FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE03-35
June
27, 2003
Contact:
Ian Michaels
(718) 595-6600
New York City High School Students to Tour Upstate Watershed Forestry Projects
Grant Funded by Watershed Agricultural Council and U.S. Department of Agriculture Forest Service Stewardship Program
Commissioner Christopher O. Ward of the New York City Department of Environmental
Protection (DEP) announced today that students from the High School for
Law and Public Service, in Manhattan, will tour projects of the Watershed
Forestry Program from Monday, June 30 through Wednesday, July 1. The tour
is part of a watershed forestry bus tour grants program funded by a USDA
Forest Service Forest Stewardship grant.
The Watershed Forestry Program is administered by the locally-based Watershed
Agricultural Council with core program funding from the DEP and matching
grants from the USDA Forest Service. The Council is a not-for-profit organization
located in Walton, New York, whose mission is to assist the agriculture
and forestry communities to adopt best management practices for water
quality protection and economic viability. The Watershed Forestry Program
is designed to support and maintain well-managed forests as a beneficial
land use for watershed protection.
This particular grant was awarded to Ms. Mary Sari’s English as
a Second Language class at the High School of Law and Public Service,
located in Washington Heights. Approximately 50 students, accompanied
by Ms. Sari and others, will take the tour.
Commissioner Ward said, “This is a wonderful opportunity for Ms.
Sari’s students to actually observe and participate first hand in
demonstrations and to visit the locations they have studied in the classroom.
Ms. Sari has focused on water and the environment in her lessons; on-site
presentations will bring the subjects to life.”
The Watershed Forestry Program has been sponsoring a competitive grants
program to provide New York City groups – water consumers. schools/teachers/students,
outdoor associations, community groups – with an opportunity to
visit the upstate watershed and tour some of the Forestry Program’s
Project. Each tour is individually tailored to provide different audiences
with an opportunity to learn about forest stewardship, pollution prevention
and watershed protection. The grant pays $5,000 for the tour with a 50-50
matching requirement by the grant recipient..