Blackstone River Valley Agencies Receive Money
from Assumption College

Worcester, MA-On Friday, April 28, Assumption College's University Transportation Center (UTC) announced nine recipients in a first round of grant awards totaling more than $45,000. The ceremony was held on Assumption's campus.

Of the nine recipients, four of them are concerned with the impact that transportation has on the environment in and around the Blackstone River Valley.

These four grant recipients are as follows: 1) the Blackstone Community Pollution Prevention Project received a grant for $3,627 in order to purchase two Hach DR 2010 Spectrophotometers, which will be used to test for heavy metals and petroleum products in a twenty-week pollution curriculum for schools in the Blackstone River Valley; 2) A grant of $5,950 was awarded to Quinsigamond School in Worcester to create a curriculum for the sixth grade that will study the history and significance of the Blackstone Canal; 3) the Massachusetts Audubon Society's Broad Meadow Brook Wildlife Sanctuary in Worcester was awarded $6,000 to facilitate the involvement of teachers and their students at ten middle schools for the study, identification, and certification of vernal pools in the Blackstone River watershed, and (4) A grant of $5,995 was awarded to Central Falls High School of Central Falls, Rhode Island to support student-teacher collaboration in the production of an interactive CD-ROM for use in the primary and middle school grades and libraries throughout the Blackstone River Valley Corridor. The interdisciplinary effort between the Chemistry, Life Sciences, Biology and Social Studies areas will produce a historic, scientific and technical examination of the interaction between the technology of transportation and the effects it has had on the environment and history of the Blackstone River Valley.

The other five grant recipients are as follows:

A grant of $6,000 has been awarded to Roosevelt School in Worcester to support the development of curriculum units for grade three that study the historical impact of local roads (Route 20, Route 122A, Massachusetts Turnpike, and Interstate 290) on the Roosevelt neighborhood.

A grant of $3,250 has been awarded to the Worcester Chapter of the Massachusetts Bicycle Coalition (MassBike) to support an experiential learning program for low income, at-risk youths between the ages of 9 and 15. The 16-part curriculum developed by Bikes Not Bombs will be used. After school and summer classes include training in basic bike repair with a professional
mechanic and adult volunteers, and acquisition of bicycle safety skills, as well as general skills such as language, problem solving, and interpersonal communications. Students will be allowed to choose a bike at the end of the project.

A grant of $5,967 has been awarded to the Bancroft School in Worcester to fund resources and materials for the development of an interdisciplinary, year-long U. S. History curriculum for the sixth grade using the immediate environment of the school as a case study in the interaction between transportation, the natural environment, and the community.

A grant of $6,000 has been awarded to Dr. Brian Niece, Assistant Professor of Chemistry at Assumption College, to support the involvement of undergraduate and high school students in research to examine the influence of hydroxide on catalytic fuel cell electrodes.

A grant of $6,000 has been awarded to Worcester East Middle School to develop curriculum units connecting four educational frameworks: Careers, Health Science, Environmental Studies, and Transportation. The project will focus on the Grafton Hill neighborhood which is located at the juncture of two major transportation systems-the railroad and an Interstate Highway System (I-290).

Dr. Charles W. Estus, director of the University Transportation Center, said of the grants, "This is the first opportunity the UTC program and Assumption College has to influence the way young students assume responsibility for their environment. In this time of changing environments, what a great opportunity it is to be part of the process which directly effects them."

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

All developments from these projects will be presented at a Spring Conference next year. The participants in the projects must also design and submit a written report suitable for publication on the UTC's Web site. These projects will become resources for others across the country looking to investigate issues around transportation and the environment.