State grant funds environmental studies

DINGMANS FERRY - The Pocono Environmental Education Center (PEEC) has been awarded a $20,000 grant from the Department of Community and Economic Development (DCED) to promote environmental literacy in Pike County students. This grant will be used to support an environment and ecology program for students in the Delaware Valley School District. During this program, center instructors will provide hands-on, field based environmental literacy training for 400 Delaware Valley fourth graders in an effort to prepare them for the state achievement test for science. The program will take place at the center’s campus over the course of 4 separate training sessions and will concentrate on the following standards: • Watersheds and Wetlands • Renewable vs. Non-renewable Resources • Eco-Systems and Their Interactions • Environmental Health This program will allow students to experience natural sciences first-hand in an effort to generate excitement towards the learning process. The ultimate goal of the program is to have the students carry over this excitement to the classrooms as they prepare for testing.