Lincoln has been awarded $261,985 in federal funding to hire 24 AmeriCorps members to work on environmental projects, Mayor Chris Beutler said Thursday.

The Recovery Go Green initiative is led by the Lincoln Parks and Recreation Department and funded through the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act, with support provided by ServeNebraska, Nebraska Volunteer Service Commission.

"This is the first stimulus grant awarded to our city on a competitive basis," Beutler said. "These funds will allow us to provide a variety of programs focusing on energy and the environment - programs that will have a positive long-term impact in our neighborhoods."

The federal funding will be matched with $123,070 in funding and in-kind services from the city and its partners.

The funds will be used to hire 16 full-time and eight part-time AmeriCorps members.

Projects may include public education on energy and the environment; work on the city's tree canopy and parks; rehabilitation and clean up in Lincoln's core neighborhoods; community gardening; youth programming; and recycling.

For more information on the initiative, contact Deb Buckman, AmeriCorps Grant Coordinator for the Parks and Recreation Department, at 441-4907. More information is also available on the city Web site at lincoln.ne.gov.