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FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
August 20, 2009
Contact: Tracy Polovick
Coordinator of Communications and Outreach
(717) 787-8524
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Shippensburg Elementary School Selected for Environmental Education Grant, Vance Says

HARRISBURG – A $10,003 Environmental Education Grant recently was awarded to Grace B. Luhrs University Elementary School in Shippensburg, said Sen. Pat Vance (R-Cumberland/York).

"Through this grant, children at Luhrs School will have the opportunity to apply their science education to real-world projects," Vance said. "Since the building is the first certified green school in the Commonwealth, students already have a heightened understanding of the environmental impact each person makes. This grant will allow activities inside and outside the building to be even more environmentally friendly."

The grant will be used to develop a system for capturing and using rainwater, as well as expand current gardening and composting projects, and to improve the instruction of the school curriculum.

The Environmental Education Grant Program was established by the Environmental Education Act of 1993, which mandates that 5 percent of all pollution fines and penalties collected annually by the Department of Environmental Protection be set aside for environmental education. The funds are used for projects ranging from creative, hands-on lessons for students and teacher training programs to ecological education for residents.

Vance's district includes all of Cumberland County and Carroll, Fairview, Franklin, Monaghan, Warrington and Washington townships and Dillsburg, Franklintown and Wellsville boroughs in York County.