USDA AWARDS $250,000 IN ENVIRONMENTAL GRANTS TO D.C. COMMUNITY ORGANIZATIONS Release No. 0058.98 Tom Amontree (202) 720-4623 tom.amontree@usda.gov Clyde Williams (202) 720-4623 clyde.williams@usda.gov USDA AWARDS $250,000 IN ENVIRONMENTAL GRANTS TO D.C. COMMUNITY ORGANIZATIONS WASHINGTON, Feb. 3, 1998--Agriculture Secretary Dan Glickman today announced the award of $250,000 to ten D.C.-area community groups to improve, conserve, and protect the District's natural resources and environment. The grants are part of the U.S. Department of Agriculture's Plan of Action in the District of Columbia to provide resources to non-profit organizations through community partnerships, matching private funds and citizens in service to their communitites. "In the President's State of the Union Address, just a week ago today, he reaffirmed his commitment to making our capital city a great city for all who live, work and visit here. I have lived and worked here for 20 years and I'm proud to lead USDA as we join forces with the heart of the city--its community groups, neighborhood associations, schools, and PTAs to conserve and protect our valuable natural resources and the environment." said Glickman. "It is the federal and local government in partnership with residents like today's award recipients who will carry the legacy of this great city, the beauty of it's natural environment and natural resources into the 21st century." The grants include beautification and environmental education initiatives. The following organizations received funds: Earth Conservation Corps ($50,000) Project: « St. and K St., SE Restoration, Demonstration and Training Project Goal: To discourage unwanted and unlawful activities by restoring the area for a Raptor Rehabilitation Center, a demonstration garden, and a training center for the surrounding community The Capitol Hill Cluster School, PTA (49,300) Project: Model Urban Schoolyard Project Goal: To create a model program for real-life outdoor learning by transforming the neglected, but extensive grounds of the Watkins Elementary schoolyard, with the help of neighboring individuals, businesses, horticultural professionals. Friendship House ($43,450) Project: Friendship House Landscape Renewal and Children's Garden and Hopkins Housing Complex Playground Shade and Community Garden Goal: To implement two landscaping projects in multi-communities. Alliance for the Chesapeake Bay ($22,645) Project: Habitats for Habitat Goal: To promote ecologically sound, low-inputs lawns and gardens on Habitat for Humanity project sites in Southeast Washington. Mount Pleasant Main Street, Inc. ($20,445) Project: Trees in the Urban Eco-System: Conducting Learning Activities for Elementary School, Identifying Neighborhood Resources, and Generating Public Awareness Goal: To develop teaching materials and activities demonstrating the importance of trees in the Mount Pleasant and Columbia Heights neighborhoods. Community Harvest ($20,168) Project: Greenhouse/Green City Project Goal: To utilize two local high school greenhouses to grow seedlings and serve as environmental education, economic development, and community service resource centers for the schools and the communities which surround them. This will increase local production of healthy, environmentally safe food. Fund for Kalorama Park, Inc. ($18,595) Project: Environmental and Program Improvements to Kalorama Park Goal: To restore, enhance, and preserve plants and structures, and to organize conservation programs for children in the Adams-Morgan area. Congress Heights Civic Association ($11,880) Project: Congress Heights/Trenton Terrace Garden Project: "Look What We Have Done!" Goal: To develop and implement a program that uses gardening and greening projects to teach young, disadvantaged children about science, community service and language arts. Michigan Park Citizens Association ($8,419) Project: Wildlife Habitats for Urban Youth Goal: To establish habitats adjacent to the Hospital for Sick Children and on other sites in Northeast Washington, DC, to attract butterflies, bees, birds and other small animals. University of the District of Columbia ($5,098) Project: Arbor Day/Earth Day Fair Goal: To help grade school children appreciate and conserve natural resources, and to promote awareness of related career opportunities, through a fair on the Van Ness Campus. The National Forest Foundation, a non-profit conservation organization located in the District of Columbia, will use private funds to match Federal funds, raising total grants to $500,000. At the grant award ceremony, NFF President Terry Austin announced another opportunity for community groups to submit proposals for the remaining private funds beginning February 10, 1998. -more- -3- The Grant Awards Ceremony is part of USDA's new multi-year Plan of Action in the District of Columbia, a plan designed to provide additional resources to renew and revitalize the nation's capitol. The plan has three specific components: 1) an Urban Environmental Resource Initiative; 2) an Anti-Hunger and Nutrition Initiative; and 3) a Citizen Service and Volunteerism Initiative. Future plans include community revitalization projects, park renovations, environmental education programs, gardening projects, a variety of workshops and seminars, tree planting, stream bank cleanup, and environmental awareness activities. # NOTE: USDA news releases and media advisories are available on the Internet. Access the USDA Home Page on the World Wide Web at http://www.usda.gov