2009 Grants

 

Rippowam Middle School in Stamford, Connecticut

The Animal Embassy

The Foundation continued its support for the Rippowam Middle School in Stamford, Connecticut. This year, our $1,500 grant paid for classes at "The Animal Embassy" at the Stamford Nature Center. Twelve girls, aged 11 and 12 years old, attended eight one-hour classes between January and March. They interacted with live exotic animals, and studied topics such as "Classification," "Ecosystem Dynamics," "Keystone Species," "Endangered Species" and "Amazing Adaptations." Alan Hayes, of the Rippowam School, reports that the girls "were fascinated with the effect that each animal has on the environment" and that "many of the girls want to volunteer at Animal Embassy to join the cause of protecting animals and the environment."

The Young Women’s Leadership Network in Harlem, New York City

We have renewed and expanded our support of the Young Women’s Leadership Network. We gave a grant of $6,000, which funded part or all of three separate programs at the Young Women’s School in East Harlem:

Young Science Achievers

This is a science competition that the school has competed in for the past five years. The students create projects, formulate budgets, write formal proposals, follow the projects through to completion, write a report and make a presentation at the final competition. This year the school will have six teams with a total of 16 participants from the 9th, 10th and 11th grades. The Foundation’s funds are paying for three team mentors, who will meet with the teams every Tuesday after school until the final paper is due in May. The mentors will then work with the students through May, and will help them present their final presentations at the symposium in the first week of June. The team projects are:

  • Ocean acidification: how acidification affects growth and survival of marine animals
  • Color perception in rats and how color affects cognitive ability
  • Kudzu: methods of eradication of an invasive plant
  • Beach trash: how non-biodegradable plastics impact marine animals
  • Piermont marsh: a study of water chemistry in interior pools
  • “Worms Ate My Lunch”: how worms can be used to degrade food waste and produce compost for community gardens

Robotics team

As we have for the past two years (see http://www.jakfoundation.org/awards.html), we are supporting an after- school robotics club that participates in a city-wide "BotBall" tournament, a competition where students build robots and compete against schools throughout the city. Approximately 10-15 girls will be in the club. Our grant paid the $2,500 team registration cost, which includes materials for the girls to build their robots.

Seeds to Trees

The Seeds to Trees program helps students and teachers connect with the natural environment that exists within city parks. It provides 6th and 7th grade students with six in-class lessons, transportation for three field experiences, as well as training and on- site support for educators to teach dynamic science lessons. Seeds to Trees includes lessons on topics relating to the natural environment and environmental stewardship, such as learning about the forest ecosystem and the effects of pollution on the health of a forest and the water supply. The Foundation contributed $1,500 toward the $4,480 cost.