Representatives from threeWorcester Public Schools Recieved Project
Grants from the UTC. Pictures (L--R) are: Susan Hamel, Carol Hoffman,
Maureen Jarvis, and Laurie Johnson from New Ludlow Elementary;
Roger Clapp and Dr. Dolores Gribouski from Columbus Park Discovery
Academy; and Peter Crafts from Worcester Vocational School.

Local Schools Receive Money from Assumption College

$171,000 has been awarded through the UTC

Worcester, MA—On Thursday, December 19, Assumption College’s University Transportation Center (UTC) will announce the recipients for the fourth and final round of grant awards. The ceremony will be held in the Salon of La Maison at 4:00 p.m. This grantee group, whose awards total more than $35,000, will be the last round of grants awarded by the UTC.

During the last four years, the Assumption College UTC has given out 32 grants totaling $171,490 to local schools, organizations, and environmental groups to raise the awareness of teachers and students in transportation issues of today.

This final round of grants will award six (6) local school systems money for their projects. A presentation of these projects will be made in June, 2003. The recipients, their award amount, and topic are as follows:

A grant of $6,000 has been awarded to New Ludlow Elementary School, Worcester for their project titled “Riding Through the Ages,” which will investigate connections between the development of transportation and its effect on the environment throughout
history.

A grant of $6,000 has been awarded to Worcester Vocation School, Worcester for a project “The Green Machine” that will aim to create an integrated environment centered on a mobile environmental lab through on-site studies.

A grant of $5,917 has been awarded to Columbus Park Discovery Academy, Worcester for “From Birch Bark Canoes to Jet Propulsion: How Transportation has affected Coes Pond and the Tatnuck Watershed Community.”

A grant of $5,986 has been awarded to Malborough Middle School, Marlborough for a project “Earth wise” a new after school club. The club will provide students opportunities to work with environmental issues such as vernal pool certification, threatened and endangered species protection, and the negative impact of automobile transportation on the mating habits of these rare animals.

An award of $5,755 has been awarded to Old Mill Pond Media Center-Palmer Public School System, Palmer, for their “Timely Travels” project to incorporate Palmer history, transportation and environment in experimental multidisciplinary units directed toward Preschool to Grade 4 students.

A grant of $6,000 will go to The Met School, Providence, RI for them to convert a diesel minibus to run on biodiesel, and research alternatives to fossil fuel.

Dr. Kathleen Livingstone, S.S.J., director of the University Transportation Center, said of the grants, “During the past three years, the UTC has made its mission to support the development and dissemination of education and science curricula incorporating the relationship between transportation and the environment in Grades K-12. The importance of this theme has become more evident as transportation needs are increasing across the nation.” She added, “ The creative ideas and decisions of our future will come from the students of today and these awards have provided the means by which this might be accomplished.”

A full description of the projects can be found at the Assumption College Web site—http://www.assumption.edu/acad/Institutes/UTC/html/awards.html