EPA Provides Environmental Education Grant to Township of Woodbridge, NJ

Press release:

EPA Provides Environmental Education Grant to

Township of Woodbridge, NJ

Three High Schools to learn more about the Raritan River 

Contact: Terry Ippolito, 212-637-3671, ippolito.teresa@epa.gov

(New York, N.Y. – July 17, 2012) The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency has awarded a $27,800 grant that will support a significant environmental education project in New Jersey. The Township of Woodbridge received a grant to work with high school students in a community based restoration project along the Raritan River.

 “EPA is proud to provide support to the Woodbridge, NJ community in their efforts to educate high school students about the need to clean up the Raritan River,” said Judith A. Enck, EPA Regional Administrator.

Specifics of the grant are as follows:

Township of Woodbridge, Woodbridge, NJ             $27,800

The township will conduct the “Woodbridge Township Wetlands Restoration Education Project” involving students and teachers in three high schools. Seminars, field trips and family science nights will focus on the “El Paso site” and other wetland and Brownfields sites along the Raritan River. The project is designed to increase community understanding of the causes of pollution, how to prevent it, and the kinds of stewardship projects and programs that can be implemented.

EPA’s local and nationwide educational programs promote environmental stewardship and support excellence in environmental education. Since 1992, EPA has funded over $55 million in environmental education grants to support more than three thousand projects across the country. Agency partnerships, including with the National Environmental Education Foundation and the Environmental Education Training Partnership, have given thousands of formal and non-formal educators the skills and knowledge needed to teach students of all ages about safeguarding the environment.

More information about EPA’s environmental education programs and a link to sign up for future environmental education grant announcements can be found at: http://www.epa.gov/education/ 

Follow EPA Region 2 on Twitter at http://twitter.com/eparegion2 and visit our Facebook page, http://www.facebook.com/eparegion2.

 

12-085                          

Note: If a link above doesn't work, please copy and paste the URL into a browser.

News Release from EPA Region 2

EPA Funding Available for Study of Raritan River in NJ

Contact: Mary Mears (212) 637-3673; mears.mary@epa.gov

(New York, N.Y. – March 13, 2012) The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency is encouraging applications for $100,000 in funding to study contaminated sites and other sources of pollution that are impacting water quality in the lower and middle Raritan River. This funding is part of an EPA Raritan River Initiative, which will support the analysis of existing data to enable environmental agencies, institutions, community groups and local governments to identify data gaps, plan future research and make other environmental decisions.

The Raritan River runs from west of Somerville, N.J. into the Raritan Bay. The river and the surrounding watershed is home to over one million people, providing drinking water, transportation and recreation opportunities and important habitat for wildlife. The watershed is impacted by many sources of pollution, including contaminated sites, industrial facilities and sewage treatment systems. While there is sampling data collected within the Raritan River watershed, this information is fragmented.

“This funding demonstrates the EPA's continued commitment to a cleaner and healthier Raritan River and the health of everyone who enjoys it," said EPA Regional Administrator Judith A. Enck. "The data and information collected will help Raritan River communities better understand pollution that has affected river conditions and will assist in decision-making on the best ways to improve water quality.”

Using the funding, the selected applicant will identify high priority sites and sources of pollution that are potentially impacting the river. The resulting site list and associated data will then be made available to the public and put into a format that can be used by state agencies, country and local governments, non-profit organizations and other stakeholders to make environmental decisions. The data would also be used to create an interactive website to show exact locations of potentially polluting sites along the river along with the data for each site.

All applications are due no later than April 23, 2012 at 5:00 p.m. EDT. Additional information on the grants, including guidance on eligibility and procedures for applying, is available at http://www.epa.gov/region2/grants/ or through http://www.grants.gov.

Follow EPA Region 2 on Twitter at http://www.twitter.com/eparegion2 and Facebook at http://www.facebook.com/eparegion2.

12-039                                                # # #