Topeka, Kan. — The Kansas Association for Conservation and Environmental Education (KACEE) and the Missouri Environmental Education Association (MEEA) on Tuesday announced a $25,000 Environmental Education Subaward funded by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) has been awarded to Earth’s Classroom.

These subawards will support student-led Green Schools and Green Careers projects across Kansas and Missouri during the upcoming school year.

The funded projects span rural and urban communities, early childhood through higher education, and reflect a strong emphasis on student leadership, hands-on learning, environmental stewardship, and career exploration in sustainability, conservation, engineering, agriculture, and environmental science.

“These projects demonstrate the power of student voice and place-based learning,” said representatives from KACEE and MEEA. “Students are not just learning about environmental challenges — they are designing solutions, collecting data, engaging community partners, and building pathways into green careers.”

Earth’s Classroom, founded by Jody and Bill Miles and based at her parents Russell and Ginny Blankenship’s farm south of Rosebud, conducts outdoor educational programs at the Pump Station Road site and on waterways across the region.

Some of the other Missouri programs and schools which are recipients of grant funds include Northwest Missouri State University and the Horace Mann Laboratory School, the Potosi High School College-Career Readiness Program, the Rolla Outdoor Collaborative School, rootEd Missouri at Arcadia Valley High School, University City High School, and Ritenour Middle School in the Ritenour School District.

In Missouri, organizations like Rolla Outdoor Collaborative School and Earth’s Classroom are providing immersive outdoor education and field science experiences that prepare students for future careers in conservation and environmental science, according to MEEA.

These EPA-funded projects support the broader Green Schools framework, which integrates environmental education, healthy school environments, and workforce development. Collectively, they will engage hundreds of students in authentic learning experiences that build leadership, critical thinking, and a sense of responsibility for their communities and the planet.

The Kansas Association for Conservation and Environmental Education advances environmental literacy and stewardship by supporting educators, schools, and communities across Kansas. The Missouri Environmental Education Association promotes excellence in environmental education through professional development, partnerships, and advocacy statewide.

Highlights from funded projects include student-led sustainability and pollinator projects where multiple schools will create native gardens, Monarch Waystations, pollinator habitats, and fruit tree guilds. Students will research native species, design and build garden infrastructure, and monitor biodiversity and environmental impact.

Climate, energy, and water solutions projects include student-designed floating wetlands to improve water quality, school energy investigations to reduce utility use, indoor air quality monitoring, and the virtual design of a solar-powered sustainable neighborhood to address the urban heat island effect.

Through green career exploration, students will participate in park-based learning experiences, wildlife rehabilitation partnerships, renewable energy tours, college-career fairs focused on green industries, and year-long field science certification programs led by environmental professionals.

Intergenerational and community partnerships will have college students mentoring elementary learners to collaborations with watershed coalitions, wildlife rehabilitators, universities, and municipal sustainability offices, these projects connect classrooms to real-world environmental work.

Through hands-on STEM and systems thinking, students will lead composting and vermicomposting initiatives, reduce paper waste through audits and digital tools, grow food for school gardens and livestock, and collect phenology and temperature data to study climate impacts.