Environmentally Active Groups Encouraged to Apply for “Keep Maryland Beautiful” Awards

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ANNAPOLIS —  In an effort to recognize nonprofit groups and communities that advance environmental issues and/or address environmental problems, the Maryland Environmental Trust is accepting applications for the Margaret Rosch Jones Award and the Bill James Environmental Grants. Completed applications must be received by March 31.

The grants are part of the Trust’s “Keep Maryland Beautiful” activities, which are funded by the State Highway Administration, a division of the Maryland Department of Transportation.

The Margaret Rosch Jones Award of up to $2,000 is awarded to voluntary nonprofit groups or communities that make continuing plans for a project that has already demonstrated a basic understanding and resolution of an environmental issue.

The Jones award is given in memory of Margaret Jones, the executive director and moving spirit of the Keep Maryland Beautiful Program for many years. The Trust hopes to remind citizens of Jones’ devotion, energy and ingenuity by presenting an award in her name to a group whose voluntary activities personified these attributes that she brought to her work. Applicants must also meet one or both of the following criteria:

1. Groups that have been active in educating people in their community about at least one of the following concerns: litter prevention, community beautification, and local or statewide environmental issue(s).
2. Groups that have been successful in eliminating or reducing the causes of a local environmental problem rather than simply addressing the symptoms.

The Bill James Environmental Grants of up to $1,000 are awarded to school groups, science and ecology clubs, and other nonprofit youth groups for proposed environmental education projects. The Bill James Environmental Grants are given in memory of William S. James, who drafted legislation to create the Trust, incorporating the activities of the Governor's Committee to Keep Maryland Beautiful.

The objectives of the grants are to:

• Encourage a sense of stewardship and personal responsibility for the environment;
• Stimulate a better understanding of environmental issues;
• Aid in the elimination or reduction of a local environmental problem; and
• Encourage education about growth management and protection of rural areas and sensitive resources while discouraging sprawl development.

Applications may be obtained from the Maryland Environmental Trust, First Floor, 100 Community Pl., Crownsville, Md., 21032-2023 or on our website at www.dnr.state.md.us/met.

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March 16, 2005

The Maryland Department of Natural Resources (DNR) is the state agency responsible for providing natural and living resource-related services to citizens and visitors. DNR manages more than 446,000 acres of public lands and 17,000 miles of waterways, along with Maryland's forests, fisheries and wildlife for maximum environmental, economic and quality of life benefits. A national leader in land conservation, DNR-managed parks and natural, historic and cultural resources attract 11 million visitors annually. DNR is the lead agency in Maryland's effort to restore the Chesapeake Bay, the state's number one environmental priority. Learn more at www.dnr.maryland.gov