Profiles of Environmental Education Grants Awarded to Organizations in the Virgin Islands
- Indicates a Headquarters grant
2011 Grants
Beyond Visions, Inc. $50,000
Yvonne D. Petersen, 4A Orange Grove, P. O. Box 6324, Christiansed, VI 00823-6324
Beyond Visions Foundation - Project titled Nature Explorer's Club Environmental Alliance
Beyond Visions will implement the Nature Explorers' Club Environmental Alliance by conducting a subgrant program to develop an alliance of sustainable partnerships that increase the public's understanding of public stewardship of the marine environment and promote habitat conservation for sea turtles. Beyond Visions will conduct educational outreach consisting of speakers and video presentations for the partners who will then carry out community projects. The alliance partners will also develop public service announcements about water pollution prevention and marine ecosystem conservation and participate in an environmental stewardship conference to showcase their work. Beyond Visions, Inc. will implement the Nature Explorers' Club Environmental Alliance by conducting a subgrant program developing an alliance of sustainable partnerships increasing the public's understanding of marine environment stewardship and promoting habitat conservation. Beyond Visions, Inc. will conduct educational outreach consisting of speakers and video presentations for the partners who will conduct community projects. The alliance partners will also develop public service announcements about water pollution prevention and marine ecosystem conservation and participate in an environmental stewardship conference to showcase their work. The clubs will carry out beach clean ups and programs to increase use of reusable shopping bags to reduce the problem of plastic bags in the marine ecosystem. Beyond Visions, Inc. will support outreach to the public by providing training and web access to partners who will develop Public Service Announcements so that the public at large can learn about marine environment issues. The grantee will host an Environmental Stewardship Conference to showcase the PSAs, select the top PSA for wide distribution and publicize and encourage participation in club/local stewardship projects by posting them on their website’s "shout out" page.
2001 Grants
University of the Virgin Islands in St. Thomas $14,130
Julie Wright, University of Virgin Islands, #2 John Brewers Bay, St. Thomas, VI 00802-9990
Virgin Island Home and Farm Water Quality Assessment Education and Outreach
Using materials that speak to the special needs of communities in the Virgin Islands, the project expands on the existing Virgin Islands Home and Farm Water Quality Assessment (VI*A*Syst) Program to educate residents about water quality and practices that can cause destruction of the important marine and terrestrial ecosystems in the Virgin Islands and teach them how to detect contaminants in drinking water. Through educational materials, workshops, and site visits, participants are encouraged to adopt practices in and around the home and farm that protect their health and safeguard water quality. The program, promoted by a multimedia campaign, also provides residents who obtain their drinking water from cisterns with low-cost water-testing kits, along with training in the use of the kits.
2000 Grants
University of the Virgin Islands (UVI) $5,000
Mayra Suarez-Velez, #2 John Brewers' Bay, St. Thomas, VI 00802
Understanding Coastal Pollution: A Dynamic Approach to Environmental Teaching
The Sea-Grant Virgin Islands Marine Advisory Service and the Mathematics and Science Department of the University of the Virgin Islands (UVI) are partners on this program to provide needed graphic environmental education materials and field experiences that engage students between the ages of 8 and 10. A medium that appeals to younger students, a comic book, is in development, with thought-provoking activities that depict characters who reflect the Virgin Islands' cultural diversity: black, Indian, Latino, and white ethnic backgrounds. The central issue is preservation of the future livelihood, as well as the environmental integrity, of the Virgin Islands through an understanding of the human impact on the Virgin Islands' precious tropical coastal zones. Five workshops are held to provide the perspective of teachers during development of the materials. Through 15 workshop presentations, approximately 400 students have the opportunity to complement the book activities with an interactive field experience at the MacLean Marine Science Center at UVI. In addition, the materials are slated for wide distribution at Coastweek and Earth Day events in the Virgin Islands.
1999 Grants
St. Croix Aquarium and Marine Education Center $5,000
Longin Kaczmarsky, P. O. Box 1217, Frederiksted, St. Croix, VI 00841
Education Program: Marine Ecosystem Protection Video
This program educates the public about the marine ecosystem by training staff of the Marine Education Center to teach educators, students, and the general public about protecting local marine ecosystems. Participants learn how to engage center visitors in activities that help them better understand local environments. They also learn how activities such as discharge of untreated sewage, damage to coral reefs caused by commercial activities, and non-point-source pollution affect the island's priceless ecosystems. Among the goals of the project is the fostering of effective education about marine ecosystems in local public schools. A video is being produced to facilitate the training of current and future staff.
St. Croix Environmental Association. Inc. $12,014
Robin Freeman, Arawak Building, Suite 3, Gallows Bay, Christiansted, St. Croix, VI 00820
My Environment
The St. Croix Environmental Association, Inc. is doubling the current offerings of its My Environment program, which emphasizes the development of an understanding of the special characteristics of St. Croix's land and sea ecosystems and the effects of human activity on those ecosystems. The program reaches more than 2,000 children through in-school, after-school, and Saturday programs and an Earth Day Eco-Fair. The program includes study of a Caribbean seafood web; identification of mangroves and study of their importance; field trips; and hands-on activities that teach the importance of reduction of solid waste, reforestation, and community involvement.
1998 Grants
Virgin Islands Conservation Society, Inc. $8,940
Grethelyn D. Piper, P. O. Box 12379, St. Thomas, VI 00801
ECO-Camps
This program targets 60 seventh-grade students in urban public junior high schools in the U.S. Virgin Islands. It seeks to reach young people who have little access to environmental education and provide them with an opportunity to learn about and experience their natural environment. The program fosters students' interest in environmental careers, provides first-hand experience with habitats and ecosystems of the Virgin Islands that currently are threatened by human activities, emphasizes the role that habitats play in a healthy environment, and teaches the basic concepts of ecology and practices that conserve resources.
1994 Grants
University of the Virgin Islands $4,994
Marcia G. Taylor, Eastern Caribbean Center, Virgin Islands Marine Advisory Service (VIMAS), Charlotte Amalie, St. Thomas, VI 00802
Marine Field Service Curriculum
For this project, the Virgin Islands Marine Advisory Service will develop marine field service curriculum materials for the Virgin Islands Department of Education. These materials, which will be suitable for use in any tropical environment, will serve as a pilot program in St. Croix Central High School's field studies center. The project will expand the school's marine science curriculum and educate students about local marine resources.