water in a local stream. If they learn now to appreciate and care for the environment, this region will be cleaner in the future.”
The PRIDE Environmental Education Grant program awards up to $5,000 to schools and nonprofit organizations to pursue projects that help young people understand the importance of a clean environment. The projects promote personal responsibility and community pride. Grant recipients must match the one-year grant with a monetary or in-kind contribution worth 10 percent of the grant amount.
Since 1997, PRIDE has invested $2,840,166 in environmental education, reaching more than 428,000 students across the region. PRIDE grants have been used to start 30 school-wide recycling projects and build 311 outdoor classrooms, 82 greenhouses and 47 nature trails.
Eastern Kentucky PRIDE — Personal Responsibility In a Desirable Environment — serves 38 counties in southern and eastern Kentucky. PRIDE is a nonprofit organization that promotes environmental education and encourages citizens to clean up the region’s waterways and hillsides. Started in 1997 by Congressman Hal Rogers (KY-5) and the late James Bickford, former Secretary of the Kentucky Natural Resources and Environmental Protection Cabinet, PRIDE is funded by the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration.
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