A number of Lehigh Valley projects have been awarded “mini-grants” to help them achieve their environmental or conservation goals.
Lehigh Valley Greenways Conservation Landscape announced on Tuesday that over $86,000 in mini-grants have been awarded to support 13 projects.
According to a release, the funding was awarded as part of the Lehigh Valley Greenways Mini Grant Program, a reimbursement effort funded by the Pennsylvania Department of Conservation and Natural Resources and administered by the Delaware & Lehigh National heritage Corridor.
Five projects were each awarded the largest funding amount of $10,000:
- Community Bike Works, to support Youth Bike Education through workshops with a focus on sustainability and healthy living
- Hellertown Borough, to support restoration of the tree canopy in the woodlands along the western edge of the Saucon Rail Trail bordering Saucon Creek
- Lehigh County Conservation District, to support stabilization and fish enhancement along 730’ of the Little Lehigh Creek in the Lehigh Parkway off Keystone Avenue in Allentown, upstream of the Lil Le Hi Fish Hatchery
- Lower Mount Bethel Township, to support the installation of a vegetated swale at Centerfield School Park and Municipal Complex
- Upper Macungie Township, to support improvements at Grange Park, including planting of over 30 mature trees and installation of double-sided outdoor information board and publication racks
The other grant recipients and funding amounts are as follows:
- Borough of Northampton, $3,000, to support the design and installation of Memorial Monarch Butterfly Gardens at Canal Park in Northampton Borough, in accordance with guidelines provided by Monarch Watch Monarch Waystation Program
- Bushkill Township, $1,800, to support Bushkill Township Official Map update
- Coalition for Appropriate Transportation, $4,300, to support the “Everybody Rides LV 2023!”, a guided bike-ride program with community partners
- Lehigh Carbon Community College, $6,900, to support delivery of Field Biology classes to ten Promise Corps participants in collaboration with Promise Neighborhoods
- Lehigh County Conservation District, $4,700, to support the improvement of a pocket park adjacent to Trout Creek Harrison St. Trailhead, installing a pollinator garden, nature journaling benches, wooden cave, magnifying station, boulders, tree stump seating, edible and aromatic native trees and shrubs, and signage
- Valley Mountain Bikers, $7,600, to support the production and installation of maps and welcome kiosks at five major mountain bike trail systems across Lehigh and Northampton counties
- Watershed Coalition of the Lehigh Valley, $3,200, to support the production of illustrated Lehigh Valley watershed maps in poster and brochure-sized formats
- Watershed Coalition of the Lehigh Valley, $5,000, to support a Walnutport Buffer Walking Tour installation with demonstration plots on a D&L Trail spur
The release said the purpose of the grant program is to, “protect and promote natural resources through the implementation of ready-to-go, single-year projects.”
The grants help with projects that advance goals of goals of land conservation and recreation, outdoor recreation, community revitalization through green infrastructure, and environmental education.
Just under $120,000 was requested during the 2023 Lehigh Valley Greenways Mini Grant applications period.
(Original air-date: 6/14/23)
