A new federal grant will help Henrico County Public Schools purchase a state-of-the-art electric school bus and transform it into a rolling classroom that is long on environmental education and short on carbon emissions. The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency has awarded HCPS a $100,000 environmental education grant, which will be combined with other funds for the project. The initiative will help bring immersive environmental educational experiences to 21 HCPS elementary schools with high numbers or percentages of students from low-income families, designated as Title 1 schools.
Plans call for the “Green Wheels for Bright Minds Ecobus” to be stationed at each of the elementary schools for about a week. The bus will have five interactive learning stations focused on water conservation, each with lessons for students as young as kindergarten and as old as fifth grade.
“Environmental and science education has never been more important, and this project will help provide deeper learning experiences to schools and communities that don’t always have those resources,” said Amy Cashwell, HCPS superintendent. “While our environmental challenges are profound, the opportunities are great. The HCPS Ecobus will help students tackle problems in their communities and prepare for environmental careers, while fostering an appreciation of the world around them.”
Plans are underway to purchase the bus, and work on the vehicle’s interior will start in the coming school year. Residents can expect to see the vehicle — wrapped with bold exterior graphics — on Henrico County roads for the start of the 2025-26 school year.
The bus is a group initiative. The EPA grant will be combined with a $275,000 grant from technology and social media company Meta, and the school division will kick in about $175,000. High school students will be a big part of the project: students at the Advanced Career Education Center at Hermitage and the Advanced Career Education Center at Highland Springs will do much of the work to convert the bus interior to an environmental education center. Students at Glen Allen High School’s Center for Education and Human Development will assist in creating interactive lessons for students in grades K-5. Students at HCPS’ Center for Environmental Studies and Sustainability, and Center for Communications and Media Relations will also be involved.
The bus will use hands-on activities to foster critical thinking about local water resource issues, culminating in tangible student-led stewardship projects. The grant will also provide around $1,000 for each school to hold a celebratory event and kick off a community-based sustainability initiative, such as planting native plants on campus or improving water quality in a neighborhood creek.
The HCPS bus will be charged at a central location and will produce less carbon than traditional school buses that run on diesel fuel. More about diesel-powered and electric school buses can be found at the EPA website at www.epa.gov/cleanschoolbus/benefits-clean-school-buses.
The 2024 EPA Environmental Education Grants Program will provide $3.6 million to 38 school divisions, universities, nonprofits and other organizations. Learn more at www.epa.gov/newsreleases/epa-selects-educational-organizations-receive-over-36-million-support-environmental.