Iowa City is springing to Earth Month by reinstating a previously discontinued environmental education programs.

ECO Iowa City is a program offered by the Iowa City Landfill and Recycling Center to provide environmental education programs to the community.

The program was discontinued in 2010 after grant funding had ended. However, recent grant money for $20,000 was obtained from a solid waste alternative program through the Iowa Department of Natural Resources.

“Through reducing areas such as food, water, waste in the holidays, consumption, and energy is an essential theme to reducing waste, and it is a central theme that we focus on,” said Jennifer Jordan, Iowa City recycling coordinator.

Programming is expanding to areas and around the community including Johnson County, Kalona, and Riverside. Jordan said this was only possible because of the new educational facility that was built last April.

“We have lots of activities going on, but now we have a location to actually continue the programming,” she said.

The grant funding will allow city officials to continue programming until the middle of 2014. The funding allows the programs offered with ECO Iowa City to make concrete changes, such as providing free light bulbs, Jordan said.