The Education Foundation of Tabernacle Township on behalf of the Tabernacle Township School District is pleased to announce it has received a $3,800 STEM grant from the Toshiba America Foundation (TAF). These funds will support the Impact of Erosion on a Bioswale Project. The primary focus of this project is to help students achieve an understanding of how environmental factors can affect an ecosystem and develop solutions that will preserve the nature of a bioswale as well as provide an environment that is conducive to a variety of species.
During the 2017-2018 school year, 5th grade students planned, designed, and built a bioswale to address the drainage problem in front of the Kenneth R. Olson Middle School. At that time, the bioswale was a viable ecosystem. Since then, excessive erosion has reduced the size of the bioswale basin. To preserve this ecosystem, all middle school students will work together to develop a plan to reduce erosion and make the bioswale a habitat that supports species diversity.
“The bioswale project fits perfectly into our Next Generation Science Standards,” stated Glenn Robbins, Superintendent of Schools, “and, in addition to providing our students with practical experience in a learning environment, it adds to the esthetics of our campus as well our enhancing the beauty of our community as a whole.”
Toshiba America Foundation’s grants fund projects designed by individual classroom teachers. This “direct-to-teacher” approach brings immediate results. Teachers are able to change the way they teach Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics (STEM) subjects because the grant supports equipment for hands-on experiments and inquiry-based approaches to the curriculum. At TAF, we believe that STEM is a lot more fun than just reading a textbook. TAF grants provide teachers with the tools they need to be educators that are more effective. The grants make the classroom a more exciting place for both teachers and students.
**Please join us at the October 7th Board of Education Committee of the Whole meeting when a representative of Toshiba America will present the grant check to students, teachers and board of education members.
