UPEC seeks Environmental Education Grant applications

MARQUETTE -- The Upper Peninsula Environmental Coalition (UPEC) again offers a grant opportunity for educators and youth workers who provide quality environmental education programs to regional children from preschool to high school. The UPEC Environmental Education Fund offers grants of up to $1,000 for the 2011 calendar year, with applications due Dec. 15, 2010.

Teachers, 4-H leaders, Scout leaders, museum staff members, youth service workers -- individuals or groups who wish to start or maintain an environmental project involving preschool through high school age children -- are eligible for funding which may be used for all program expenses other than salaries.

UPEC has funded everything from middle school students cleaning up and monitoring the chemical composition of water bodies to elementary students creating outdoor journals, to high school students testing soil samples on snowmobile trails, to a museum creating hands-on nature exhibits. As the UP’s oldest grass roots environmental organization, UPEC is equally willing to fund outstanding projects inside and outside of formal school settings.

To learn more about the program, download a grant application, and obtain mailing information, go to UPEC’s website at upenvironment.org. Completed applications must be postmarked or emailed no later than Dec. 15, 2010.