Fort Wayne, Ind. — The Steuben County Community Foundation recently awarded a grant of $20,000 from the Ralph E. Taylor Conservation Fund to Easterseals Northern Indiana in support of conservation education for youths and young adults with intellectual and developmental disabilities.
The funding will help Easterseals develop customized curricula on conservation topics and integrate the curricula into day programs, summer camps and other programs offered by Easterseals RISE in Angola, Easterseals Arc in Fort Wayne, Easterseals Passages in Columbia City and Cardinal Services in Warsaw. The project will serve about 140 youths and young adults.
The curricula will be implemented during each season throughout the year and will include resources from National Geographic Society, the U.S. Department of Agriculture Forest Services, the U.S. Department of Conservation and other national sources.
The project’s goals are to:
- Increase awareness and understanding of environmental challenges
- Create attitudes of concern for the environment
- Develop skills to maintain, improve and protect the environment