Posted on: Tuesday, June 01, 2010

Texas Healthy Habitats Grants Awarded to 15 Texas Schools, Nonprofits

Student Projects Will Help Implement Texas Wildlife Action Plan

AUSTIN, Texas – A total of $225,000 in Texas Healthy Habitats Grants has been awarded to 15 different schools and non-profit youth organizations across the state, including schools in or near Dallas, Fort Worth, Austin, Houston, Bryan, Lubbock and other cities. Each organization will receive up to $15,000 to support students doing service-learning projects to benefit wildlife and the environment.

The grants are being administered by the Texas Center for Service-Learning, made possible with a donation from EnCana Oil & Gas (USA) Inc. to the Texas Parks and Wildlife Foundation. Texas Parks and Wildlife Department scientists met with student- teacher teams on Aug. 14 in Austin, and TPWD experts will continue to guide grant projects as they unfold over the next year.

The students will address priorities in the Texas Wildlife Action Plan, a blueprint to “keep common species common” and avoid more species from becoming threatened and endangered. Texas is believed to be the first state where student service projects will support a state wildlife action plan.

Students will research and define a local environmental issue, investigate public and organizational policies related to the issue, design and implement a service-learning project in collaboration with at least two community partners (including TPWD staff), evaluate and publicize the results to public officials and community members, and develop Web profiles for each project that will be integrated into the TPWD and TxCSL Web sites. Students will likely plan projects this fall and do field work in spring.

Earlier this year, EnCana donated $486,000 to the Texas Parks and Wildlife Foundation. The donations supports the Healthy Habitats grants program, plus two other projects— control of giant salvinia and other invasive plants choking Toledo Bend reservoir in East Texas, and facilities for the new Texas Game Warden Training Center in Hamilton.