Lakes Region schools and libraries can apply for small grants for environmental education programs from the Loon Echo Land Trust.

The grants are available for programs in Bridgton, Casco, Denmark, Harrison, Naples, Sebago and Raymond. Applications can be downloaded from Loon Echo’s website at www.LELT.org and should be returned by Jan. 15.

Since 1998, hundreds of children have benefited from programs teaching about bats and bugs, establishing outdoor classrooms, and educating about soils and water quality. These programs were funded through grants from the Helen Allen and Polly Bartlett Endowment.

Helen Allen granted Loon Echo a conservation easement to protect her hilltop farm on Quaker Ridge in Casco. After her death at the age of 94, Helen Allen’s bequest to Loon Echo allowed the Trust to create an endowed environmental education fund to support yearly programs in local schools and libraries.

Polly Bartlett was one of the original Board members of Loon Echo. When she died in 2000 at the age of 48, the trust created a fund in her memory.

Contact Loon Echo at 647-4352 or info@lelt.org with questions about the grant program or the group’s land protection efforts.