From renovating homes for tree swallows to restoring a creek, students at seven Montana schools will be undertaking projects to enhance their environmental studies this spring thanks to grants from PPL Montana.

“Hands-on learning is so important to capturing students’ imaginations and increasing their awareness of the environment and their knowledge of science,” said Lisa Perry, manager of Community Affairs for PPL Montana. “That’s why we are proud to support these teachers who are creating meaningful learning experiences in the earth sciences.”

Each of the seven schools received grants of up to $1,500 through PPL Montana’s Environmental Education Grants program to support educational activities that promote a beautiful and clean environment. A team of PPL Montana employees chose the winning projects.

The schools receiving grants this year are:

• Lame Deer High School, Lame Deer, for “Waste Not, Want Not,” a composting program for the students’ school farm.
• Chief Joseph Middle School, Bozeman, for “Wild About Birds,” a field study unit about birds that incorporates the Flying WILD program from Project WILD and Montana Fish, Wildlife and Parks.
• Canyon Creek School, Billings, for “Students and Tree Swallows,” a student project to restore nesting boxes at Yellowstone Conservation Education Center ponds.
• Cherry Valley Elementary School, Polson, for “Native Landscape,” a student project to study native plants while creating a backdrop for a walking path used in the school’s wellness and outdoor education program.
• Meadowlark Elementary School, Billings, for “Planting A Greenbelt,” a project to create a shady zone around the school’s new addition.
• Poly Drive Elementary School, Billings, for a third-grade field trip to the Living History Farm at the Museum of the Rockies.
• Butte Central High School, Butte, for “Riparian Revegetation and Watershed Stewardship,” a student project to restore the Middle Fork Rock Creek in cooperation with the Clark Fork Watershed Education Program and the U.S. Forest Service.

“We salute all teachers and schools in Montana that use creative activities like these to enhance the curriculum and education of the students,” Perry said.

School projects that focus on issues such as watersheds and wetlands, air quality, renewable resources, energy conservation and the greening of schools to enhance classroom study and academic standards, or that support extracurricular activities of school organizations and clubs, were eligible to receive the award.

PPL Montana sponsors the Environmental Education Grants program as part of PPL Project Earth, an initiative to educate the public about energy resources and the environment. 

PPL has 500 employees in Montana who generate and sell electricity. PPL Montana operates coal-fired power plants at Colstrip and Billings, as well as 11 hydroelectric plants along West Rosebud Creek and the Missouri, Madison, Clark Fork and Flathead rivers. It has a combined generating capacity of more than 1,200 megawatts and has offices in Billings, Butte and Helena. PPL EnergyPlus operates a trading floor in Butte that markets and sells power in the wholesale and retail energy market. PPL Montana and PPL EnergyPlus are subsidiaries of PPL Corporation (NYSE: PPL).