Watershed Education Grant Applications Available

MARGARETVILLE, NY, Dec. 12, 2008 – Watershed Education Grant applications are now available from the Catskill Watershed Corp. for projects beginning in the fall of 2009. Schools and non-profit organizations in the New York City Catskill-Delaware Watershed, and in New York City, are invited to apply.

Pre-school through 12th grade students are the target audience for Round 12 of the Grant Program, designed to increase awareness and understanding of the City’s water system and the West-of-Hudson Watershed which provides 90 percent of the water supply for nine million people.

Guidelines and applications are available on the Public Education page of the corporation’s web site, www.cwconline.org. Applicants may also call Education Coordinator Diane Galusha at 845-586-1400, ext. 29 (toll-free 877-WAT-SHED) to obtain hard copies of the forms and guidelines.

The deadline for submitting applications is February 1, 2009. Awards will be announced in the spring.

Projects may range from stream life studies to nature writing; environmental research to Watershed history explorations. Community service, professional development and career exploration projects are most welcome, as are those which connect upstate and downstate audiences.

Applicants may also seek funds for Special Options including Trout in the Classroom, Streamwatch, study visits to Frost Valley and Ashokan environmental and outdoor education centers, the Arm-of-the-Sea Theater production "City That Drinks the Mountain Sky," and "Catskill Tales & Tunes" by singers/storytellers Ira and Laurie McIntosh.

Students and teachers are also invited to browse the Catskill-NYC Watershed Educators’ Web Site, www.watershEducators.org, for field trip and program ideas, and for descriptions of projects previously funded by the CWC’s Education program.