To mark Earth Day 2026, Columbia Gas of Pennsylvania and the NiSource Charitable Foundation today announced that 11 nonprofit organizations across Pennsylvania have been chosen to receive a 2026 Environmental Action Grant. This newly established annual program supports local environmental restoration and education projects and programs by providing grants of up to $5,000 to each recipient.
The recipients were chosen through a competitive process during which nonprofits submitted applications for specific community-based environmental projects that were reviewed and scored by a selection committee.
“This is an exciting and forward-thinking opportunity for us to back innovative ideas that will bring about positive and lasting environmental change, and we’re proud to announce this on Earth Day,” said Mark Kempic, Columbia Gas of Pennsylvania president and chief operating officer. “Also, we do not view these grants as one-time awards, but as the start of ongoing partnerships with each and every selected organization.”
The 2026 Environmental Action Grant recipients are:
- Allegheny County Parks Foundation, Pittsburgh ($5,000): supporting its Tree Program, which is focused on restoring and enhancing the ecological health of the county’s nine parks through the strategic planting of native trees.
- Charleroi Trustees Community Park Fund, Charleroi, Pa. ($5,000): improving the safety, accessibility, and usability of the borough’s ‘Magic City’ Riverfront Park through vegetation clearing, improved site lines, and construction of a walking track.
- ClearWater Conservancy of Central Pennsylvania, State College, Pa. ($2,000): providing free, hands-on training on how to implement and care for native pollinator gardens.
- Grow Pittsburgh, Pittsburgh ($5,000): providing funds for tools and educational materials to create and launch one new early-childhood education garden or one small K-12 school garden site.
- Hollow Oak Land Trust, Coraopolis, Pa. ($5,000): supporting trail construction and erosion control materials, native trees and seeds for habitat restoration, educational programming, and efforts to complete a small gravel parking area to enhance safe public access.
- Main Street Hanover, Hanover, Pa. ($5,000): supporting the Slagle Run Environmental Education Enhancement Project through educational wayfinding signage and the installation of a concrete pad for viewing the wetland restoration area.
- PA Cleanways of Allegheny County, Etna, Pa. ($5,000): supporting Community Water-based Cleanup events, where volunteers work alongside a crew and fleet of boats to remove trash from the waterways, streams, and riverbanks of Pittsburgh’s three rivers.
- Pittsburgh Botanic Garden, Pittsburgh ($5,000): providing funds for the Allegheny Plateau Ravine Overlook and Garden project to help conserve and cultivate an Ohio River watershed tributary and educate visitors.
- Riverlife, Pittsburgh ($5,000): removing invasive plant species, restoring sites with native plantings, providing workforce training, and supporting staff coordination to ensure effective riverfront restoration along River Avenue.
- South Side Community Council of Pittsburgh, Pittsburgh ($3,000): completing the long-term ecological restoration and reforestation of South Side Park by planting the final 1.5 acres with trees, shrubs, and herbaceous perennials.
- Wildlife Leadership Academy, Lock Haven, Pa. ($5,000): providing scholarship funds for two students to attend the Wildlife Leadership Academy’s Summer Field School.
“True community engagement means investing in meaningful projects that benefit us most where we live and work,” said Reggie Fields, Executive Director of the NiSource Charitable Foundation. “We are proud to collaborate with these outstanding nonprofit organizations and help them fulfill their missions through these vital environmental projects.”
NiSource Inc., the parent company of the NiSource Charitable Foundation, several Columbia Gas-branded companies, and Northern Indiana Public Service Company LLC, serves customers in Virginia, Maryland, Pennsylvania, Ohio, Kentucky, and Indiana. The Environmental Action Grant originated in Indiana over a decade ago.
This year, the NiSource Charitable Foundation expanded the program to all operating companies across NiSource’s six-state service area. In 2026, the Foundation will distribute a total of $250,000 in Environmental Action Grants.