(Boston) - PG&E Corporation (NYSE: PCG) today awarded a total of $100,000 to 21 schools, environmental groups, and other recipients through its second annual Environmental Education Grant Program. The program was established to further the reach and success of conservation-focused programs aimed at young people in New England.

"Our first year’s recipients proved that these grants can empower educators to help foster conservation and environmental stewardship throughout New England," said George Grunbeck, vice president of operations management, Northeast Region, for PG&E Corporation's competitive power generation unit.

PG&E Corporation’s grant awards last year advanced important educational programs of local elementary and high schools, non-profit watershed associations, and a variety of other local conservation efforts. "The grant allowed us to turn the Ipswich River into an outdoor classroom, teaching youngsters how to do their part in helping to preserve the local land and water," said Daniele Lantagne, Ipswich River Watershed Association programs director. While the Ipswich River Watershed Association has completed the program associated with PG&E Corporation’s grant award, it has continued its outdoor classroom program, which has served as a springboard for further local outreach and educational efforts. The association is dedicated to protecting wildlife habitat, water quality and quantity and recreational opportunities of the Ipswich River Basin.

This year’s winning programs range from initiatives aimed at pollution prevention and the development of outdoor classrooms and nature trails, to cold-water trout restoration and community gardening.

Numerous grant applications came in over the past year and narrowing the field was extremely difficult said Grunbeck. "All of the proposals represent valuable, creative programs. And while choosing was difficult, the quality of all the applicants demonstrates the strength of environmental organizations in New England. We are proud to give these programs the support they need to reach the youngsters in our local communities."

Each application was evaluated based on financial need and the significance of the grant to the program’s implementation. Proposed programs had to show a direct environmental benefit, contain a science component, help students understand their own responsibility to the environment and how to improve their local environment, and have a lasting legacy or impact. Other contributing factors in the selection process were the interactive nature of the program, as well as geographic and program diversity.

The 1999 grant recipients are:

Bentley School and Early Childhood Center, Salem, Mass.

Bonnyvale Environmental Education Center, Brattleboro, Vt.

Charles River Watershed Association, Auburndale, Mass.

Fairbanks Museum & Planetarium, St. Johnsbury, Vt.

Farmington River Watershed Association, Inc., Simsbury, Ct.

Gilmanton School, Gilmanton Iron Works, N.H.

Groton School, Groton, Mass.

Killingly Intermediate School/Project S.C.O.R.E., Dayville, Conn.

Lake Winnipesaukee Association, Meredith, N.H.

Mary E. Fogarty Academic Magnet School, Providence, R.I.

Parkville Community School, Hartford Public Schools, Hartford, Ct.

Quabbin Mediation, Athol, Mass.

Reading Memorial High School – Vernal Pool Association, Peabody, Mass.

Regional Environmental Council, Inc., Worcester, Mass.

Isis Fund/The Thoreau Institute, Lincoln, Mass.

Salem Sound 2000, Salem, Mass.

Squannacook Elementary School, Townsend, Mass.

The Woonasquakucket River Greenway Project, Providence, R.I.

The Tower School, Marblehead, Mass.

Waterford High School, Waterford, Ct.

Westport River Watershed Alliance, Westport, Mass.

"The environmental education grants hit close to home with our own ideals and standards for excellence," said Steven A. Wolfgram, vice president and chief administrative officer for the Northeast Region of the Corporation's generation business unit. "Being able to visit a school and see children taking an active role in a conservation project that we helped get off the ground, or reading the numerous letters that come in from students and educators alike on the success of their initiatives proves that we’re making a real, tangible difference to the future of the New England environment."

PG&E Corporation, with 1998 revenues of almost $20 billion, $33 billion in assets, and operations in 27 states, markets energy services and products throughout North America through its National Energy Group. The Corporation has a significant presence in the New England area with ownership in 20 power plants and one of the most active power trading businesses in the region.