EPA awards $50,000 to The Artist Boat, Inc. for environmental education

The U. S. Environmental Protection Agency recently awarded $50,000 to The Artist Boat, Inc. for environmental education. The Artist Boat will use the funds to increase awareness among 2,000 7th grade students and 50 teachers in Galveston County. The program employs an innovative and effective inquiry-based teaching methodology, which integrates art and science to engage all types of learners - visual, auditory and tactile. The program consists of eco-art workshops (2 hour in-class workshops); eco-art adventures (4 hour water borne field classes) on kayaks at Galveston Island State Park; and interdisciplinary environmental curricula in art, math, science, social studies, and English (8 pre/post classroom lessons teachers will deliver). The nonprofit will also provide faculty members with eco-art professional development training. This program meets the goals of the Texas Education Agency - Texas Essential Knowledge and Skills and Galveston Bay Estuary Program’s goals for public participation and education in the Galveston Bay watershed.

Additional information on EPA grants: www.epa.gov/earth1r6/gandf/index.htm