Environmental Education Systems and Programs

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Dominion is extensively involved in environmental education. Select a topic to learn more:

• Dominion Educational Partnership
• Western Pennsylvania Conservancy
• 'It's Electric II' for Girl Scouts
• Badge O-Ree for Boy Scouts
• Project Plant It!
• National Aviary
• Additional Programs

Dominion Educational Partnership

Dominion supports a wide range of environmental, educational, cultural, community development, and health and human services efforts through the Dominion Foundation. The Dominion Educational Partnership is an educational grant fund to encourage development of new programs to strengthen math and science skills. The program began in 1986 and has grown each year. For 2007-08, Dominion will award partnership grants in a 10-state area. Individual awards range from a few hundred dollars to $10,000. The Dominion Foundation awarded $220,000 to 96 schools and educational organizations in six states for the 2006-07 school year.

The most popular grants category is "Environmental Education," which supports teachers with numerous learning activities from building butterfly gardens to establishing oyster reefs.

A few examples are highlighted below.

• Booker T. Washington Middle School in Newport News was awarded $3,000 to engage students and parents in the “Bringing the Bay Home” project. Students will experience field outings, guest speakers and an extensive exploration of the James River. Additionally, parent workshops will be held every nine weeks. In the spring, fifteen parents and students will travel to the Port Isobel Island Study Center for a three-day field immersion.
  
  
• Geauga Park District Foundation was awarded $2,000 to provide 5th grade students with binoculars for the “Nature Scopes” program. Lead by Park Naturalists and parent volunteers, the students will trek through national parks. With field guides in hand, they will observe stream, field and forest habitats. In June all participants will be honored at a “Nature Scopes” graduation.
  
  
• Tuscarawas Carroll Harrison Educational Service Center was awarded $3,500 to develop 7th and 8th grade student Storm Chasers. Students will be challenged to investigate environmental factors and their effect on weather, water tables and living functions. They will work with local disaster preparedness officials to develop an action plan for disaster response. The students will learn to track storm behaviors and identify possible environmental risks.
  
  
• Gilmer County Schools were awarded $2,500 for a “Science Safari” in the West Virginia Hills. The 4th-7th grade winners of the Gilmer County Science Fair will travel to Cedar Creek State Park, where they will engage in science exploration at four learning stations. The students will receive colorful safari t-shirts to wear as they participate in activities such as a “tree-quest scavenger hunt,” and an owl pellet investigation. A team of journalism students from Gilmer County High School will produce a Science Safari instructional DVD to show at Family Science Night.

White Oak and D.F. Walker Schools in Chowan and Edenton were awarded $3,000 to address the math and science curriculum for students in kindergarten-5th grade. An outdoor garden will be built to teach students about the structure of plants. The grant will also provide for a direct-instruction math program that focuses on intense and repetitive sessions to teach the students who are currently identified as autistic.

Western Pennsylvania Conservancy In partnership with the Western Pennsylvania Conservancy’s Watershed Assistance Center a Watershed Mini Grants program was initiated in 2004. Watershed protection is a growing area of community-based collaboration and throughout Pennsylvania watershed groups are playing an increasingly prominent role in environmental management. In 2005, eighteen watershed groups were awarded $10,000 worth of grants to strengthen their important environmental stewardship role in protecting our waterways and educating the public.

Educational Video on Streams and Acidification Students and civic organizations participated in a joint venture project between Dominion and Trout Unlimited. The partnership worked to create a 10-minute video detailing the impact of acid rain on forests and coldwater streams. The educational video, titled "Battle for the Brookie," also highlights Dominion’s efforts to reduce emissions that contribute to acid rain.

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'It's Electric II' for Girl Scouts In October 2006, more than 100 Girl Scouts gathered at Dominion's Innsbrook Technical Center in Richmond for "It's Electric II" — a forum for girls to interface with professional women in non-traditional fields. At the daylong event, the girls learned how to use electricity safely, how electric production impacts the environment, energy conservation, and how meteorology influences a power company's decision-making process. The 11- to 17-year-olds also learned about career opportunities.

As an interactive activity, the girls powered a light bulb by riding a bicycle generator. The event was sponsored and funded by a $5,000 grant from the Dominion Foundation. It was staffed by 45 volunteers from area colleges and Dominion employees from all areas of the company.

Badge O-Ree for Boy Scouts

Dominion's Millstone Power Station hosted more than 700 scouts from the Connecticut Rivers Council of the Boy Scouts of America on Jan. 27, 2007 for its annual Badge O-Ree weekend in Waterford, Conn. Since 1995, Millstone has hosted this annual event as a way to reach out, assist and educate local youth.

During the weekend event, the scouts used the facilities, learned from Dominion's technical experts and worked to earn specialized merit badges. While some of the scouts remained at Millstone for activities, other groups were bused to the Waterford Ambulance Service, the Coast Guard Academy and Connecticut College to fulfill requirements for specific merit badges.

The Dominion Foundation contributed $2,000 to help fund the event. About 50 Millstone employees and retirees volunteered to help the scouts learn and earn badges in topics such as chemistry, electricity, electronics, wood carving, environmental science and citizenship.

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Project Plant It! Project Plant It! is a community effort to educate children, plant trees and improve the environment. It is a partnership among Dominion and three school systems in Central Virginia, including Chesterfield County Public Schools, Henrico County Public Schools and Richmond Public Schools. Through a pilot program, as many as 10,000 third-grade students will learn about the value of trees in our ecosystem and learn how to recognize and care for trees.

Project Plant It! will also enhance the classroom learning experience and increase comprehension of Standards of Learning (SOL) content by providing a hands-on experience to each child.

Third-graders will learn about the value of trees including how they help to moderate climates, improve air quality, absorb carbon, harbor wildlife, prevent soil erosion and reduce heating and cooling costs.

View a video about Project Plant It!

National Aviary

Dominion is a continued supporter of the National Aviary's Education Programs which are designed around the philosophy that all visitors should leave the Aviary with a new understanding of the bird world, and the interdependent role of humans within the world's ecosystems.

A recent grant by Dominion was used to increase the quality of the Aviary's daily Owl Encounters and Penguin Premiere program and will add a great deal to the educational impact of the daily shows.

Additional Programs

Other examples of Dominion’s involvement in environmental education are available by using the links below:

• First Interactive Kiosks for Virginia State Parks
  
  
• Environmental Issues Seminar class and Three Rivers Community College in Norwich, CT
  
  
• The Audubon Center for Native Plants
  
  
• University of Pittsburgh, Dominion Center for Energy and the Environment

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