N.C. School Finalist in Tom's of Maine "50 States for Good" Grant

Votes Needed to Make the Top Five Award

Jay M. Robinson High School in Concord is one of 41 finalists in the Tom's of Maine "50 States for Good" program. This program will share a $100,000 prize in support of grassroots community projects with the five organizations receiving the most votes. Votes can be placed on the Tom's of Maine website until September 10, 2010.

The high school's project is headed by Joy Knight, an AP Environmental Science, Forensics and Earth/Environmental Science Instructor. The project, if funded, will develop a three-season community garden using sustainable farming methods. The garden will be collectively tended and harvested with a portion donated to a local food pantry.

Knight feels that even though this is a local project, it will represent the efforts of environmental education for the whole state, especially on the K-12 level, and hopes that people will take the time to go online and vote. "I hope this project can be a model for other schools and will encourage them to seek similar grants for projects. The N.C. Office of Environmental Education and Public Affairs' grants list and NC-EE listserv are a great resource for this--it's how I found out about the Tom's of Maine program."

Programs like this one can be found on the office's Grants and Contests and Awards pages at http://www.eenorthcarolina.org/. Both can be found under the "News and Events" tab.