Klorane Botanical Foundation + KidsGardening Announce Waltersville School Winner of 2019 Budding Botanist Grant

BRIDGEPORT, Conn. - May 2, 2019 - PRLog -- Dedicated to supporting global initiatives to protect the plant universe and biodiversity, Klorane Botanical Foundation, Klorane's corporate foundation, and national nonprofit KidsGardening, a leader in the school gardening movement, are proud to announce Waltersville School as a winner of the second annual Budding Botanist Grant.

The Klorane Botanical Foundation is collaborating with KidsGardening to help provide more children with the opportunity to be connected to nature through garden-based learning. Impact reports conducted by the national nonprofit, KidsGardening, reveal that kids who garden show an 86% increase in environmental stewardship.

"The Budding Botanist grant provides our youngest citizens with the opportunity to value their environment, explore the plant world, and inspires them to take care of the life they discover in their local ecosystems," says KidsGardening Executive Director Helen Rortvedt.  "At a time when most children can identify up to 200 logos but are unable to identify plants in their own backyard, garden programs like this are more important than ever."

"Sharing botanical knowledge all around the world, with a particular focus on educating children, is key to the Klorane Botanical Foundation's core mission," says Jacqueline Flam, Chief Marketing Officer, Klorane. "This makes it especially gratifying to support the Budding Botanist Grant Program, a tremendous opportunity to work with these deserving schools in empowering them to bring green spaces back to our cities."

See a 2018 Budding Botanist Grant Winner, Academy for Global Citizenship, Chicago, IL, on YouTube at https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9hcAP8FLPSM.



One of six winning schools across the country, Waltersville School has been awarded a Budding Botanist Grant package valued at $3000 in cash and supplies to provide resources for creating learning gardens with their students. The school was selected for its commitment to teaching environmental sustainability and biodiversity and is utilizing the Budding Botanist Grant to support their goal of creating a Monarch Butterfly Corridor and expanding their current garden program. The students were inspired by a hands-on learning activity exploring the impact of humans on their local ecosystem and wanted to help pollinators by creating a garden with native plants.

Waltersville's Science Teacher John Cunningham says, "We will be teaching the students how to be citizen scientists with this new garden project, and showing how our actions can help pollinators in our dense, urban environment."

Cunningham also adds that the students will be starting milkweed plants at home to further engage them and create additional habitat for monarchs and pollinators.

On Friday, May 17, the Klorane Botanical Foundation and KidsGardening will help host a garden project and celebration at the school in honor of receiving the Budding Botanist Grant, and to raise awareness around the impact of teaching children to protect nature through growing, caring for and living with plants.
·          Date: Friday, May 17, 2019
·          Time: 10:30-11:30 AM
·          Address: 150 HALLETT STREET, BRIDGEPORT, CT 06604

If you're interested in attending or for more information, please contact Carmen Ortiz at 203-275-2409 or one of the following KidsGardening team members:

Local KidsGardening Contact:
Kristen Wirkkala
kristenk@kidsgardening.org
603-303-9746
KidsGardening Contact:
Maree Gaetani
mareeg@kidsgardening.org
802-324-3699

CLICK HERE FOR COMPLETE DETAILS ON THE 2019 BUDDING BOTANIST GRANT, KLORANE BOTANICAL FOUNDATION AND/OR KIDSGARDENING.