LHVA Awards Six Grants to Local Educators Ahead of 2019 Programs

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December 1, 2018

The Lackawanna Heritage Valley Association recently awarded six educational grants to dedicated teachers and mentors ahead of locally-planned 2019 educational programs.

In its fourteenth year, Lackawanna Heritage Valley’s educational mini-grant program awarded $1,000 each to six local organizations who intend on stimulating interest in our region’s rich cultural heritage and fostering the preservation of our natural resources.

Dominic Keating, chair of the Lackawanna Heritage Valley board, presented the educational mini-grants to the chosen recipients at a reception in the LHVA office in Scranton. The 2018 Educational Mini-Grant Award recipients include:

Lawrence Dombek, North Pocono Middle School science teacher, who aims to restore and reestablish the North Pocono Environmental Center and outdoor classroom;

  • Sarah Sutton, Everhart Museum of Natural History, Science and Art educational programming manager, who will orchestrate a program with Bancroft Elementary School that develops students’ understanding of the environment and how it intersects with art;
  • Jane Risse, executive director of The Greenhouse Project, who will offer field trips to more than 500 Lackawanna County students to explore topics related to biology and environmental education;
  • Shannon Malamud, Riverside Elementary West teacher, who will orchestrate an all-day Lackawanna County heritage expo at the Steamtown Train Museum and the Electric City Trolley Museum for six first grade classes;
  • Anastasia Zabielski, Valley View High School biology club advisor, who plans to implement a reusuable bottle filling station within the school and continue increasing awareness about the overuse of plastic
  • Michelle Swarts, the chair of the North Pocono Middle School science department, who will host an engineering competition to tie in lessons on the local history of Old Mill Park.