The USDA Forest Service is offering competitive funding from Bigley Trust to implement environmental education opportunities with underserved urban youth at Clear Lake Education Center in Hiawatha National Forest.
“These funds are intended to build upon the agency’s long tradition of working with urban youth in natural settings and the cooperative efforts for residential outdoors learning experiences at Clear Lake Education Center,” said Melissa O’Donnell, Hiawatha National Forest’s education specialist.
The goals of the grant are to provide underserved urban youth with knowledge about natural resources, conservation and stewardship of national forests; to build lifelong connections with nature for underserved urban youth through outdoor recreation opportunities and place-based learning experiences; and to engage underserved urban youth in conservation service and investigate career opportunities in natural resource management.
Applicant proposals for up to $5,000 must meet the grant project design requirements, as outlined in the grant information materials. Preference will be given to proposals that have an equal match of project contributions and support the project design requirements. Applicants should submit the grant proposal form by March 15, 2019. Projects will be awarded in April 2019 and grant funds will be distributed by the Community Foundation of the Upper Peninsula. For questions or comments, please contact Melissa O’Donnell, Education Specialist, at modonnell@fs.fed.us, or by telephone at 906-202-4031.
“This grant will give a group of urban youth the opportunity to travel to the Upper Peninsula, to experience the beauty of the National Forest and surrounds, and learn about the natural world,” said O’Donnell.
Clear Lake Education Center’s mission is to connect people of all ages, abilities and backgrounds to the natural world by providing dynamic outdoor and environmental education on Hiawatha National Forest. It is located on the shores of Clear Lake inside Hiawatha National Forest about 20 miles south of Munising in the Upper Peninsula of Michigan. The center is open from late April through late October. For more information about the Center’s facilities and programs, visit www.clearlakeinfo.org. For more information about Hiawatha National Forest, visit www.fs.usda.gov/hiawatha.
The mission of the Forest Service, an agency of the U.S. Department of Agriculture, is to sustain the health, diversity and productivity of the nation’s forests and grasslands to meet the needs of present and future generations. The agency manages 193 million acres of public land, provides assistance to state and private landowners, and maintains the largest forestry research organization in the world. Public lands the Forest Service manages contribute more than $13 billion to the economy each year through visitor spending alone. Those same lands provide 30 percent of the nation’s surface drinking water to cities and rural communities and approximately 66 million Americans rely on drinking water that originated from the National Forest System. The agency also has either a direct or indirect role in stewardship of about 900 million forested acres within the U.S., of which over 130 million acres are urban forests where most Americans live.
