Press Release - July 2008
Bienestar Receives Grants to Help Fund Explorador Program

Bienestar announces the receipt of a grant of $15,000 from the Gray Family Fund and $1,000 from the Hope Fund of the Oregon Community Foundation to support the collaborative environmental education program in partnership with Audubon Society of Portland. The grant is made possible through the Environmental Education Program of The Oregon Community Foundation.

This grant will make it possible for 48 children in grades 3-6 who live in our Hillsboro and Aloha properties to participate in a summer day camp program in August. Explorador Camp is an outdoor environmental and nature education program incorporating curriculum developed by the Audubon Society. Audubon educators will teach about the flora and fauna of healthy watersheds, and students will visit nearby natural areas including Jackson Bottoms Wetlands Preserve, Fernhill Werlands, Rood Bridge Park, and other locations including the Oregon coast.

Explorador Camp will help students gain confidence as they learn science skills in estimating, predicting, experimenting, observing, and making conclusions. We hope to foster in Explorador students an increased understanding of, and passion for science, increased self-esteem and confidence in their academic abilities, environmental education awareness, and an appreciation for natural resources in their community.

The Explorador program will also offer training and paid work experience for two at-risk youth from our LISTOS program. Two students in this program for older teens have received scholarships from Portland Audubon to attend a week of intensive counselor training. They will participate as camp counselors for the program in August.

The generous grant from the Gray Family Fund also provides for three family outings sponsored by Audubon Society during the school year. The entire families of the Explorador students will be invited to have bus trips to three Audubon nature events.

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