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

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

Environmental Science Research Fellowship Program
Announced by the Vermont Institute of Natural Science
Will Support Field Research in Conservation and Environmental Science

Quechee, VT – November 20, 2007 – The Vermont Institute of Natural Science (VINS) is pleased to announce a new initiative to support field research in conservation and environmental science: The Vermont Institute of Natural Science Environmental Science Research Fellowship Program.

VINS Environmental Science Research Fellowships are intended to support field research in the conservation, biological, and ecological sciences, and to nurture growth of the field as a whole. VINS will award one or more fellowships each spring to support leave-term field research projects that will contribute to the knowledge and management of New England's natural resources and enhance environmental education programs with current science.

To be eligible for a VINS Environmental Science Research Fellowship, applicants must be sponsored by an established environmental research organization for work in a science research project managed by that organization. When a fellowship award is made, the VINS Fellow will receive a cash stipend and the fellow's sponsoring organization will receive a separate matching grant to defray the management and overhead costs associated with employing the fellow during the research project. Depending on the length of the proposed project, up to $5,000 (to be split between the fellow and sponsoring organization) will be awarded for each fellowship.

The Fellowship Program will support environmental science research conducted in New England. The program is open to high school and undergraduate college students, as well as to K-12 teachers and teaching teams. The work of research fellows must contribute directly to both the base of current scientific knowledge about New England's natural resources and VINS' own environmental education programs.

For more than 30 years, VINS has nurtured children's interest in wildlife and the environment through both school-based environmental education 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 designed to engage individuals and communities in the active care of their environment.

PDF download of application materials available here.