EPA Awards Environmental Grants to Hawai‘i Organizations

The Environmental Protection Agency has awarded several environmental education grants to Hawai‘i organizations. This year’s funding supports projects that demonstrate or disseminate educational practices that increase environmental and conservation literacy and encourage behaviors that benefit the environment.

“Environmental education is critical to promoting conservation and protection of our natural resources,” said EPA Pacific Southwest Regional Administrator Mike Stoker. “These lessons start in our own backyards, classrooms and in the fields of farmers who work the land. These programs will educate and inspire the next generation of environmental stewards.”

EPA’s environmental education grant awards for Hawai‘i in 2018 include the following projects:

Purple Mai’a Foundation – $100,000

The Purple Mai’a Foundation’s Indigenous Innovation in Education project will educate 24 teachers and 136 high school students by developing and implementing a new cross-cutting curriculum. Students will partner with the University of Hawai‘i Manoa to build low-cost water quality monitors used for aquatic health assessment of culturally significant Hawaiian fish ponds. Students will gain hands-on science, technology, engineering and math (STEM), computer programming skills, and knowledge of traditional native Hawaiian cultural practices. The project is aimed at schools serving Native Hawaiian and/or low-income students in both urban communities on Oahu and rural communities on the Big Island and Maui.

Malama Learning Center – $80,000

The Malama Learning Center will engage students, teachers, agricultural and conservation professionals, and community members on two environmentally and culturally different sides of Oahu. The hands-on outdoor learning experiences are designed to instill interest in environmental STEM careers and conservation of local natural resources. The projects aim to reach over 1,000 people, including native Hawaiian and low-income students. The grant will pay for ten class field trips, student action research projects, community work days, a green collar institute seminar for students, presentations at major conferences and televised programs reaching a statewide audience. With this grant, Malama Learning Center hopes to inspire the next generation of environmental professionals and scientists to care for Hawai‘i’s magnificent natural resources.

Information on the EE Grants Program and resources for applicants can be found online.