New College Completes Summer Program with SBEP Bay Partners Grant Support
New College of Florida recently completed its fourteenth annual summer PUSH and SUCCESS Programs with support from a Sarasota Bay Estuary Program (SBEP) Bay Partners Grant. Other grant supporters included Publix Charities and The Dart Foundation.
PUSH is an acronym for Preparing Unique Students for Healthcare careers. PUSH targets students in grades 9 through 11. SUCCESS is an acronym for Students United to Create Culturally and Educationally Successful Situations. It targets students in grades 6 through 8.
The initiative by New College supports students that may not have access to tools and resources that promote science education. Under the guidance of biology professor Dr. Sandra Gilchrist and her assistants, 34 students performed experiments, recorded observations, completed field trips, and produced data to learn more about the local environment and science protocols.
Another benefit of the summer education program that caught the attention of the SBEP was the effort to show participating students how the vitality of Sarasota Bay is important to the health of area residents.
The annual SBEP Bay Partners Grant Program promotes environmental education, community involvement and citizen stewardship to enhance the quality of Sarasota Bay and its tributaries. SBEP has awarded more than $267,000 in grants since 2003. Other grant projects are currently underway at Riverview High School, Boys & Girls Club of Manatee County, Save Our Seabirds, Gardeners Out East, Sarasota Audubon, Sarasota Environmental Council of Southwest Florida, and the Marie Selby Botanical Gardens.
The SBEP welcomes grant applications from local schools, condo associations, neighborhood associations, nonprofit groups, churches, environmental clubs, and civic groups as long as they are located in either Sarasota or Manatee County. A subcommittee with the SBEP Citizens Advisory Committee (CAC) reviews applications and makes recommendations to the SBEP Policy Board who approve the grants.
The deadline for 2016 grants is 4pm on March 2. Learn more at SarasotaBay.org. Inquiries are welcome at info@sarasotabay.org or call 941-955-8085.