Wanted: Elementary and high school programs that will spark students’ interest in environmental issues.

“Our teachers have a serious responsibility to educate our future leaders about the environment. We want to help provide the resources to make that learning experience fun, creative and interesting,” said Lisa Perry, PPL Montana’s community affairs manager.

These two goals form the basis of PPL Montana’s Project Earth Environmental Education Grants Program.

“Last year, students used our grants to monitor the ecology of streams, study weather patterns that create droughts, develop a community recycling plan and learn about the life cycle and nutritional value of plants,” Perry said. “We are looking forward to seeing the same type of inspiration and imagination in this year’s applications.”

Through the program, educators are awarded up to $1,500 to help teach students the important role they play in maintaining a healthy environment. Teachers can receive grants for school projects that focus on issues such as watersheds and wetlands, air quality, renewable resources, energy conservation and the greening of schools. The projects can enhance established classroom curricula and academic standards, or support extracurricular activities of school organizations and clubs.

The program is being offered to all public, private and parochial schools in Montana. A school may partner with an organization, association or business, but the school must have primary responsibility for the project. Applications will be accepted until Jan. 13, 2006. A team of PPL Montana employees and environmental experts will choose the winning projects.

During the 2004-2005 academic year, nine Montana schools received a total of more than $13,000 through the program.

For more information about the PPL Montana Project Earth Environmental Education Grants Program or to apply for a grant, visit the Education section of PPL Montana’s Internet site at www.pplmontana.com.

PPL Montana operates 11 hydroelectric power plants along the Missouri, Madison, Clark Fork and Flathead rivers and Rosebud Creek, as well as two coal-fired plants at Colstrip and Billings, that give it a combined generating capacity of about 1,200 megawatts. The company has 500 employees at facilities throughout the state, with offices in Billings, Butte and Helena.