LGA lake saving projects, like the dry well installation at Bixby Beach shown here, are made possible in part through funding support from the Helen V. Froehlich Foundation.
Lake George, NY – August 30, 2010 – The Lake George Association announced today that the Helen V. Froehlich Foundation has awarded the 125-year old conservation organization a grant of $378,500 for lake-saving initiatives. This is the LGA’s seventeenth consecutive award from the Froehlich Foundation. This grant award will provide $174,500 toward lake saving projects, $56,000 toward education and outreach programs, and $123,000 toward lake quality programs, including Citizen Science and the Citizens Statewide Lake Assessment Program, Invasive Species Management, and Lake Stewards.
“The LGA is grateful for the Foundation’s continuing support, as well as their vote of confidence in the LGA and our efforts to protect the Lake and its watershed for future generations,” said Walt Lender, the LGA’s executive director.
Nearly half of the total grant award will provide funding for the LGA’s Lake Saving Projects. These construction projects improve Lake George’s water quality by preventing sediment and pollutants from entering the lake. “The funds in the grant award, leveraged with our members and donors generosity, put us in a strong position to receive significant funding from public sources, which in turn, extends our ability to complete more projects to protect the Lake,” he said.
The LGA’s popular Floating Classroom program will receive $23,000 to help teach lake science and watershed management to area students. Over 1,000 area students benefit each year from the LGA’s Education and Outreach programs, which are provided free of charge through grants like the one provided by the Froehlich Foundation.
LGA staff also educates homeowners, businesses, municipalities and landscapers about improving water quality by installing vegetative buffers, reducing lawn size and non-permeable surfaces, controlling stormwater runoff through rain gardens and rain barrels, and using no-phosphorus fertilizer and native plant species in landscaping.
The 17 consecutive grant awards from the Froehlich Foundation represent over $5 million dollars worth of improvements to Lake George and the watershed.
Established in 1885, the Lake George Association is America’s first lake association and a pioneer in the conservation movement. The LGA spent over $900,000 in 2009 to carry out its mission to protect Lake George. In addition to the funding from the Froehlich Foundation, the LGA relies on income from membership support and fundraising events.