PRESS RELEASE
Contact: Rebecca Hooper
Communications and Program Manager
802-359-5001 x231
rhooper@vinsweb.org

Vermont Institute of Natural Science Awarded Grant from Canaday Family Charitable Trust to Fund Environmental Education Program for Schools

Quechee, VT- July 5, 2007- The Canaday Family Charitable Trust, a foundation that encourages and supports non-profit organizations in Vermont, recently presented the Vermont Institute of Natural Science with a $33,000 grant to revamp their Environmental Citizenship Program.
The gift came to VINS at the end of June and will be used to update and improve the EC teaching kits that VINS rents to schools for use in the classroom and in the field. The VINS Environmental Citizenship (EC) Program began in the late 90's as a test program that would reach middle school students and was then expanded for high school students. EC is designed to challenge these upper-grade students to make informed decisions that balance human and wildlife needs by understanding ecological systems and conducting field investigations. The new EC teaching kits will provide up-to-date teaching materials for specific topics of study, including habitat protection of native trout, the importance of vernal pools to Vermont wildlife, and migration patterns of songbirds. Ward Murphey and Mariam Coffin Canaday began charitable giving in 1945, supporting education and artistic endeavors. After their deaths, this tradition was continued by their family and now is carried on through the work of The Canaday Family Charitable Trust. The Canaday Family Charitable Trust current focus reflects their value of Vermont, where they spent many summers. Now, some of the Canaday family members are year round residents of the state. The VINS EC teaching kits represent just one way that the trust invests in the Vermont community.

For more than 30 years, VINS has nurtured children's interest in wildlife and the environment through school-based environmental education programs, Outreach and Community programs, and summer and holiday camps. By participating in VINS' programs, children of all ages learn the value and importance of being good stewards of the natural world.


Founded in 1972, The Vermont Institute of Natural Science (VINS) is a non-profit 501©3, member-supported organization headquartered in Quechee, Vermont. VINS' mission is to protect our natural heritage through education and research.

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