Twelve local children who participate in the
Boys and Girls Club of Lansing received free bikes last week as part of the
GET (Green Energy Technology) City! program that teaches environmental stewardship. This year’s topic focused on green transportation.
“We are teaching these children about local environmental issues that have a global impact,” says Becky Jo Farrington, environmental education manager for
Michigan Energy Options (MEO), the nonprofit involved with the program.
The
National Science Foundation (NSF) awarded
Michigan State University (MSU) grant money to implement the program, who then contacted MEO to help with the education aspects. The GET City! program is now in its third year.
Farrington says the theme for this year is meant to teach children the importance of green transportation, how it can drastically reduce carbon emissions and how to be safe on the roadways when traveling by bicycle.
Bicycles, helmets and locks were purchased through
Riverfront Cycle in Lansing and were awarded to 12 local middle school students who have been exemplary members of the Boys and Girls Club of Lansing, she says.
MEO was given $36,000 of the NSF grant over three years to implement the program.
Source: Becky Jo Farrington
Writer: Andy Balaskovitz
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