Press Release – FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

Local Perrin Family Foundation funds science and math program for Bridgeport students

November 6, 2008 - Groundwork Bridgeport, a local nonprofit organization dedicated to beautifying and enhancing the environment, has been awarded a generous $15,000 grant from The Perrin Family Foundation.  The grant will be used to help fund Groundwork Bridgeport’s Butterflies Are Teachers program at eleven Bridgeport public schools.  The Butterflies Are Teachers (BAT) program engages students to learn and apply math and science to solve real problems associated with raising butterflies and building butterfly gardens.  This innovative program enhances the teacher’s basic curriculum while introducing inner-city youth to the natural environment.

In preparation for their winter and spring teaching assignments with the BAT program, the high school students participate in a variety of outdoor activities at Weir Farm National Historic Site in Ridgefield.  Here they work under the direction of Groundwork science teachers and National Park Service rangers.  This past summer the students built hiking trails, removed invasive plants, rebuilt century-old stone walls, and picked apples for distribution to outreach centers in Bridgeport.  “This place was amazing!  I learned about the people who actually created this park.  I also learned that the rocks that are there were mad by big glaciers.” Nancy Edison student.  Greg Waters, National Park Service horticulturalist, said “The work at Weir Farm is not only a learning experience for the students, but it is also valuable to the park since they are doing work that we do not have the resources to do.”

“The BAT program is specifically designed to teach students how to solve real-world problems by applying principals of science and math. The students quickly internalize the math and science concepts as they apply these principles to solve real problems, and the summer work at Weir Farm has introduced many of the inner city students to nature in a way that they have never experienced before, said Richard Tiani, Groundwork Bridgeport’s executive director and Ridgefield resident.

Sheila Perrin, who visited Groundwork Bridgeport and met the students at Harding High School said, “The Perrin Family Foundation is pleased to support a program that not only exposes youth to environmental issues, but provides them with youth leadership opportunities.”  The Perrin Family Foundation founded in 1994, is committed to providing equal opportunities for children and young adults to lead safe, productive and creative lives.  Based in Ridgefield, CT, The Perrin Family Foundation funds a continuum of organizations from Social Service networks to Social Change catalysts in order to address a spectrum of unmet needs for Connecticut residents.  The Perrin Family foundation’s goal is to encourage and support non-profit programs primarily in the areas of education, health, human services and cultural and environmental concerns.  For more information, call 203-438-7349.

Groundwork Bridgeport is dedicated to revitalizing the urban environment in the city and working with youth to provide environmental education. Groundwork is in its 10th year of operation and is successfully growing a number of programs.  Since 1998, Groundwork has partnered with over 6700 individuals, 54 groups, 31 businesses and 25 foundations to reclaim and beautify neighborhoods.  Last school year, the Butterflies Are Teachers program engaged over 300 public elementary and high school youth to become proactive in improving the visual quality of life in their neighborhoods while strengthening science and math skills, increasing knowledge about career options in the horticulture field, and developing skills for entering the workplace after high school.

END                                                                  END                                                                 END