The Sierra Club - Lancaster Group, as part of its activities celebrating Earth Day, April 22, announced the names of 15 Lancaster County 501(c)(3) organizations that have been awarded Green Project grants. Each of the organizations, in submitted proposals, requested support of a venture that promotes sustainability, expands environmental awareness, and improves green infrastructure.

With this latest round of awards, each up to $500, a total of 110 Lancaster County organizations have received Green Grants from the Sierra Club - Lancaster Group over the past 10 years.

The grant recipients and their projects are Church of the Apostles United Church of Christ to prepare for a Science in the Park program that brings inner-city kids to the church's 5-acre Rader Park; the Conservation Foundation of Lancaster County, supporting its environmental literacy project, which includes a professional development conference on elements of watershed biodiversity that can be shared with students in the classroom; and Franklin & Marshall College, designing and painting the college's compost bin in Buchanan Park to make it more attractive and then using it as a model to redesign other F&M-Lancaster Compost Co-Op bins in Lancaster city.

In addition, the Friends of the Railroad Museum, constructing a new native plant garden with signage at the northeast side of the museum in Strasburg; Greystone Manor Therapeutic Riding Center, purchasing native and pollinator plants to be placed in front of and alongside its barn with the goal of restoring local ecosystems and enhancing water quality; and Historic Poole Forge, stabilizing embankments, removing invasive vines in rain gardens, restocking plants lost to drought, and replacing a rotted fence in the pollinator garden.

Also, Homefields Care Farm, building a biochar retort furnace that will impound carbon and make biologically active and improved soil modifications throughout its acreage; Immerse International, creating a mini meadow on a small portion of its campus as a continuation of a plan to add more native plants and trees throughout its property; and Let's Go 1-2-3, in partnership with Northeast Neighbors/Northeast Green and Lancaster Cemetery, preparing for its fall community cleanup at the 20-acre Lancaster Cemetery, a project that will bolster and supplement past efforts to clear out, replant, and maintain the cemetery's native gardens, shrubs, and trees.

Also, Let's Go 1-2-3, a second proposal, providing support for the Hazel Jackson Day of Action/Nature Fest in September at Hazel Jackson Middle School in southeast Lancaster; Peace United Church of Christ, buying plants for its community garden that offers members and neighbors fresh produce and generates compost material for future use; and Rivertownes PA USA, installing bat houses for its insect-eating occupants at four locations in Marietta.

In addition, St. Thomas Episcopal Church, Lancaster, making its existing 50-year-old retention basin more efficient and effective through the use of native plants and grasses as an alternative to the existing monoculture; Thomas Wharton Elementary School PTO, developing further its Wonder Garden, an edible foods garden that offers students an outdoor classroom where, through hands-on experiences, they acquire expertise in gardening, sustainability, and other eco-environmental practices; and West Lancaster Jewels Neighborhood Committee, acquiring gardening supplies for student volunteers recruited to work in its community garden.

Awarded once a year, the grants are primarily supported with funds generated by the Sierra Group's Polar Bear 5K Trail Run/Hike and, more recently, with money donated to the organization 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.

The deadline to apply for the next cycle of awards is Tuesday, March 31, 2026; recipients will be announced on Earth Day. For complete details about the Green Project Grant Program, visit http://lancastersierraclub.org/grant-program, call 717-475-0586, or email jimsmeenan@gmail.com.