Arizona’s Schools, Universities Win Big From Lottery-Ticket Sales

Arizona’s Schools, Universities Win Big From Lottery-Ticket Sales

Application period for 2013 Arizona Game and Fish Heritage Fund grants now open.

Whether you won or lost when you bought a lottery ticket last year, some of your money is going to benefit something you would approve of — helping Arizona’s schools and universities.

That’s because the bulk of this year’s grants from the Arizona Game And Fish Department Heritage Fund are going to education and research. Heritage Fund money comes from Arizona Lottery ticket sales.

This year, Game and Fish is using Heritage funds to award more than $415,000 to 23 grant projects across Arizona. When combined with matching money from other sources, the projects being funded total nearly $1 million invested in Arizona.

“Simply by buying Arizona Lottery tickets, Arizonans can help schools offer exciting opportunities for their students despite recent budget cuts. We are especially pleased to see a new trend in grant applications focused on school field trips that get children outside to enjoy our state’s great outdoors and wildlife recreation,” says Robyn Beck, the department’s Heritage grant coordinator.

Grant Winners

Among the projects that won Heritage grants this year are the following:

• Deer Valley Unified School District, for the project “Sonoran Desert Studies Program: Outdoor Wildlife Education.” $6,159 grant.

• Tempe Union School District, for the project “Environmental Biology Field Course- A Post-Fire Revision via Professional & Curriculum Development.” $1,700 grant.

• Coconino County Superintendent of Schools, for the project “Five-Points Project: Exemplary Environmental Education in Northern Arizona.” $10,000 grant.

• Arizona Western College, for the project “Bighorn Sheep Student Conservation Experience.” $2,500 grant.

• City of Tucson, for the project “Tucson Bird and Wildlife Festival: Birders Mean Business.” $17,302 grant.

• City of Scottsdale, for the project “McDowell Sonoran Conservancy Baseline Fauna Survey.” $24,600 grant.

• Town of Sahuarita, for the project “Sahuarita Lake- Public Access for Persons with Disabilities.” $9,500 grant.

• Town of Clarkdale, for the project “Verde River @ Clarkdale.” $40,500 grant.

• University of Arizona, for the project “Genetic Assessment of Arizona and Northern Mexico Ocelots.” $14,528 grant.

• Northern Arizona University, for the project “Northern Mexican Garter Snake Habitat Use and Ecology.” $44,811 grant.