CARRABASSETT VALLEY – Carrabassett Valley Academy officials are using a grant to start an environmental sciences course, CVA spokesman Rick Bisson said Wednesday.

The Plum Creek Foundation made a $4,500 challenge grant to the academy, according to a written statement from Bisson, and the William R. Hill Foundation matched that grant with $10,000.

“This new course will increase our students’ environmental awareness by allowing them to look more closely at issues that impact our community,” said Kate Punderson, director of development at the Carrabassett Valley Academy.

The class is already being offered, Bisson said.

Plum Creek owns and manages more than 928,000 acres of Maine timberland and its foundation provided more than $85,800 in financial support to local organizations last year, according to a Plum Creek release.