10 S.C. schools receive environmental education grants

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Ten S.C. schools, including four in Richland County, have received grants from the S.C. Department of Health and Environmental Control to promote environmental education efforts.

DHEC awards the Champions of the Environment grants each year to students and educators who apply by outlining an educational project focusing on pollution or waste reduction, water or energy efficiency, or preservation of natural areas, according to a news release.

“The Champions of the Environment program represents an excellent opportunity for schools to inspire environmental stewardship in the youth of our state,” Mike Marcus, chief of DHEC’s Bureau of Water, said in the release.

Each grant winner will receive $2,500. The program is sponsored by DHEC, Dominion Energy and International Paper, with assistance from the Environmental Education Association of South Carolina.

The 2019 grant winners are:

• Bluffton High School, Beaufort County: adding a drip irrigation and composting system to an existing garden
• Blythewood High School, Richland County: creating biodiesel from recycled cooking oil
• James B. Edwards Elementary School/Mount Pleasant Academy, Charleston County: restoring a salt marsh habitat and contributing data to an international database for climate change analysis
• Windsor Elementary School, Richland County: integrating a low-maintenance watering system into the school’s garden to ensure year-long hydration
• Henry L. Sneed Middle School, Florence County: establishing a habitat for wildlife displaced by nearby development and providing a year-round food source for native pollinators
• Polo Road Elementary School, Richland County: studying soil conservation and habitat relationships
• Walhalla High School, Oconee County: expanding two existing gardens by increasing the number of flowering plants and establishing an irrigation system
• North Myrtle Beach Middle School, Horry County: creating a vertical garden using recycled bottles and rain barrels
• Emerald High School, Greenwood County: establishing a vegetable garden, including a pollinator element to attract local bee populations, and installing a beehive
• Dent Middle School, Richland County: collecting air quality data and identifying factors that influence air quality.