Mission Statement    To Apply     Past Recipients

To Apply:

Last year, we received 100 applications and were only able to fund four proposals, a funding rate of 4%! So, in order to reduce the amount of time that applicants spend in preparing grants that will not be funded, we have changed our application procedure.

Applications will occur in two steps:

1. A single page "pre-proposal" should be submitted via email. The last day for pre-proposals for 2009 is now Sept 20, 2009 

• This pre-proposal will summarize the application. An application form is here. The pre-proposal must not exceed one page.

• Pre-proposals can be submitted at any time- you will receive notification of whether you can proceed to the full proposal stage within a week or so after you send your pre-proposal. 

• Pre-proposals must be submitted via email to info@mgaef. Please use PRE-PROPOSAL in the subject line. It is strongly preferred that you submit the proposal as a PDF. You can easily convert your word document to a pdf at http://convert.neevia.com/ 

• Pool of eligibility:
  Consideration for funds from The Melinda Gray Ardia Environmental Foundation is available to everyone regardless of race, gender, religion, national origin, age, handicap, or sexual orientation.

• Any organization is eligible to apply... schools, non-profits, governmental agencies and others. The only criterion is that we can only provide funds to an organization not to an individual. If you are self-employed, you need to find a sponsoring organization.

• We fund organizations across the globe, for example in Kenya, Guatemala, Chile and Bangladesh. 

2. A subset of these proposals will be selected to submit a full proposal.

• You should only submit a full proposal if you receive a request to do so based on your pre-proposal.

• Full proposals are due September 25, 2009. Email is the preferred way to submit the proposal. Please send to info@mgaef.org. It is strongly preferred that you submit the proposal as a PDF. You can easily convert your word document to a pdf at http://convert.neevia.com/

• If you prefer to send your full proposal by mail, it should be sent to:

The Melinda Gray Ardia Environmental Foundation
1024 Wheatland Ave.
Lancaster, PA 17603

For full proposals, your application should provide the following information:

1. An application form is required and can be downloaded here.

2. A proposal that indicate the focus, mission, and/or philosophy of the curriculum. Include the following sections:

Project Description:
What do you plan to do and to accomplish?
What grades/ages are involved?
Where will this work occur?

Rationale:
Why is your project important?

Goals and Objectives:
Be specific and try to avoid vague and jargon-filled descriptions

Methods:
How will the project be conducted?

Impacts:
What areas of content will your curriculum address?
Are there broader community impacts?

3. A budget. We give grants of up to $1500. If the MGAEF contribution will be part of a larger requirement, include the total budget of the project indicating what our funds will support).

If your total budget exceeds $1500, as many projects do, it is important to:

(1) State whether you have obtained or applied for additional funds
(2) Give an honest appraisal of whether the project can succeed without these additional funds but with our $1500 grant.

4. A letter of endorsement that convinces us that the curriculum (or equivalent) will be implement. Generally this is from the science supervisor and principal of the school involved. If other partners are involved, letters from these sources are requested. If you work with many schools, letters from them all are not required.

5. A timetable of when work will be conducted and completed.

6. Resumés of key individuals involved. This is your chance to convince us that you can do what you propose to do.

7. A stated understanding that the Foundation will require a progress report, with the preferred product the curriculum itself.

Pool of eligibility:
Consideration for funds from The Melinda Gray Ardia Environmental Foundation is available to everyone regardless of race, gender, religion, national origin, age, handicap, or sexual orientation.

Any organization is eligible to apply... schools, non-profits, governmental agencies and others. The only criterion is that we can only provide funds to an organization not to an individual. If you are self-employed, you need to find a sponsoring organization.

We fund organizations across the globe, for example in Kenya, Guatemala, Chile and Bangladesh. 

Past Recipients

2008

Eyak Village Schools, Cordova, Alaska

Spoon River College, Macomb, Illinois

Baldwin Biomonitoring, Quincy, Illinois

Cardigan Mountain School, Canaan, NH

2007

P.E.A.C.E., Bangladesh

This wonderful project is the design of a former Peace Corps volunteer in Bangladesh. She has returned  to work with local teachers to develop and implement an environmental curriculum based around conserving endangered primates in Bangladesh. She spent the summer there with great success!

Secondary School for Law, Brooklyn, New York

Global Environmental Teachings Program, Stevens Point, WI

Teachers in Stevens Point have partnered with a school in Puerto Rico to link their teaching. They use the example of migratory birds to show the interconnection between their two communities. Our funds will purchase equipment for the teachers in Puerto Rico to allow for better integration.

2006

L.I.F.E. School, Lake Atitlan, Guatemala

Our funds will support a long-term stream monitoring program described by the applicants as: “The purpose of this project is to teach children in the Lake Atitlán region of Guatemala to analyze the water quality of local streams through the collection of macroinvertebrates.” We particularly liked that the project was integrated into the classroom curriculum and included a strong hypothesis testing and experimental design component. 

Cameron, West Virginia

Continuing with the stream-monitoring theme, we funded a project intended to assess factors affecting stream health in nearby streams. Again, we were impressed with integration of the field research into the overall curriculum and the very strong hypothesis testing aspect.

2005:

Trees for Life, Gimomoi Youth Polytechnic, Kenya

Our funds will support a community-based agroforestry project run by the local school. The students will design and build the tree nursery and then work with local farmers and landowners to plant trees for food, forage and erosion control. We are particularly excited about this project because of Melinda's service with US Peace Corps in Kenya. We thank ICRAF for assisting us with making this grant possible. Photos available here.

Butler Elementary School, Avon, MA

Our funds will provide 6th grade students an opportunity to engage in an authentic wetland assessement and management project. They will use a Rapid Assessment approach to characterize the condition of freshwater wetlands near their school. They will use GIS and field techniques to develop simple research projects to monitor local water quality.

2004:

Juan Fernandez Islands Conservancy. Seattle, WA

Our funds will support environmental education in the Juan Fernandez Islands off the coast of Chile, in South America. The Juan Fernandez Islands Conservancy addresses conservation issues on many levels and our support will directly support the work of local educators in conducting local-based programs to increase awareness of the terrestrial and marine environments.

2003:

Highland Central School. Warrenton, VA

Our funds will support the "Hawks Get Wet" project at Highland School. Students will be doing local-based monitoring and surveying to compare how well replicated wetlands maintain function and support species relative to natural wetland areas. In addition to surveying local critters, they will also design and conduct experiments and utilize this system to better learn basic biology and the process of conducting research.

2002:

Telluride Institute, Telluride, CO

Our funds will support the San Miguel Watershed Education Project of the Telluride Institute. We will help develop and implement curriculum packets associated with the ecology and conservation of the San Miguel River in southwestern Colorado. This project is intended to build links between the local ecology and scientific concepts.

2001:

Clarence Central School District, Clarence, NY

Our funds went directly to the school district to develop environmental curricula associated with a newly established nature center: the Clarence Interpretive Conservation Demonstration and Education Center. This 57-acre woodland retreat is located near all District schools and is intended to serve as a living laboratory for science classes. We supported initial teacher workshops for a team of teachers to begin preliminary curriculum to integrate the Center into the science standards.

William Newman and Heather Perretta, Poland Central Schools, Poland, NY

These teachers will take a small group of students from rural Poland and urban Proctor schools into the Adirondacks mountains to teach scientific design and inquiry associated with factors affecting stream quality. The students themselves will develop a module to take back to larger classrooms to teach others how humans can impact aquatic ecosystems. Our funds went directly for curriculum development.

2000:

Tom Conrad and Elizabeth Frey, Scarsdale, NY, Long Island Sound Project

The Long Island Sound Project is an interdisciplinary unit combining science and public policy. Students developed independent projects that incorporated scientific research and management recommendations while working with local nonprofit environmental groups. Our funds supported curriculum development.

1999:

James Gardineer and Joseph Saccone, Mahopac, NY, Mahopac Middle School Nature Trail Project.

Our funds will support both curriculum development and the purchase of materials to design and construct an interpretive nature trail in Mahopac in Putnam County, NY. It is an interdisciplinary project incorporating natural sciences, environmental interpretation, and technology. The teachers will design a nature trail and create a curriculum that stresses basic scientific principles and stewardship. Students will develop the trail guide and other interpretive materials such as a web site and will design and build an information kiosk (built in part with our funds). The nature trail will be open to the public and will be utilized by over 4000 students.

Paul Scott and Paul Favata, Niskayuna, NY, Student Projects in Environmental Issues.

Our funds will support the purchase of equipment needed to implement a project-oriented environmental science curriculum in Niskayuna in Albany County, NY. Through four field and classroom-based projects, students learn how to frame scientific questions, collect pertinent data, and analyze and disseminate their results. The four projects are (1) wetlands and watershed monitoring, (2) an old-growth forest survey, (3) bat conservation and habitat selection through bat house construction, and(4) a community light pollution survey. All four projects address real scientific questions and conservation issues and involve the use of a Geographic Information System (GIS). Our funds will be used to purchase the needed software.

1998:

Scott Jordan and Nancy Sampson, Cuba, NY, Cuba-Rushford Central School Ecosystem Project.

The Ecosystem Project teaches principles of aquatic science and builds hands-on skills through the process of raising trout from fry to a releasable size in an integrated pond, spawning stream and fish hatchery system constructed next to the school. Our funds supported curriculum development associated with the project. They recently received a $40,000 Educational Excellence grant from the Regional Planning and Development Company to develop a remote data-collection system. The computer-linked set of probes will collect data on baseline conditions Students at Cuba-Rushford and across the world via the internet will be able to access information on such variables as pH, dissolved oxygen, and pond turnover.

1997:

Rosemary Catlin and Kathleen Galvani, Brockport Central Schools, Brockport, NY. Integrating art and natural history.

We provided funds to help develop the Robert A. Ellis Nature Trail, a nature trail next to the high school in Brockport. Previous to applying, Ms. Catlin, a art teacher, and Ms. Galvani, a science teacher, had developed a curriculum that integrated natural history observation and scientific methodology through field-based drawing and journals. Students learn by patiently observing nature and record their observations through sketches, drawings, and journal entries. Our funds were used to purchase interpretive sign markers and produce pamphlets associated with the nature trail.

Practice resurrection.
Find work if you can that does not damage...

Wendell Berry