Profiles of Environmental Education Grants Awarded to Organizations in Rhode Island
- Indicates a Headquarters grant
Environmental Justice League of Rhode Island $150,000
Julian Rodriquez-Drix, 1192 Westminster St., Providence, RI 02909
Community Environmental College
The Community Environmental College (CEC) is a summer program engaging primarily youth of color, ages 13-19, from low-income communities in Rhode Island’s core urban areas. The main goals of the project are to enable urban youth to build the knowledge, skills and personal commitment necessary for effectively improving environmental conditions in the areas disproportionately affected by environmental concerns; prepare students to grow their leadership capacity through hands-on experiences with environmental education and program coordination, creating a new generation of environmental leaders while increasing the capacity of the communities to understand, mitigate, and adapt to climate change; and develop interest in pursuing careers in the environmental sector. One of CEC’s central themes, around which the curriculum is built, is growing students’ and their communities’ understanding in addressing climate change. Also emphasized are the effects of toxics on the human health and ways to make personal, healthier choices to improve quality of life and reduce environmental health disparities.
Environmental Justice League of Rhode Island $38,860
Amelia Rose, 1192 Westminister Street, Providence, RI 02909
ECO Youth: Multimedia Community Educators.
ECO Youth Multimedia Community Educators project partners with Brown University's Superfund Research Program, Children's Environmental Health Initiative, The Center for Environmental Studies, Rhode Island Department of Health, Clean Water Action, Providence After School Alliance, and Youth Ventures. The project offers a year-round after-school program to mostly underserved high school students on air quality, toxics, and household chemicals to reduce exposure of VOCs, particular emissions and other asthma triggers. It creates a youth-run group that builds the capacity of local communities to address environmental justice concerns on issues of toxic substances and air quality through youth-run public presentations. Through this education, youth and community members reduce their exposure to possible asthma triggers in both indoor and outdoor environments.
Audubon Society of Rhode Island $20,124
Kristen Swanberg, 12 Sanderson Road, Smithfield, RI 02917
Schoolyard Science for Urban Ecosystems
The Schoolyard Science for Urban Ecosystems teacher training provides workshops for under-served urban educators for grades 3, 4, and 5 in the cities of Pawtucket, Central Falls, Providence, East Providence, and Woonsocket. The program includes education on urban air and water pollution, recycling, and limited natural spaces. The workshops, each with its own theme, provide materials (a tool kit) and create a more environmentally literate staff and student body. They also strengthen the EE skills and environmental knowledge of the participating teachers and then are incorporated into the daily curriculum, adding more environmental inquiry and problem-solving activities, real-world learning experiences, project-based learning, interdisciplinary study, and community involvement. There is a significant need in Rhode Island to improve science education and using the schoolyard as an outdoor classroom is an ideal platform to do so.
Southside Community Land Trust $33,453
Leo Pollock, 109 Somerset Street, Providence, RI 02907
A Living Laboratory for Environmental Education
This program educates elementary through high school students who study the environmental, economic, and social impact of urban agriculture through analysis of the ecosystems of three urban food gardens. Focusing on a 3/4-acre farm in a city's neighborhood and on two gardens at local schools in the city, participants learn about pollution threats in the urban setting and sustainable methods of mitigating these threats. Trained scientists lead this educational effort as students assess how these three food gardens contribute to the health of the city. This program assesses the contribution gardens make to the health of the urban environment, identifies steps to enhance each garden's positive environmental impact, and stresses their importance in protecting the biodiversity of the city. Southside Community Land Trust (SCLT) has partnered with two colleges and a local agency to work with 6 to 14 year old students and the public on this project. The staff implements the curriculum through the SCLT's Youth Garden Club programs.
Scituate School Department $14,895
Shannon Donovan, 197 Danielson Pike, North Scituate, RI 02857
Using Technology in Environmental Monitoring to Promote Natural Resource Conservation
This project trains teachers and students in the use of state-of-the-art mapping technologies. Students learn to use both global positioning systems (GPS) and geological information systems (GIS) for mapping a variety of environmental parameters in the community, including invasive species, nonpoint pollution sources, and water quality monitoring stations. Participants learn about threats to the natural resources and generate management plans as solutions.
2006 Grants
Childhood Lead Action Project $23,311
Roberta Hazen Aaronson, 1192 Westminister Street, Providence, RI 02909
Rhode Island Lead Hazard Mitigation DVD (Spanish)
Owners of rental property in Rhode Island are required by law to take an awareness course about lead. This organization is creating and developing a DVD in Spanish to illustrate lead-safe practices that can be carried out by owners of rental properties. The DVD complements the other materials used in the 3-hour Lead Hazard Mitigation Course to educate participants on lead-safe work practices. This project includes three phases: creating a workshop to design and film the DVD, training instructors on use of the DVD, and alerting the target audience that the DVD is available.
Save The Bay $10,756
Patricia A. DeMarco, 100 Save The Bay Drive, Providence, RI 02905
Girls in Science Bay Camp: Pilot Program
This project educates middle school-age girls in a 2-week summer camp that provides instruction on degradation of water quality, destruction versus restoration of critical habitats, and the health of various watersheds. There are two camps: one at Bay Center in Providence, and the other at Fort Adams in Newport. Included in the program is exploration of careers in science, and particularly marine science. Students have an in-classroom session with discussion, laboratory work, group work, compiling and analyzing data, a lunchtime career seminar with speakers, and an “on-the-water session” (kayaking, snorkeling, water quality studies, and trawling for critters).
2005 Grants
Childhood Lead Action Project $15,594
Roberta Hazen Aaronson, 1192 Westminister Street, Providence, RI 02909
Creation of a Lead Video
Owners of rental property in Rhode Island are required by law to take a lead awareness course that provides the information and resources they need to work with lead-based paint safely and to avoid poisoning children during maintenance. The Childhood Lead Action Project is creating and developing a videotape on safe work practices with lead for use in a 3-hour Lead Hazard Mitigation course and is educating course instructors. The videotape complements the existing educational materials while educating owners on safe lead work practices.
Groundwork Providence $9,497
Sally Turner, 69 Washington Street, Providence, RI 02903
Education Team Tree Task Force
The Groundwork Providence’s (GWP) Education Team Tree Task Force (E-team) is developing activities and hands-on service projects to teach the importance of clean, safe, and beautified neighborhoods to elementary and middle school children and neighborhood groups. The E-team consists of underserved high school-age youth and partners with the Providence Neighborhood Planting Program and Rhode Island Tree Council. The E-team youth and elementary and middle school children work throughout the summer and academic year on the environmental stewardship tree program. The goals of this project are to create, develop, and implement a tree stewardship program through weekly meetings with the students, create a similar program for neighborhood groups that receive street tree grants, develop plans for sustainable tree plantings around the schools where they teach, and lead tree plantings in school yards and neighborhoods where they work.
2004 Grants
Save The Bay $24,789
Michelle McAlpin, 434 Smith Street, Providence, RI 02908
Hands-on Field Science for Urban High School Students
In collaboration with Central Falls and Newport's Rogers High School, this project educates biology students in grades 10 through 12 from low-income urban communities about the connection between their community and the environmental health of the Narragansett Bay estuary and its watershed. Because many of the students participating will not attend a 4 year college, the project is also intended to expose them to possible environmental education careers.
Wood-Pawcatuck Watershed Association $5,000
Denise J. Poyer, 203-B Arcadia Road, Hope Valley, RI 02832
Standardizing Water Quality Monitoring
This project standardizes water quality monitoring protocols used by Rhode Island and Connecticut middle and high schools by providing a format for publishing data and supports teachers in their development of students' science skills. By enabling schools to collect water quality monitoring data in such a way that data comparisons can be made between schools across the states and region, the project enhances the students' sense of stewardship for their local water systems.
Woonasquatucket River Watershed Council $10,326
Jennifer Pereira, 532 Kinsley Avenue, Providence, RI 02909
Woonasquatucket River as a Classroom
Partnering with the Blackstone Valley River Project, this project provides training for about 30 elementary and secondary school teachers who teach students from low-income neighborhoods on how to integrate a river curriculum based on the Woonasquatucket River watershed into their classrooms. The curriculum combines chemistry, biology, earth science, geography, language arts, and mathematics. The project also prepares teachers to educate their students about nonpoint source pollution and the importance of keeping the river clean.
Save The Bay, Inc. $13,408
Michelle McAlpin, 434 Smith Street, Providence, RI 02908
Urban Ecology Field Studies: A Pilot Program in Providence
Save The Bay, Inc., uses an educational model developed by Boston's Urban Ecology Institute to collaborate with Central Falls High School in order to enrich its Applied Biology and Chemistry class. Immediate project goals include increasing students' intellectual and social self-confidence, familiarizing students with the scientific method, and increasing urban students' commitment to environmental stewardship and civic leadership. A larger goal is to acquaint students with the connection between what happens in their community and the environmental health of the Narragansett Bay estuary and its watershed.
State of Rhode Island - Department of Environmental Management $16,848
Thomas Getz, 235 Promenade Street, Providence, RI 02908
Public Awareness Study
The Rhode Island Department of Environmental Management (RI DEM) is partnering with the Cambodian Society to identify ways to educate a large southeast Asian immigrant population about the potential health problems associated with eating fish caught in freshwater streams and the ocean that contain high levels of mercury and polychlorinated biphenyls. The per capita fish consumption of this group is high, and Rhode Island coastal waters have an abundance of blue fish and striped bass. The project is intended to ascertain the best mechanisms for informing the public and for identifying the community's environmental concerns. Approaches include brochures, cable television shows, public service announcements on radio and television, community meetings, and maps showing where people should not fish.
Woonasquatucket River Watershed Council $9,875
Jennifer Pereira, 532 Kinsley Avenue, Providence, RI 02909
Environmental Issues in Your Backyard
The Woonasquatucket River Watershed Council's environmental education initiative raises young people’s awareness of sources of toxins in urban environments and provides critical environmental and health education to children in Olneyville, an underserved urban neighborhood in the Woonasquatucket River corridor in Providence, Rhode Island. As is the case in many impoverished and urban areas, children in Olneyville are exposed to lead, pesticides, and other potential health hazards every day. As part of the project, students are creating educational video with the help of a local artist and are taking these messages back to their families and the broader neighborhood.
2002 Grants
Blackstone Valley Rivers Project $11,514
Michael J. Ferry, One Pine Street, Manville, RI 02838
Blackstone Valley Rivers Project Aquaculture Program
Students from Woonsocket High School and Mount St. Charles Academy team up to research and raise fish in an aquaculture tank housed at Woonsocket High School. The objective of the program is for students to learn the developmental stages of various fish species found in the Blackstone River and to determine the water quality tolerance levels for these species. All fish raised are released into the river at selected sites.
University of Rhode Island $14,925
Carol M. Englander, 305 Memorial Union, Kingston, RI 02881
The SMILE Program: Air Quality and Human Health Learning Experiences
The Science and Mathematics Investigative Learning Experience (SMILE) provides an academic enrichment program for minority and disadvantaged students in grades 4 through 12. The project uses existing environmental health science-based inquiry curricula and career exploration for SMILE participants. The basic units of the program are after-school SMILE club meetings held weekly that emphasize hands-on, inquiry-based learning in a relaxed atmosphere. Teachers review current curricula in air quality and human health during their professional development workshops.
2001 Grants
Groundwork Providence, Inc. $13,977
Sally Turner, 69 Washington Street, Providence, RI 02903
Mashapaug Pond Nature Center Summer Camp Program
Efforts are underway to create an educational garden and trails at Mashapaug Pond in Providence. During the summer of 2001, 30 “Green Team” inner-city youth work throughout the city to develop a new environmental education component for the boating center at the pond. The youth are trained in topics related to brownfields sites, water quality, native and non-native plant species, and recreational and educational use of open green space.
Providence College $4,963
Ethan Clotfelter, 549 River Avenue, Providence, RI 02918
Community-based Network to Monitor Birds as Indicators of PCB Contamination
Polychlorinated biphenyls (PCB) accumulate in body tissues and in animals at the top of the food chain. The project outlines a three-stage examination of herring gulls and common terns that inhabit areas in the vicinity of Narragansett Bay. The effort analyzes PCB levels in bird carcasses and eggs, counts gull and tern populations in contaminated areas, and establishes a network of community observers to accumulate a database of information about levels of PCBs in bird plumage as an indicator of PCB contamination in Narragansett Bay.
2000 Grants
Keep Providence Beautiful $5,000
Sally Turner, 385 Westminster Street, Providence, RI 02903
Summer 2000 Green Team Program
Focusing on eight neighborhoods in Providence, 40 youths, from 14 through 18 years old, work with the community to raise awareness of negative environmental factors, build a sense of stewardship of neighborhood, and increase their knowledge of how to effect change and improve environmental conditions. The youths work on such issues as litter, improper waste disposal, recycling, and vacant lots.
Woonsocket Education Department $12,450
Mike Ferry, Woonsocket High School, 108 High Street, Woonsocket, RI 02895
Northeast River Teacher Training
A five-day hands-on teacher training workshop is held on the Northeast River Curriculum. The training focuses on increasing students' knowledge and understanding of important issues and concepts related to the river, preparing students with the necessary skills to properly investigate and report relevant information about the river, and inspiring students to take action and resolve problems that contribute to the overall deterioration of the river.
1999 Grants
Brown University, Swearer Center for Public Service $24,492
Kris Hermanns, Box 1974, Providence, RI 02912
Environmental Health Action Project
This project involves families in a coordinated effort to improve the health and quality of life of asthmatics. The work supplements existing clinic services with home visits and educational outreach tailored to the language, level of literacy, and health needs of individual families. Workers identify and eliminate environmental factors in the home that trigger asthma attacks.
Narragansett Indian Tribe, Natural Resource Department $4,046
Dinalyn Spears Audette, P. O. Box 268, Charlestown, RI 02813
Active Watershed Management
The Narragansett Indian Tribe developed a plan to protect the environment and the health of its members. The tribe hosts a workshop that is a coordinated effort of the tribe, the Southern Rhode Island Conservation District, and the University of Rhode Island. The Active Watershed Management program also includes eight classroom units, three field trips, and a culminating event. The project also includes distribution of a newsletter that highlights environmental hazards.
University of Rhode Island (URI) Cooperative Extension Education Center $4,938
June Kinigstein, East Alumni Avenue, Kingston, RI 02881-0804
What's a Wetland
Classes of children in third through sixth grades participate in the Guiding Education in Mathematics and Science Network (GEMSNET) program. Students from a wide range of socioeconomic and ethnic backgrounds participate in the program. Children and teachers explore the wetlands with a trained student from the University of Rhode Island (URI) or a URI master gardener as a facilitator.
Woonsocket High School Education Department $5,000
Linda Jzyk, 108 High Street, Woonsocket, RI 02895
Cass Park Conservation Coalition
This project establishes a collaborative effort that involves students, teachers, state and municipal officials, and representatives of community groups in evaluating, monitoring, and restoring Cass Park. A group of students who have been identified as at risk of dropping out of school are implementing the program. The ultimate goal is to reduce pollution of Cass Pond by storm-water runoff, improve the landscape of Cass Park, and develop the area into an ecoclassroom.
1998 Grants
Environment Council of Rhode Island Education Fund, Inc. $5,000
Guy Lefebyre, P. O. Box 40568, Providence, RI 02940
Building the Foundation for Comprehensive Environmental Education
The Rhode Island Education Fund seeks to include environmental education into the curricula of elementary and secondary schools throughout the state through current efforts to bring about education reform. The fund supports 10 three-member teams who assess environmental education curricula. The teams also establish a contact at each of the 416 schools in the state to keep educators aware of high-quality environmental education materials. The fund also is establishing an environmental education World Wide Web site to make each school's contact person available to the environmental education community.
Keep Providence Beautiful $5,000
Laura Archambault, 385 Westminister Street, Providence, RI 02903
Green Team Environmental Education
Keep Providence Beautiful (KPB) has organized green teams to educate minority youth ages 14 to 18 about the importance of a clean, safe, and beautiful neighborhood. In the summer, 13 teams pick up litter in their neighborhoods and plant and maintain public spaces. In the winter, the teams apply what they have learned by working with KPB environmental clubs in the local elementary schools. An environmental educator teaches the importance of safe practices in the management of solid waste and how to design and plant environmentally sustainable public spaces. The educator visits each team to reinforce the lessons taught and ensure that the teams' projects are sound. The educator also assists members in passing along what they learn through their summer experience to the elementary school environmental clubs they will work with in the winter.
The Salt Ponds Coalition $5,000
Brenda Dillman, P. O. Box 875, Charlestown, RI 02813
Innovative On-Site Wastewater Management, a Video Produced by Students
Under this project, students produce a 15-minute video on wastewater management in Rhode Island. With on-site wastewater disposal systems a high-priority environmental issue in the state, the video provides an overview of state and local regulations governing septic systems and an array of advanced wastewater technologies currently being piloted. The students, along with active community environmental groups, also take responsibility for distribution of the video.
1997 Grants
Rhode Island Association of Wetland Scientists $2,287
James G. Turek, P. O. Box 1514, Providence, RI 02901-1514
Wetlands Training Workshops Program
This program provides a full-day workshop for high school teachers, staff of local government agencies, members of the conservation commission, and advanced-level high school students. The participants learn how to identify and classify wetlands and examine their structure and functions. Providing participants expanded opportunities to take part in field activities, the project instructs them in the ecological functions and societal values that wetlands provide, such as protection of water quality and wildlife habitat. The workshops help teachers improve their teaching skills, encourage students to enter environmental careers, and guide local government officials in using sound science as the basis for decisions about regulation and management of wetlands. The Audubon Society of Rhode Island is a partner with the Rhode Island Association of Wetland Scientists in the project.
Southside Community Land Trust $10,000
Carol Millette, 288 Dudley Street, Providence, RI 02907
Creation and Integration of an EcoLab into an Existing Ecoliteracy Curriculum
This project integrates an ecology laboratory into an existing ecoliteracy curriculum. The project provides biweekly teacher training through workshops that feature dynamic classroom presentations. Teachers and students work to reclaim a 3,775-square-foot lot adjacent to the Asa Messer Elementary School. Their efforts are creating the ecology laboratory, which includes an artificial wetland, a woodland, and a pond, as well as shrubs, trees, and plants that attract and support amphibians, birds, and butterflies and other insects. The school is a partner with the Southside Community Land Trust in the project.
The Nature Conservancy $25,000
Christopher Littlefield, Bioreserve Manager, P. O. Box 1287, Block Island, RI 02807
The Block Island Environmental Education Program
The Block Island Environmental Education Program increases the understanding and commitment of teachers, students, families, and other members of local communities to the protection of the fragile natural resources of Block Island. The project targets 130 students in all grade levels, every elementary school teacher in the system, several secondary-level teachers, and 800 permanent residents of the island. It offers participants outdoor experiences and hands-on projects that encourage sharing of experience through displays, articles, contributions of information, and presentations by students. The Block Island program is a new partnership between the Nature Conservancy and the Block Island School.
1996 Grants
Rhode Island Zoological Society, Roger Williams Park Zoo $4,997
Dr. Anne Savage, 1000 Elmwood Avenue, Providence, RI 02907
Water of Our World: Monitoring Ecosystems in Southern New England and Colombia
Water of Our World: Monitoring Ecosystems in Southern New England and Colombia, South America is expanding on an existing project in which teachers and students from Rhode Island and Colombia learn about water quality, perform water quality monitoring, and share information between the two countries. This year, seven teachers with nearly 240 sixth through tenth grade students from Rhode Island and three teachers with 120 students from Colombia will participate in this program by monitoring and working to preserve a river near each school.
Southern Rhode Island Conservation District $5,000
Charlotte Spang, P. O. Box 1522, Kingston, RI 02881
Active Watershed Education for the Narrow River and Saugatucket River Watersheds
The Active Watershed Education project is increasing awareness and knowledge about the Narrow River and Saugatucket River watersheds and providing the future stewards of these watersheds with the skills needed to make informed decisions about local environmental issues. The program will revise and disseminate existing watershed-specific curriculum guides, train 20 upper elementary and middle school teachers in the uses of this curriculum, and assist teachers and their students in assessing local environmental issues and conducting student-driven, community action projects related to these issues.
The Providence Plan, Providence $5,000
Jane Sherman, The Hanley Building, 56 Pine Street, Providence, RI 02903
Woonasquatucket River Environmental Education Program
Woonasquatucket River Environmental Education Program for educators and residents is teaching area residents about the benefits of the river and its wildlife habitats and enabling them to educate others about the subject. Joined by the Community Outreach Coordinator of the Providence Plan, the Rhode Island Audubon Society will work with teachers in elementary and middle schools along the river corridor, train a staff of five from the organization Progresso Latino, and train adults from communities along the river. The organization will select existing environmental education materials, translate them into Spanish, and use them for the training program. Once trainers have been trained, ongoing outreach programs to additional area residents will be conducted.
University of Rhode Island, Cooperative Extension Education Center $4,959
June Kinigstein, East Alumni Avenue, Kingston, RI 02881-0804
School Yard Gardens Project
This project will provide hands-on training and curriculum materials to enable 20 first through sixth grade teachers to establish and maintain with their students a natural vegetable and herb garden on their school grounds. Project objectives are for children in participating schools to become knowledgeable and skilled in pollution prevention concepts and techniques related to water, soils, and nonpolluting alternatives to pesticides and herbicides.
1995 Grants
Childhood Lead Action Project $5,000
Eleanor Freda, 421 Elmwood Avenue, Providence, RI 02907
Community Education Project
This project is a lead poisoning prevention initiative providing education and training for community-based service providers. Individuals are trained in culturally-appropriate approaches to lead poisoning prevention using existing materials, translated as needed. The program targets children under six and their families in low income, mostly minority neighborhoods of Rhode Island.
Rhode Island 4-H Foundation $4,000
Kim Anderson, 17 Smith Ave., Greenville, RI 02818
Series: "Science Experience & Resources for Informal Education Setting"
The purpose of this project is to improve elementary educators' environmental education teaching skills and develop teams of teen instructors through state-wide training in the use of the SERIES curriculum. This teen-led science education program reaches approximately 2,000 youth throughout the state, increasing their understanding of environmental science through the use of creative thinking and the hands-on experience of obtaining and analyzing scientific data.
Rhode Island Zoological Society $4,992
Anne Savage Ph.D., 1000 Elmwood Ave., Providence, RI 02907
An International Perspective on Water Conservation, Roger Williams Park Zoo
Through a partnership with Colombia that focuses on developing an effective conservation plan for the highly endangered cotton-top tamarin, this project includes workshops for seven U.S. teachers and three Colombian teachers, with a goal of reaching 360 students. The subject matter concentrates on global issues in water conservation and how it effects not only the lives of humans in the U.S. and Colombia, but some of the world's most endangered species such as the cotton-top tamarin.
Roger Williams University $11,000
Susan Pasquarelli, Old Ferry Road, Bristol, RI 02809-2921
Water Supply and Conservation Curriculum
This project is a collaborative effort with the State's Department of Environmental Management's Division of Water Supply to provide 6th grade teachers with an inquiry-guided water supply conservation curriculum; provide 6th grade students with tools for authentic scientific inquiry; and raise the awareness of Rhode Island citizens through a student-led community survey. The target audience includes 600 6th grade teachers, 12,000 6th grade students, and 5,000 citizens for the survey.
Southern Rhode Island Conservation District $5,000
Carl Sawyer, P. O. Box 1145, 5 Mechanic Street, Hope Valley, RI 02832
Active Watershed Education Program
This project adapts an existing curriculum to include activities on groundwater to meet the needs of the local community. The curriculum then will be used to train 20 teachers in the watershed to incorporate a watershed education program into their existing curricula. Assuming 25 students per class, a total of 500 students will be reached with this project.
The Nature Conservancy $10,000
Kevin Doyle, P. O. Box 1287, Block Island, RI 02807
Green Gateways: Sensitizing Block Island Visitors
This project reaches 250,000 to 500,000 visitors per year at Block Island with the message that people have input to the ecosystem of the island. The instructional method used includes educational display boards strategically placed at various gateways to the island: airport terminals, ferry docks, and natural and cultural landmarks such as Great Salt Pond. The environmentally-responsible message will also reach Block Island's residents and schoolchildren.
1994 Grants
Childhood Lead Action Project $5,000
Eleanor Freda, 421 Elmwood Ave., Providence, RI 02907
Childhood Lead Action Project
"The Childhood Lead Action Project" will train a myriad of outreach workers providing services to families of young children by making lead poisoning prevention a basic component of their work. Through workshops, partnerships will be established among diverse agencies like Visiting Nurses Associations, Early Start Programs, and Parents as Teachers. In this way, knowledge of lead poisoning and of the ways to prevent it will lead to a lead-safe environment throughout Rhode Island.
Save The Bay $5,000
Fred Massie, 434 Smith Street, Providence, RI 02908
Narragansett BayWork
The "Narragansett BayWork" project is designed to increase environmental awareness and pollution prevention using a specially-designed poster and brochure program. The program will target adults in the workplace, including 15 businesses, blue and white-collar, located throughout southeastern New England. Through the use of the posters and brochures, the program seeks to increase the environmental literacy of employees from low-income minority communities and create partnerships between area businesses and Save The Bay.
Southern Rhode Island Conservation District $5,000
Carl Sawyer, 5 Mechanic St., P. O. Box 1145, Hope Valley, RI 02832
Pawcatuck Watershed Education Program Curriculum Guide
This grant funds the development of the Pawcatuck Watershed Education Program Curriculum Guide, which will serve as the basis for teacher training workshops to be provided to seven elementary and middle schools in the Pawcatuck Watershed area. A part-time employee will promote, organize, and conduct the workshops. The goal of the workshops is to have the teacher incorporate environmental awareness and heightened appreciation for the watershed in their school year curricula. The project will also foster partnerships among the district, educational institutions, and government and nonprofit organizations. The guide's effectiveness will be evaluated using pre- and post-tests to be administered by the teachers.
1993 Grants
Audubon Society of Rhode Island $5,000
Eugenia Marks, 12 Sanderson Road, Smithfield, RI 02917
Bay Animals Like It Clean and Salty
The "Bay Animals Like It Clean and Salty" project provides a curriculum and kit about the effects of pollution on Narraganset Bay. The target audience, students in grades 7 and 8 and their teachers, will learn about watershed pollution and its impact on the ecosystem of receiving waters of this and other estuaries.
Rhode Island Department of Environmental Management $14,525
Elizabeth Scott, 291 Promenade Street, Providence, RI 02908
Water for Today and Tomorrow
The "Water for Today and Tomorrow" project involves the dissemination of a water conservation curriculum, teacher training, and video production of an original musical puppet show entitled "Saven R. Drinkwater Speaks." The program teaches primary grade children the basics of what water is, where it comes from, how it is used, where it goes, and how dirty or polluted water becomes reusable.
Rhode Island Zoological Society $4,940
Anne Savage, Roger Williams Park Zoo, 1000 Elmwood Avenue, Providence, RI 02907
An International Perspective on Water Conservation
The project entitled "An International Perspective on Water Conservation" includes monitoring ecosystems in Rhode Island and Colombia. The project involves training teachers in both countries in water quality monitoring techniques and exchanging data on selected local sites between schools. Through this program, students from similar socioeconomic backgrounds not only address local environmental issues, but also explore global water conservation issues.
University of Rhode Island $4,979
Ernest Morreira, Research Office, 70 Lower College Road, Kingston, RI 02881
Classroom Worm Composting Demonstration
The "Classroom Worm Composting Demonstration" project provides teachers with a curriculum, materials, equipment, and training and support in the curriculum's use. The project enables the teachers to educate 4th through 9th graders in municipal solid waste. The worm, as a "natural waste manager," is the focus for teaching the concepts and practices of environmental risk reduction of solid waste.
University of Rhode Island, Graduate School of Oceanography $140,447
Lynne Carter Hanson, Narragansett Bay Campus, Narragansett, RI 02882
Middle School Teacher Institute on Global Change and Health Issues
The "Middle School Teacher Institute on Global Change and Health Issues" project is intended to train middle school teachers, through workshops and curriculum development in science, mathematics, and social studies to supplement current state mandated health curricula for grades 5 through 8. The project develops partnerships with the Audubon Society of Rhode Island, the Roger Williams Park Zoo, and the State of Rhode Island Department of Elementary and Secondary Education.
1992 Grants
Community Preparatory School, Inc. $12,500
Providence, RI 02907
Earthworks Project
The "Earthworks Project" focuses on assisting non-science educators, grades 4 through 8, to integrate environmental education curricula into their subjects.
Washington Park United Methodist Church $5,000
Providence, RI 02907
Childhood Lead Action Project
The "Childhood Lead Action Project" involves implementing for young children and parents in Rhode Island grass-roots education and outreach programs in the prevention of childhood lead poisoning.