MSU received PRIDE grant
Morehead State University has been awarded $4,000 through the PRIDE Environmental Education Grant Program, which supports hands-on lessons in good stewardship.
MSU will use the grant to establish a bird garden and outdoor classroom. The grant also includes $500 to operate a service-oriented PRIDE Club. MSU estimated that the grant will impact 150 students during the current school year.
“I thank you for taking the initiative to get students excited about the spectacular natural resources that surround them,” Karen Engle, who heads PRIDE, told the grant recipients. “Our region’s scenic beauty is precious. If our children learn to nurture this valuable asset now, then they can enjoy it with their children and even generate jobs through tourism. These grants are a wise investment in the future.”
The PRIDE Environmental Education Grant Program is available to schools, nonprofit organizations and other education providers in 38 counties of southern and eastern Kentucky. The one-year grants support hands-on activities that show students how and why to take personal responsibility for their environment. The maximum grant value was $4,000 this year. Grant recipients must make monetary or in-kind contributions worth 10 percent of their grant amount, and community involvement is encouraged.
This year, PRIDE awarded 94 Environmental Education Grants across the region for a total of $355,087. Since 1998, 577,963 students have taken part in projects funded through 1,001 grants. Awarded in the region, include building 374 outdoor classrooms, 155 greenhouses and 63 nature trails.
Eastern Kentucky PRIDE, a nonprofit organization, promotes “Personal Responsibility In a Desirable Environment” in southern and eastern Kentucky. PRIDE, founded in 1997 by Congressman Hal Rogers and Kentucky Environmental Secretary James Bickford, is funded by the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration.
For more information, call the PRIDE office, toll free, at 888-577-4339 or visit www.kypride.org.
Posted: 8-28-09
