This project provides funding to hubbard county soil and water conservation district to implement its project, which will design, demonstrate, and disseminate environmental education practices,…

The Hubbard County Soil & Water Conservation District received a $130,667 Project Grant from the Environmental Protection Agency's Environmental Education Grants Program (CFDA 66.951) to implement a two-year environmental education initiative in northern Minnesota. The project aims to: 1) support teachers in using hands-on projects to engage students in environmental issues, 2) interweave teaching about environmental concepts with the skill of cone collecting, 3) empower lower-income and rural communities to engage with each other, and 4) establish a community environmental education and action volunteer group to host ongoing seed/cone collecting events. The project will increase environmental literacy, decision-making skills, and community involvement in environmental preservation and protection activities in the region. Subrecipients will provide regular support to school groups outside of Hubbard County and adapt the educational tools for use at their naturalist and community camps.

This project provides funding to hubbard county soil and water conservation district to implement its project, which will design, demonstrate, and disseminate environmental education practices, methods, and techniques, that will serve to increase environmental literacy and encourage behavior that will benefit the environment in northern minnesota. The grantee will do this by 1) supporting teachers in using hands-on projects to engage students in environmental issues 2) interweaving teaching about multiple environmental concepts with the skill of cone collecting 3) empowering lower income, and rural communities to engage with each other 4) establishing a community environmental education and action volunteer group to continuously host seed/cone connecting events, activities:this project will increase public awareness and knowledge about environmental issues in northern minnesota and provide students, teachers and community members the skills necessary to make informed decisions and to take responsible actions. Activities to be performed during this project period include: 1) supporting teachers in using hands-on projects to engage students in environmental issues 2) interweaving teaching about multiple environmental concepts with the skill of cone collecting to the state nursery as a method to fund educational programs and projects 3) empowering lower income and rural communities to engage with each other 4) establishing a community environmental education and action volunteer group to continuously host seed/cone collecting events and 5) assisting teachers and community groups in obtaining funds from the cone/seed collecting hands-on activities and in applying earned funds toward their additional projects and goals. Subrecipient:subrecipients will provide regular support to the school groups that are outside of hubbard county throughout the project timeline. The other sub awardees will be selected from community education partners and their role in the pilot project will be to work on adapting the educational tools for long-term use at their naturalist and community camps. They will also be asked to host cone collecting kits for public use and to occasionally attend school groups as special speakers.outcomes:IT is anticipated that this project will result in the following deliverables: -establishing a network of environmental education partners, including soil and water conservation districts, science centers, k-12 schools, universities, and resource centers formed to provide long-term support and access to environmental education resources and activities. -school districts will have access to up to date, local, engaging environmental education resources and lesson plans, making IT easier to deliver high quality science education and experiences to their students in a format that encourages critical thinking, decision making and local action. -community awareness of environmental issues/ local choices resulting in improved water quality and additional preservation and protection activities over time to ensure the future of clean water, climate resiliency and healthy communities. - students are empowered with new skills to identify current environmental issues and opportunities and are able to communicate about the data as well as reason through the validity, risks and benefits of potential actions. The intended beneficiaries include k-12 students and teachers and the community groups in north central minnesota.