The Pennsylvania Department of Environmental Protection on Thursday awarded $304,137 in environmental education grants to 110 schools, universities, nonprofit organizations, and conservation districts, including nine in our region.

The recipients include organizations in Schuylkill, Northampton and Lehigh counties.In Schuylkill, they are: Mahanoy Creek Watershed Association, $3,000; Schuylkill Headwaters Association, $3,000; and the Schuylkill Technology Center, $2,997. In Northampton, recipients are the Nazareth Area School District, $1,500; and the Nurture Nature Center, $3,000.Lehigh County recipients are: the Lehigh County Conservation District, $2,993; PP&L Sustainable Energy Fund, $3,000; Wildlands Conservancy, $3,000; and the Wildlife Information Center (Lehigh Gap Nature Center),$3,000."Funding environmental education projects, like these, is an important function of government that works," Acting DEP Secretary John Quigley said. "I am pleased that we can support these initiatives that not only educate our young people about today's environmental issues, but also realize tangible environmental benefits."Grant recipients will use the funding for various initiatives, including farm field days, summer camps, exploratory learning activities, professional development, and explanatory signage along watersheds. Through these initiatives, students, teachers, farmers, and others will learn about a variety of environmental issues ranging from pollination, stormwater management and hydroponics in agriculture, to Marcellus Shale and the Chesapeake Bay, among other topics.The grant program was established by the Environmental Education Act of 1993, which mandates setting aside 5 percent of the pollution fines and penalties DEP collects annually for environmental education in Pennsylvania.