EASTON, Pa. — A dozen Lehigh Valley municipalities and organizations have been awarded mini-grants as part of a $100,000 effort to fund conservation efforts across the region.
Administered through the Delaware & Lehigh National Heritage Corridor, the agency that oversees the D&L Trail, this year’s Lehigh Valley Greenways Mini Grant Program “attracted a large group of applications requesting approximately $180,000,” according to a Thursday news release.
“The purpose of the program is to protect and promote natural resources through the implementation of ready-to-go, single-year projects."Lehigh Valley Greenways officials
“The purpose of the program is to protect and promote natural resources through the implementation of ready-to-go, single-year projects,” officials said.
Recipients were categorized based on four goals: land conservation and environmental restoration, outdoor recreation and trail connections, community revitalization through green infrastructure and equitable education and outreach.
For land conservation and environmental restoration, awards included:
- $12,700 to Easton to support installation of 11 trees, perennials and shrubs at Eighth Street Park
- $10,000 to Upper Macungie Township to support the planting and maintenance of 80 native mature trees at Grange Park
- $20,000 to Upper Nazareth Township to support installation of a harvest grove
- $7,000 to Wildlands Conservancy to support a riparian buffer planting at Saucon Park.
Recreation, community revitalization
Under outdoor recreation and trail connections, Catasauqua was awarded $3,000 to install a kiosk, pet waste station and bench in the borough-owned lot at 175 Lehigh St., adjacent to the D&L Trail.
Allentown got $2,000 to install a new water fountain with a bottle filler at Jordan Meadows Park.
The third goal, community revitalization, included three awards: $7,400 to Bushkill Township for the naturalization of two steep pond berms at two preserves, $5,000 to North Whitehall Township to improve the Ironton Rail-Trail Portland Street Trailhead, and $5,000 to Da Vinci Discovery Center of Science and Technology for native plantings.
An additional three awards under the fourth, and final, goal included:
- $10,000 to Mindful Child Initiative to support educational programming delivered in partnership with Reset Outdoors to 46 classrooms in 14 Allentown elementary schools
- $7,000 to Wildlands Conservancy for six guided sessions at four preserves in Emmaus and Bethlehem, co-facilitated by expert guides from Transcend and recovery professionals from Sync Recovery
- $7,900 to the Watershed Coalition of the Lehigh Valley to enhance the Saucon Creek Educational Trail at the Heller Homestead Park
Funded by the state Department of Conservation and Natural Resources, applications opened earlier this year, closing in mid-March.
For more information, go to the Lehigh Valley Greenways website.
