(Marcellus, NY \u2013 Jan. 25, 2013) The Central New York Community Foundation has accepted Baltimore Woods into its Performance Management Learning Community and provided $15,000 in funding to further develop Baltimore Woods\u2019 evaluation process for its award-winning Nature in the City<\/i> program.<\/p>\n
Nature in the City<\/i> is Baltimore Woods Nature Center\u2019s K-6 science education program that links twelve Syracuse and Auburn city schools with local parks and green spaces, connecting children to science using their own neighborhoods.\u00a0\u00a0 Children learn by doing, from collecting samples of invertebrates from city streams, to observing birds in parks within walking distance of schools.<\/p>\n
The grant will allow Baltimore Woods to collect more robust data about how students increase their understanding of key science benchmarks as a result of Nature in the City<\/i> lessons. \u201cOur data for the 2011\/12 school year, for example, indicates that 3rd<\/sup> grade students\u2019 knowledge of green infrastructure increased by 35% on average in seven Syracuse schools.\u00a0 This is terrific news, but our testing protocols did not result in usable data from the more disadvantaged schools we reach, and we are committed to continuous improvement in ALL schools we serve. With this support from the Central New York Community Foundation, a more comprehensive understanding of our impact should now be possible,\u201d says Patty Weisse, Baltimore Woods\u2019 Executive Director.<\/p>\n