Matzie: Nearly $80,000 secured for Beaver County, regional environmental programs
Rep. Robert F. Matzie May 22, 2025 | 5:14 PM
AMBRIDGE, May 22 – Nearly $80,000 in new grant funding from the state Department of Environment Protection will support environmental education for Beaver County students and composting and PFAS workshops to benefit area residents, state Rep. Rob Matzie announced today.
Matzie said the funding includes $19,180 to Beaver County’s RiverWise for the Summer Sustainability Institute education program; $28,424 to Pennsylvania Resources Council Inc., for the Small Scale Composting for Urban Communities project; and $30,000 to Pennsylvania State University for workshops to teach participants from Beaver and several other counties about PFAS.
“When we educate students about the environment, we’re teaching them lessons about community engagement, empowering them to fight food insecurity, and encouraging them to care for and conserve natural resources. We’re also introducing them to potential career paths,” said Matzie, who is chairman of the House Majority Caucus.
“With this new funding, the Summer Sustainability Institute will teach those lessons to Beaver County middle school and high school students by providing hands-on learning about urban farming, sustainability, climate change and much more. They’re lessons that will be useful for life.”
Matzie said the funding to Pennsylvania Resources Council Inc. will support composting workshops in Beaver, Allegheny, Delaware and Fayette counties focused on reducing food waste and implementing Bokashi Composting – an indoor composting method that addresses issues such as limited space, time, cost and wildlife concerns.
The funding to PSU will support a “Per-and Poly-Fluorinated Alkyl Substances (PFAS) workshop for Extension Educators and Volunteers.” Participants from Beaver, Cumberland, Jefferson, Lancaster/York, Northampton and Westmoreland counties will learn about PFAS fundamentals and management and, in turn, deliver community education programs.
The funding comes from DEP’s Environmental Education Grant Awards. More information about the grants awarded is available here: https://www.pa.gov/agencies/dep/newsroom/2025-05-22-shapiro-administration-awards-over-1-1-million-to-environmental-projects-that-foster-environmental-stewardship.html
More information about the program is available here: https://www.pa.gov/agencies/dep/residents/environmental-education/environmental-education-grants.html