The Pennsylvania Department of Environmental Protection (DEP) has awarded over $1.1 million in Environmental Education Grants to projects across the Commonwealth, including a local initiative in Berks County aimed at connecting students and adults with the natural world through gardening.
The Reading School District was awarded $4,988 for its “Northeast Middle School Environmental Grant” project. The program will provide environmental programming for students and adult English Language Learners (ELLs), focusing on hands-on gardening as a tool to foster environmental awareness and stewardship.
The grant is part of the DEP’s 2025 Environmental Education Grants Program, which distributed $1,173,789 to 68 projects statewide. This year, the program prioritized initiatives that serve communities disproportionately affected by climate change and environmental pollution. According to the DEP, 87% of the funded projects will directly engage people living, working, or going to school in these vulnerable 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.”
Projects funded this year include field-based learning, climate resiliency efforts, curriculum development aligned with Pennsylvania’s new STEELS science standards, and environmental action initiatives in schools and communities.
The Environmental Education Grants Program was created under the Environmental Education Act of 1993, which allocates five percent of the pollution fines and penalties collected by DEP each year to support environmental education efforts. Since its inception, the program has funded more than 2,300 projects with nearly $15.5 million in grants.
More information about the program, including a full list of awarded projects, is available on DEP’s website.
