PRESS RELEASE

CONTACT:
Molly Hutchins
Marketing Director
Vermont Institute of Natural Science (VINS)
802-359-5001 x220
mhutchins@vinsweb.org

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

The Vermont Institute of Natural Science (VINS) receives grant from the Wellborn Ecology Fund of the NH Charitable Foundation to Support VINS Community Camps

Quechee, VT - May 27, 2008 - The Vermont Institute of Natural Science (VINS) announces that it has received a grant from the Wellborn Ecology Fund of the New Hampshire Charitable Foundation in support of VINS Nature Camps offered in four primary locations, including Quechee, Burlington, Manchester, Vermont and Hanover, New Hampshire. Fund also supports VINS' new Community Camp program, offered to children in grades 1 - 6 for one to two weeks in Vermont towns including, Thetford, Tunbridge, Rutland, and Wells River, and in New Hampshire at the Saint-Gaudens National Historic Site in Cornish.

The New Hampshire Charitable Foundation has been working to improve the quality of life in our communities since 1962. Based in Concord, New Hampshire, the foundation serves communities through seven regions - Lakes, Manchester, Monadnock, Nashua, North Country, Piscataqua, and the Upper Valley. The Wellborn Ecology Fund of the NHCF is dedicated to increasing environmental and ecological knowledge in the Upper Valley. The Fund was established through Marguerite Wellborn, a resident of Hanover, NH, who was an avid naturalist with an enduring passion for studying and protecting the natural world.

"VINS is working with many community organizations to bring its conservation message to more children throughout the region. The Wellborn grant allows us to expand VINS Nature Camps to new locations and to add diverse programs to a broader audience," stated John Dolan, president of the Vermont Institute of Natural Science. "Providing camp opportunities to children in each of these towns will provide a wonderful opportunity for them to explore nature in their own backyards."

VINS' Earth Explorers program will be featured at all Community Camp locations. Earth Explorers gives children the opportunity to discover the treasures and mysteries of Planet Earth. Participants will search to find what flies, crawls, sings, swims and grows on our part of the planet. Each day launches a new scientific adventure filled with activities, crafts and games centered on uncovering insects, plants, birds, amphibians and reptiles.

For registration information go to:
http://www.vinsweb.org/programs/camps/VINSCamp2008.html

For 35 years, VINS has nurtured children's and adult's interest in wildlife and the environment through its school-based environmental education programs, summer and holiday camps, community environmental education and research programs, and nationally acclaimed avian rehabilitation work. VINS' programs enable children and adults of all ages to gain direct exposure to real current science and 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 member supported environmental education and research organization headquartered in Quechee, Vermont. VINS' mission is to protect our natural heritage through education and research designed to engage individuals and communities in the active care of their environment.