Dayton Business Journal...
Ohio EPA awards education grant to Darke County
by DBJ Staff
Monday, June 4, 2012 

The Ohio Environmental Protection Agency has awarded an educational grant of $42,000 to the Darke County Educational Service Center as part of a larger amount of money doled out statewide, according to the OEPA. 

In total, 11 grants were awarded statewide for $350,000. 

More than 110 teachers and 1,500 high school students from seven counties will benefit from the Ohio EPA grant to the Darke County ESC. The grant will be used for the pilot project, Producing Renewable Energy in Ohio. 

This project will target teachers and high school students from 57 school districts in west central Ohio. The goal of the project is to increase high school students’ skills at making decisions about renewable energies that are found or produced in Ohio. 

A series of workshops, online follow-up and a printed guide will provide teachers with content about biomass (ethanol, biodiesel and methane), wind and geothermal energy sources currently being developed in Western Ohio, and practice leading students in learning to make decisions about energy options without creating bias themselves, according to the state. 

Products will include a magazine for students accompanied by audio/video podcasts. The Educational Services Centers of Auglaize, Mercer, Miami, Montgomery, Preble and Shelby Counties are collaborating.