In total, the 46 projects will deliver hands-on environmental learning in classrooms, parks, waterways, and neighborhoods across Pennsylvania-- including summer camps focused on watersheds and climate resilience, student-led air and water quality research, outdoor classrooms and schoolyard gardens, and community workshops on conservation and sustainability.
All types of communities benefit from EE Grants Program funding, with priority given to projects delivering meaningful environmental education to people who live, work, recreate, and/or attend school in environmental justice and/or underserved areas.
This year, 35 projects will serve environmental justice areas and communities, expanding access to these opportunities statewide.
“Environmental education is lifelong learning, and whether you are a kid or a kid at heart these projects will help connect you to the ways we can protect the air we breathe and the water we drink,” said DEP Secretary Jessica Shirley. “Nearly every grant we are awarding will support people in environmental justice communities to improve educational opportunities and people’s connections to their environment.”
Individual Grants
Individual grants were awarded in Allegheny, Beaver, Berks, Bucks, Dauphin, Delaware, Erie, Lackawanna, Lancaster, Lehigh, Luzerne, Montgomery, Northumberland, Perry, Philadelphia, Schuylkill, Washington, Wayne, Westmoreland Counties.
Click Here for a list of grants awarded.
Grants Serving Multiple Counties
In addition to individual grants, 13 grants were awarded serving multiple counties. They include--
-- Pennsylvania Envirothon Inc.: $55,173 for the “Pennsylvania Envirothon,” Started and organized in Pennsylvania by county conservation districts, the Envirothon is now one of the longest-running, hands-on environmental education programs, training high school students in five STEELS-aligned topics: Soils/Land Use, Aquatic Ecology, Wildlife, Forestry, and Current Environmental Issues such as climate change and water quality. (Statewide)
There are now Envirothon competitions across the United States and in other countries.
-- Chester County Economic Development Foundation (CCEDF): $64,982 for CCEDF to launch “The Climate Connect: PA's Weather and Air Quality Explorers,” a statewide program engaging students in grades K-8 with hands-on environmental learning through the installation of portable weather and air-quality stations, interactive related educational lessons, and real-time data collection.(Statewide)
-- Pennsylvania Resources Council, Inc: $22,485 for “Zero Waste at Home.” PRC will conduct eight Zero Waste at Home workshops for adult residents in Environmental Justice communities in Southeastern and Southwestern Pennsylvania.
The program addresses common barriers to sustainable living by providing practical, low-cost strategies to reduce household waste and consumption. (Beaver, Fayette, Allegheny, and Delaware counties)
-- The Watersmith Guild, Inc.: $28,894 for the “First Waves Regional Series” program that fuses paddleboarding, river exploration, conservation, and the art of filmmaking with hands-on environmental education to engage underserved youth across Western Pennsylvania.
Through 20 workshops and 65 non-formal education modules, students explore waterways, conduct citizen science research, study connections between air, land, and water quality, and create their own environmental documentaries. (Cambria, Erie, Allegheny, Beaver, and Indiana counties)
-- Pennsylvania State University: $30,000 for the “Supporting the Robust Environmental Education Pipeline Within Science-U Summer Camps,” project which strengthens Science-U’s Environmental Education Pipeline by delivering cohesive, grade-aligned environmental learning for students in grades 2–12.
Updated 2026 programming includes Earth Keepers, Eco Investigators, Middle School Ecology, and ArtLab, each offering hands-on field studies, STEELS-aligned lessons, and citizen science investigations. (Centre and Huntingdon counties)
-- Lower Merion Conservancy: $30,000 for “Growing Greener Communities: Building Resilient Neighborhoods Through Partnership and Education,” an environmental education initiative that teaches community members how green landscaping can conserve and build soil, create habitat, sequester carbon, and improve water quality. (Delaware, Philadelphia, and Montgomery counties)
-- The Pennsylvania State University: $64,125 for “The Penn State K-12 Sustainability Summit,” which will bring together 50 education leaders from 25 school districts and Intermediate Units to strengthen K12-University partnerships for sustainability.
This third annual two-day event will support educators in advancing STEELS standards, pursuing PDE Pathways to Green Schools recognition, and collaborating on curricular projects. (Huntingdon and Centre counties)
-- Allentown City School District: $12,543 for the “Third Grade Climate Camp Water Data Detectives: Comparing PA Ecosystems” program. Third grade students at Central STREAM Academy will compare climate and water quality across three environments: Jordan Park, Hawk Mountain, and Lake Nockamixon, through field-based data collection using multiparameter kits. (Lehigh, Berks, and Bucks counties)
-- BLaST Intermediate Unit 17: $29,870 for BLaST Intermediate Unit 17 to lead “Cross Connectors: Environmental Education for Real World Application,” a formal education initiative designed to connect high school, grades 9-12, and college students through environmental literacy, watershed awareness, and community action projects. (Lycoming and Bradford counties)
-- Spirit and Truth Fellowship: $29,897 for “Faith-based Climate Justice Education Initiative in Philadelphia.” The Climate Witness Project (CWP), operating out of Spirit and Truth Fellowship (STF), will work with partners in the low-income community of Hunting Park (HP), Philadelphia to (a) run three more bilingual 10-wk solar installer vocational training courses prioritizing local residents; and (b) run one 4-wk course to train residents in applying cool roof coatings. (Philadelphia and Delaware counties)
-- California Area School District: $29,823 for “Teaching Sustainability Through Honeybee Behavior and Genetics” workshops. California Area School District, with three partner districts, will lead nine monthly workshops on honeybee science and environmental education.
Aligned with PA STEELS standards, sessions will use honeybee behavior and data to explore environmental challenges through hands-on experiments and expert guidance. (Washington and Allegheny counties)
-- Women for a Healthy Environment: $30,000 for the implementation of the “Eco-Student Stewardship Program (ESSP)” for grades 6-12 in PA Environmental Justice communities. ESSP is aligned to PA STEELS standards and will be implemented through school- and community-based workshops.
Workshops will cover topics including: Clean & Safe Water, Air Quality & Climate Change, and Waste, students will conduct hands-on investigations, interpret data, and design a student-led Community Service Learning (CSL) project. (Westmoreland and Allegheny counties)
-- Private Industry Council of Westmoreland/Fayette, Inc.: $20,347 for “Environmental Education.” PIC Water Wise Summer Camp is a 10-day educational program in Lemont Furnace, PA, for 20 middle school students in Westmoreland or Fayette County School Districts to explore the importance of healthy waterways. (Westmoreland and Fayette counties)
Background On Program
Established by the Environmental Education Act of 1993, the Environmental Education (EE) Grants Program dedicates five percent of DEP-imposed pollution fines and penalties to Pennsylvania’s environmental education.
To date, the program has awarded more than $16.1 million to approximately 2,370 projects.
Grant-funded projects explain the effects of human impact on the land, water, and air and empower individuals and communities to protect the quality of life guaranteed by Pennsylvania’s Constitution.
Awarded projects provide participants with unique immersive field experiences, engage communities in practical conservation projects, support educators in developing STEELS standards-based curriculum, and more.
Next Grant Round
The EE Grants Program anticipates accepting applications in August 2026 with a submission deadline of mid-November 2026, and project implementation July 1, 2027, through June 30, 2028.
Visit DEP’s Environmental Education Grants Program webpage to learn more about this program.
Click Here for the DEP announcement.
For more information on environmental programs in Pennsylvania, visit DEP’s website. Submit Environmental Complaints; Click Here to sign up for DEP’s newsletter; sign up for DEP’s eNotice; Like DEP on Facebook, Follow DEP on Twitter and visit DEP’s YouTube Channel.
[Posted: April 30, 2026] PA Environment Digest
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