West Chester, Pa (June 2, 2025) – Two Chester County-based programs that teach children and students about the importance of protecting our clean streams and waterways were recently awarded state funding, state Senator Carolyn Comitta said.
The funding, made available through the Pennsylvania Department of Environmental Protection’s (DEP) Environmental Education Grants program, is as follows:
- $23,187 for the Brandywine Conservancy and Museum of Art to support the Waterside Tales program. The program aims to empower local communities and raise awareness of water quality impacts by engaging people in activities such as storybook walks and discussions about land use impacts and solutions to help protect water quality.
- $30,000 for the Stroud Water Research Center for the development and use of outdoor learning spaces at six school sites in Chester, Lancaster and Lebanon counties. The grant funding will also be used to implement a water-based curriculum in collaboration with local school districts and provide training and other support for teachers who will design the learning space lessons.
“The Pennsylvania Constitution affirms our right to clean air and pure water, so the sooner we begin teaching our young people about the importance of protecting our streams, creeks, rivers, and waterways from pollution, the better,” said Comitta, a former public-school teacher who serves as minority chair of the Senate Environmental Resources and Energy Committee, said. “As we to face the growing challenges of climate change, these investments will help prepare the next generation to continue our work and lead us into a cleaner, greener, more sustainable future.”
The Chester County-based projects come as part of 68 programs statewide that were awarded funding to promote environmental stewardship.
According to DEP, the Environmental Education Grants program prioritizes proposals that will deliver meaningful environmental education programs to people who live, work, or attend school in areas of the Commonwealth most threatened by climate change, and air and water pollution. This year 87 percent of the awarded projects will support projects that engage youth and/or adults within such areas.
“These projects help connect people to the ways we can protect the air we breathe and the water we drink, and many of them encourage learning at any age whether you’re a kid or an adult,” said DEP Acting Secretary Jessica Shirley. “Every grant we are awarding supports educational opportunities and will further improve people’s connections to their environment.”
The 2025 projects aim to deliver a wide range of environmental education programs that include providing youth with unique immersive field experiences, engaging community residents in practical climate resiliency projects, supporting school districts’ efforts to develop new Science, Technology & Engineering, Environmental Literacy & Sustainability (STEELS) standards-based curriculum, and many more.
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