Bizzarro announces nearly $150,000 in state funding
Grants support summer camps, research and classroom-to-creek learning
Rep. Ryan Bizzarro April 30, 2026 | 2:46 PM
ERIE, April 30 – Nearly $150,000 in state grants have been awarded to improve educational programs and research across Erie County, according to state Rep. Ryan Bizzarro. The five projects approved for funding total $149,983.
“Investing in educational programming is investing in Erie’s future,” said Bizzarro, who represents Fairview and Millcreek townships. “These programs get people and children out of the classroom and into our communities, studying our environment along the shoreline, in our creeks, and in hands-on workshops. These programs provide an opportunity to learn more about our environment and play a role in protecting the place we call home.”
The projects approved include:
- $30,000 for Gannon University and its Breaking Barriers: Shoreline Scholars Summer Program, a free week-long summer camp for middle school students. Camp includes daily education along Lake Erie’s watershed, blending science, history and art.
- $30,000 for Regional Science Consortium at Presque Isle Center and its Community Environmental Workshop series: Protection Water Quality Through Land Stewardship. The consortium will host four interactive workshops for the public and families to provide in-home, personal property solutions on land use, stormwater runoff, pollutants and water quality.
- $30,000 for Presque Isle Light Station and its Sunflower Project: Using Phytoremediation to Remove Heavy Metals at a Historic Site. This four-part series is geared for students in grades four through nine, educating students on industrial pollution. Students will use hands-on activities to investigate heavy metal pollution in land, air and water.
- $30,000 for Erie County Conservation District and its Hidden Creeks Public Art Project. The district will create and install eight public art pieces with public signage. The project will also crate an interactive website to highlight the history of the Mill Creek Flood, the engineering of the Mill Creek Tube (a 2-mile long concrete culvert that funnels Mill Creek under Erie), and the tube’s impact on water quality.
The Erie grants were part of the Pennsylvania Department of Environmental Protection statewide Environmental Education Grants, awarded to 46 projects and totaling more than $1 million. Find the complete list here.
Bizzarro has continued his career-long track record of pursuing needed funding for local projects through state investments. This legislative session, Bizzarro has helped secure more than $50.2 million in state funding for projects and services that help people in the Erie region.