Lastly, and of particular interest to this audience, the defense environmental community has a strong commitment to sharing our environmental expertise with people who live in communities surrounding installations. Almost all installations have a wide range of environmental education facilities and programs. Most have strong programs to work with students, on base, and in the classroom. You will hear about some of the initiatives Fort Sill has to offer throughout the day, so let me tell you about a rival program. At Camp Ripley in Minnesota, high school students shadow Army researchers as they monitor timber wolf populations.
Students follow our scientists, helping to record and analyze data.
This environmental education program also includes bald eagle monitoring, groundwater monitoring, land restoration and photography, to name just a few. This kind of program is repeated across the country, and I am very proud that we are working with communities to leverage our resources and expertise as an investment in our children and our nation's security. In fact, just this week we have established a new initiative that will enable our installation environmental and outreach personnel to work with teachers, students and local organizations to learn about, and have an actual hand in, improving water quality. Small grants to purchase native plants will be available where restoration projects have been designed in partnership with installations and a local school or civic organization. Several riparian restoration projects are already slated for completion this year.