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For immediate release — July 7, 2014

 

Grant funding will support Living Labs at Mountain View College

 

(DALLAS) — Mountain View College recently received $28,824 through the Wells Fargo Environmental Solutions for Communities Program. The college was one of three Dallas-Fort Worth environmental nonprofits that received funds totaling $128,824 from the grant program, which supports projects focused on land and water conservation, energy efficiency, infrastructure and educational outreach in communities across America. The grant will support “living labs” at Mountain View.

 

“The Living Laboratory concept merges academics, campus facilities management and sustainability initiatives. Students receive real-world skills through hands-on learning opportunities,” said Lori De La Cruz, sustainability coordinator at Mountain View College.

 

The Wells Fargo Environmental Solutions for Communities grant program began in 2012 as part of Wells Fargo’s commitment to provide $100 million to environmentally focused nonprofits and universities by 2020. It is funded by the Wells Fargo Foundation with a $15 million, five-year commitment to promote environmental stewardship across the country. The program funds proposals in select regions that help address the most pressing environmental issues identified by each participating community. Some examples of past grant projects include helping with cleaning and reclaiming areas of the Fort Worth Nature Center and Preserve and cleaning up the Buckeye Trail along the Trinity River in Dallas.

 

Administered by the National Fish and Wildlife Foundation, the 2013 Wells Fargo Environmental Solutions for Communities grants helped reduce more than 3 million pounds of CO2 across the nation, the equivalent to averting consumption of 8,535 barrels of oil. (Note: Environmental impact estimates from CO2 were calculated by the National Fish and Wildlife Foundation using statistics from the U.S. Department of Energy’s Energy Information Administration. Environmental impact estimates from trees were calculated by the National Fish and Wildlife Foundation using the National Arbor Day National Tree Benefit Calculator.)

 

People participating in the program also planted 132,709 trees and restored more than 1,600 acres of habitat. These projects have trained 150 people in “green” jobs and have engaged more than 689,000 community members in the supported environmental grant programs.

 

“We believe that helping our communities become more resilient and better stewards of the environment will improve the long-term quality of life for our customers and team members,” said John Gavin, region president for Wells Fargo in Dallas-Fort Worth. “We’re proud to support Mountain View College with grant dollars and support our local team members, who volunteer their time and efforts.”

 

“Through our collaboration with Wells Fargo and their commitment to community-based efforts, this investment will support a total of 54 projects, and conservation efforts will take place in cities and towns across America,” said Jeff Trandahl, executive director and CEO of NFWF. “The experience will be an opportunity for participants in these communities to personally contribute to a more sustainable future, which would not be possible without Wells Fargo’s long-term commitment to the Environmental Solutions for Communities program.”

 

The full list of 2014 grant recipients can be found at blogs.wellsfargo.com/environment. Projects benefiting underserved communities and encouraging volunteerism are given priority consideration. Details about the program and a link to the 2015 application (available in September 2014) can be found at the NFWF application website: www.nfwf.org/environmentalsolutions.

 

For more information about the grant or the Living Labs at Mountain View College, contact Lori De La Cruz, sustainability coordinator, by phone at (214) 860-8564 or by email at Ldelacruz@dcccd.edu.

 

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