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Green Grant Award

Northstar Academy Awarded a $1,000 Green Grant

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 Northstar Academy and Career Center in Henrico County  is awarded a $1,000 Green Grant in the Recycling and Waste Reduction category as part of Keep Virginia Beautiful’s 15th Annual Green Grants program.    

Every year, government, non-profit, civic, and service organizations in Virginia are invited to apply for grants ranging from $500 to $1,000 that will help address environmental concerns in their community.  Grants must focus on one of the following priorities:   Litter Prevention, Recycling & Waste Reduction, Cigarette Litter Prevention & Recycling, or Community Beautification. 

Northstar is a nonprofit, private school in Glen Allen with a mission to promote educational excellence and career opportunities for students with disabilities who have academic, physical or social challenges. They serve students in K-12, and their Career Center program serves ages 16-24. The non-profit fosters a supportive, inclusive, and innovative learning environment that meets the diverse needs of their students through individualized instruction and real-world learning experiences. 

The Academy runs a student-led recycling initiative aimed at reducing waste across their school campus. Funds provided by this grant award will be used to purchase ten 23-gallon recycling bins with lids, and a 23-gallon triple sort recycling bin. The new bins will replace older and smaller existing bins, and two new bins will be placed in their new gym and community room. This project not only promotes environmental stewardship but also creates real-world vocational experience for students with learning differences. Logo for Northstar Acadamy

In addition to reducing waste across Northstar’s campus, the project will provide hands-on learning opportunities for students with disabilities. Through weekly recycling collection, students will gain experience in responsibility, organization, and environmental advocacy.

By incorporating sustainability into both the school culture and vocational education, this project creates a long-term shift in behaviors and expectations around recycling. Students will take pride in seeing the measurable results of their efforts, while also practicing executive-function skills, such as organization and planning and prioritizing, that align with Northstar’s mission of preparing students for independence and success.

Volunteers cleaning up litter from the Middle River

Friends of the Middle River Awarded Green Grant for Litter Prevention

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Volunteers cleaning up litter from the Middle RiverFriends of the Middle River is awarded a $500 Green Grant in the Litter Prevention Category as part of our 13th Annual Green Grants Program!

Friends of the Middle River (FOMR), in Verona, promotes the stewardship and enjoyment of the Middle River Watershed through volunteer action, education, science, and outreach.  Litter hurts the river and her wild residents.  Tires that sit in the river for decades slowly disintegrate and release chemical pollutants into the water. Seeing ongoing litter in the river de-sensitizes residents to its unsightliness, implies that the community doesn’t care about where they live, and sends the message that littering will be tolerated.

Funds provided through the Green Grants program will be used to pay for dumpster rental for ten days during their Annual Middle River Cleanup. For the past seven years they have organized up to 75-100 volunteers per year into teams assigned to clean different sections of the Middle River. FOMR’s cleanup week is in August when the water is low (so you can see the trash) and the temperatures are still warm.

Volunteers clean up by walking in the River pulling a canoe behind them which acts as a barge for the trash collected. Each team of volunteers cleans a mile or two of the River. Other volunteers act as land crew and help unload, sort, or inventory the trash. Then the trash is transferred to a dumpster.

The Middle River is one of the headwaters of the Shenandoah River, whose waters flow all the way to the Chesapeake Bay. Membership in FOMR is free and open to everyone.

We appreciate the work of so many volunteers to keep our waterways clean — thank you!

 

Lake Anna Business Partnership Logo

Lake Anna Business Partnership Awarded $1,000 Green Grant

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Lake Anna Business Partnership LogoLake Anna Business Partnership is awarded a $1,000 Green Grant in the Litter Prevention Category as part of our 13th Annual Green Grants Program.

Every year, government, non-profit, civic, and service organizations in Virginia are invited to apply for grants ranging from $500 to $1,000 that will help address an environmental concern in their community. Grants must focus on one of the following priorities: Litter Prevention, Recycling, Cigarette Litter Prevention, or Community Beautification.

Lake Anna Business Partnership works with local businesses and professionals to promote Lake Anna and the surrounding Areas. The mission of Lake Anna Business Partnership is to preserve the beauty and safety of the Lake Anna region for current residents and future generations. They work through member volunteers, an elected board of directors and functional committees to support responsible growth around the lake through communication, government liaison, events Sunset at Lake Annaand cooperation with other organizations supporting the lake.

The focus of Lake Anna Business Partnership’s program is to identify high traffic, main road areas with an abundance of litter on other roads. Litter on their local public highways has increased significantly with the steep increase in rental properties and new construction.  Their Adopt-a-Highway Program has grown, 84 volunteers having spent 400 hours of service.  New leaders are adopting roads.

Funds awarded by the Green Grants program will be used to purchase supplies to keep volunteers safe when picking up litter on busy roads.  The will purchase sport-orange visors hats to give them added visibility along with the orange vests they now use, and heavy duty trash grabbers that are high quality to handle the task of repeated use.

Thank you Lake Anna Business Partnership, for caring about the natural and scenic environment of Virginia!

DuPont Eagle Mascot

DuPont Elementary Awarded $750 Green Grant

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DuPont Eagle MascotSituated in the heart of a centrally located Hopewell neighborhood, DuPont Elementary is a Title One school that serves 600 students.  The school is committed to help forge the next generation of environmental leaders by engaging young students and providing opportunities to improve their community.

DuPont students will play a pivotal role in restoring the “Heart of Hopewell,” developing accountability, ownership, and pride within the students that will help transcend DuPont Elementary School. Since the Pandemic, litter has increased at DuPont and its neighborhood. The increased waste can be attributed to the Pandemic, lack of education, and the lack of resources to tackle this problem.

The $750 Green Grant will be used to purchase tools and resources for their Project-based learning activity for the Litter Critter Crew, such as litter grabbers, work gloves, safety vests, and recycling bins to assist their litter cleanup efforts.  They will also purchase a distance measuring wheel and hanging weight scale to give students the ability to calculate, track, and document results for their project.  Students will measure trash collected, bags collected, recycled material moved to recycle bin, and distance traveled on the 5-acre school grounds.

Students will be able to explain why it is essential to dispose of trash properly, recycle materials, and explain how peers, families, and community groups work together to promote health, prevent disease, and create a healthy community.

Students will enjoy cleaning up litter, learning, and making a difference in their community.  We hope that they’ll grow into future environmental leaders!