Duke Energy providing grants to two area organizations

Two area organizations are receiving grants from the Duke Energy Foundation for environmental initiatives.

The Foundation made the announcement this week about its shareholder-funded grants to six Central Indiana conservation groups and local governments.

In Bartholomew County, a $35,000 grant was announced to the Applied Research Institute and Advanced Machine and Vehicle Institute to test and to develop clean energy technology. The grant will go toward a facility to test and develop clean energy technologies and toward creating a learning lab to provide education about renewable technologies and offer workforce training and certification programs.

Shelby Eastern Schools in Shelby County is also receiving a $35,000 grant to expand the district’s agricultural programming. That will go to a program at Morristown Junior-Senior and Waldron Junior-Senior High Schools to construct greenhouses. The funds will be used to construct 600-square-foot greenhouses at each school, which will provide hands-on learning experiences for students in horticulture and plant and soil sciences classes.

Other grants went to the city of Wabash Parks Department, Hamilton County Parks and Recreation, Monarch Joint Venture in Putnam County and the Wabash River Enhancement Corporation in Tippecanoe County.