Community Educational Presentations
In conjunction with the 2008 Festival, we are bringing The Center for Birds of Prey to the area to provide special educational presentations at elementary schools in Camden, New Jersey. These school presentations have been funded with the generosity of the Campbell Soup Foundation; the Festival gratefully acknowledges its support and interest. The Festival and its sponsoring organizations are proud to have joined together with The Center for Birds of Prey and the Campbell Soup Foundation in making these enriching experiences for young people possible and in expanding their awareness of the wonders of the natural world.
Grants for Local Teachers (VEE Grant) - 2009 Round Now Open!
In 2007, the organizing committee began awarding environmental education grants to elementary school teachers in the festival's home area of Gloucester County, New Jersey and Camden City, New Jersey. These grants are called VEE, which is short for Vulturefest Environmental Education. Awards of up to $500 are available to support educational programs and activities. The application deadline for the current round is January 15, 2009. Application forms are available here in MS Word and Adobe PDF formats. Approved grants will be awarded at the next Vulture Festival on March 7, 2009. For more information, please e-mail us at VEE.Grant@EastCoastVultureFestival.org.
On January
15th, 2008, Festival chairman Rich Dilks
(shown at right with a plastic vulture) presented the first VEE
Grant award to Pat Harmon, a 6th grade teacher at Wenonah Elementary
School. Ms.
Harmon received $500 to further the stream studies field trips she leads to the Mantua
Creek in town. Over the last 17 years, these trips have allowed her students
to measure first-hand the biological health and chemical makeup of the local
watershed. In addition to their educational benefits, these trips can help
foster a sense of pride in the local environment.
(Photo by Jonathan
Wells, Gloucester County Times. Used with permission.)