SOUTH BALTIMORE — U.S. Senator Ben Cardin (D-Md.), a senior member of the Senate Environment and Public Works Committee, today joined Congressman John Sarbanes (Md.-03), EPA Region III Administrator Shawn M. Garvin, leaders of the Living Classrooms Foundation, state officials and Lakeland Elementary third-graders to celebrate a $75,000 grant to boost local student involvement at the Masonville Cove Environmental Education Campus.

The grant will enable the foundation to involve three more Baltimore city schools – Francis Scott Key, Thomas Johnson and Southwest Baltimore Charter – into its programs at the Masonville Cove campus designed to connect local schoolchildren with the natural environment and participate in hands-on stewardship projects.

“This grant from the EPA will do two great things for Baltimore: It will reduce the amount of urban stormwater runoff that flows into the Chesapeake Bay, and it will introduce hundreds of elementary students to the natural environment. That’s a win-win investment, and I am proud of the Living Classrooms Foundation and the Masonville Cove campus for having the vision to help our community in this way,” said U.S. Senator Ben Cardin.

“The Masonville Cove Environmental Education Campus provides a tremendous service to the City of Baltimore and to the state of Maryland by educating the next generation of environmental stewards,” said Congressman John Sarbanes. “This grant will help the Campus continue its meaningful work to educate students and local communities about what they can do to safeguard not only Masonville Cove, but also the entire Chesapeake Bay watershed.”

“EPA is excited to support this environmental education project that inspires students to achieve their potential through hands-on environmental projects,” said EPA Mid-Atlantic Regional Administrator Shawn M. Garvin. “It is essential that we educate and motivate young people about the importance of keeping our treasured waterways safe and healthy.”

The Masonville Cove Environmental Education Campus was developed through a partnership between Living Classrooms Foundation, the Maryland Port Administration, the National Aquarium, and the Maryland Environmental Services.

This innovative program at the environmental education center is designed to increase public awareness about storm water runoff and how to prevent it. Ultimately, the goal is to achieve a measurable reduction of runoff pollution in the community and improve the environmental health of the Patapsco River watershed and the Chesapeake Bay.

For more information on EPA’s environmental education grants, visit: www.epa.gov/education. For more information on the Masonville Cove Environmental Campus, visit: www.masonvillecove.org.

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