CORONA — An after-school program that teaches middle schoolers how to track air quality and other environmental issues in their neighborhoods is set to expand with a $40,000 grant, officials said.
The “Collect, Construct, Change” program began in 2010 at NYSCI and teaches students how to gather and analyze data about their local environment.
The program is funded by the Hive Digital Media Learning Fund, which was created by the MacArthur Foundation and The New York Community Trust in 2011. Other organizations, including The Mozilla Foundation and David Rockefeller Fund, contribute to the grant-giving program.
Students in the first class of “Collect, Construct, Change” in 2010 used mobile phones with carbon monoxide and particulate matter probes to test pollution in Flushing. They used their results to create a campaign against idling cars.
Other classes have continued the environmental research, and with the latest grant, NYSCI will expand the program to other nonprofit groups across the city, officials said.
The $40,000 is part of $414,000 in grants awarded to after-school programs and professional development focused on digital literacy across the city, according to The New York Community Trust.
All of the groups awarded money “are laying the groundwork to change how middle and high schoolers learn in New York City,” said Kerry McCarthy, The New York Community Trust program officer.
“We want to expand the programs to reach more students and educators throughout the city and beyond.”
