Falk Announces Dane County Environmental Grant Awards

March 22, 2007
Mindy Habecker, Dane County Environmental Council, 224-3718 Joanne Haas, Office of the County Executive (608) 267-8823
County Executive

Two schools, two volunteer organizations and the Girl Scouts will share more than $1,000 in what Dane County Executive Kathleen Falk called “small grants to take big steps” to promote awareness, conservation and preservation of natural resources. Friends of Pheasant Branch, Upper Sugar River Watershed Association, Girl Scouts of Black Hawk Council, Madison Central Montessori School and the Dane County Transition School have been selected by the Dane County Environmental Council to share in $1,360 in grants. “These groups are fighting invasive plants along stream corridors, and restoring oak savannas and prairies,” Falk said. “These groups are helping students learn how to monitor the health of our local environment, and providing safety training for conservation volunteers that remove invasive brush species. “Sometimes a small grant can fuel a big step.” The council, a five-member panel appointed by Falk and approved by the County Board, recommended the following grants: -- Friends of Pheasant Branch to obtain work gloves for children to use when removing garlic mustard in the Pheasant Branch stream corridor -- $60. -- Dane County Transition School to purchase shovels, rakes and trowels to assist 30 high school students plant native flora species in county conservation areas as part of their service learning projects -- $200. -- Madison Central Montessori School to purchase environmental monitoring equipment (for soil, air and water) to augment their Science Education Initiative’s environmental conservation goals in hands-on science based activities -- $400. -- Upper Sugar River Watershed Association to cover the cost of professional instruction in chainsaw safety for area conservation groups that work to remove non-native fast growing tree and brush species in stream corridors and in oak savanna landscapes -- $400. -- Girl Scouts of Black Hawk Council to assist funding binoculars, bird reference books and educational posters as parts of avian ecology activity trunks for their bird education program -- $300. The Council’s mission is to assist public and private groups in recognizing and protecting natural areas in Dane County and to assume an educational role in the awareness, conservation and protection of the environment and natural resources. This annual small grant program is one of the activities that the Council sponsors as part of fulfilling its mission. Funding for this year’s small grants program is provided through a newly established private-public partnership to support the mission of the Environmental Council. The Council also thanked the following groups and individuals for donations to the program: Stevens Design, LLC; BT2, Inc; Strand Associates, Inc.; Merel Black; and Stephen Born. For more information on the Dane County Environmental Council, visit: http://www.countyofdane.com/commissions/environmentalcouncil or contact Mindy Habecker at habecker@co.dane.wi.us or 224-3718. # # #