As part of its activities celebrating Earth Day, April 22, the Sierra Club - Lancaster Group, announced the names of 11 more Lancaster County 501(c)(3) organizations that have been awarded its Green Project Grants. In submitted proposals, each of the organizations expressed a need for support of a venture intended to promote sustainability, expand environmental awareness, and improve green infrastructure. With this latest round of awards, each up to $500, a total of 95 Lancaster County organizations have received Green Project Grants from the Sierra Club - Lancaster Group over the past nine years.

Those awarded 2024 grants, along with their projects, include Columbia Public Library, acquiring Nature Explorer Bags and the items that go in them, to be used by both children and adults while on outdoor educational excursions; Conservation Foundation of Lancaster County, purchasing hands-on materials for a three-day professional development workshop for public and private teachers on how to incorporate environmental studies into their classes; and Historic Poole Forge, revitalizing several embankment areas to improve water drainage and stabilize steeper sections that had been covered with non-native honeysuckles and grass.

Also, Homefields Care Farm, Millersville, purchasing native Saskatoon berry plants that will be grown at its farm and at the Perfect Gift Community Garden in Columbia; Immerse International, Millersville, installing more native plants in its campus garden that encourages curiosity, exploration and appreciation of nature; and Lancaster County Therapeutic Riding Inc., a.k.a. Greystone Manor Therapeutic Riding Center, purchasing Fly Predators, a pesticide-free alternative that uses non-stinging, non-invasive wasps to kill fly larvae and adult flies that can spread disease to horses and clients.

Also, Let's Go 1-2-3, in partnership with Northeast Neighbors United and Lancaster Cemetery, supporting its fall community event at the Lancaster Cemetery in northeast Lancaster city that will bolster efforts to clean up, replant, and maintain the cemetery's gardens and trees; Let's Go 1-2-3, in partnership with the Southeast Community Green Team, purchasing native plants and signage for use during its Southeast Nature Fest on June 1 at Lancaster's Hazel Jackson Middle School; and Spanish American Civic Association (SACA),  designing and purchasing environmental education signs that use a monarch butterfly theme and will be placed in a narrow grass strip of land between the sidewalk and Tec Centro, SACA's workforce development facility.

Also, St. Paul Evangelical Lutheran Church, Lititz, developing new programming and purchasing supplies for maintenance and further development of its 3-acre Sacred Grounds project; and Thomas Wharton Elementary Parent-Teacher Organization, moving ahead with its North Mary Edible Garden and Tree Initiatives that will improve underutilized spaces on its campus.

The grant proposals, submitted to the Sierra Club - Lancaster Group over the past several months, were evaluated on criteria such as environmental objective, unique aspect of the project, quality of submission, and how the Lancaster Group might be involved.

The grants were in the past financed primarily with funds generated by the group's Polar Bear 5K Trail Run/Hike and more recently were funded with money donated to the Group by its participation in the ExtraGive. Charitable, educational, or business organizations in Lancaster County that demonstrate a commitment to the Sierra Club's mission of "exploring, enjoying, and protecting the planet" are eligible to apply for a grant.

For complete details about the Green Project Grant Program, visit http://lancastersierraclub.org/grant-program/, call 717-475-0586, or email jimsmeenan@gmail.com.