PRIDE awards $34,900 in Whitley County and Corbin for education

PRIDE recently awarded a total of $34,900 for environmental education in Whitley County and Corbin. The nine local award recipients estimate that the funds will serve 4,190 students during this school year.
“What a difference it will make when all these students learn to be good stewards of our region’s beautiful environment,” said Congressman Hal Rogers (KY-5), who co-founded PRIDE. “I commend you educators for realizing the value of environmental education.”
Boston Elementary School received $4,000 for a recycling center and animal habitat, which will benefit 235 students.
Pleasant View Elementary School will serve 350 students with its $4,000 award to build an outdoor classroom.
Whitley North Elementary School was awarded $4,000 to enhance its outdoor classroom and buy digital cameras and other materials, all of which will be used by 400 students this year.
Corbin Primary School received $4,000 to serve 635 students by adding to its outdoor classroom and buying recycling containers and educational materials.
Corbin Elementary School will serve 430 students with a $4,000 award to enhance its green house and buy multimedia materials.
Corbin Intermediate School was awarded $3,600 to build an outdoor classroom, which will be used by 430 students.
Corbin Middle School received $3,950 to enhance its outdoor classroom for 440 students.
Eastern Kentucky University’s Corbin Campus will reach 1,200 students with its $3,600 award to build a rain garden.
The Whitley County Cooperative Extension Service was awarded $3,750 to create and expand community gardens, which will benefit 50 students.
Each award includes $500 to operate a service-oriented PRIDE Club.
“We are proud to partner with educators who are changing how our students look at the world, starting with their own backyards,” said PRIDE’s Karen Engle. “With these funds, teachers can build facilities and buy resources to bring their lessons to life. These fun, hands-on activities will give students a life-long love and respect for nature, especially in their own community.”
The PRIDE funds support projects that help young people understand the importance of a clean environment, personal responsibility, and community pride. The one-year funding contracts are available through an application process to schools, nonprofit organizations, and other education providers in the 38 counties served by PRIDE.
This year, a total of $346,514 was awarded region-wide. The funds will benefit 40,000 students during this school year, and many of the projects will create resources, such as nature trails, that will be used for years to come.
Since 1998, the region-wide results of PRIDE’s investment in environmental education include 390 outdoor classrooms, 126 greenhouses, 55 wetlands and rain gardens, and 45 recycling programs.
This year, PRIDE’s environmental education funds were made possible by a grant to PRIDE from the U.S. Department of Education.
Eastern Kentucky PRIDE, Inc., (PRIDE) is a nonprofit organization that advances environmental cleanup and education in southern and eastern Kentucky. PRIDE, which stands for “Personal Responsibility In a Desirable Environment,” was founded in 1997 by Congressman Hal Rogers (KY-5) and James Bickford, former Secretary of the Kentucky Natural Resources and Environmental Protection Cabinet.
The PRIDE web site is www.kypride.org.