Toyota USA Foundation Grant Enables Earth's Birthday Project To Launch Earth Day Science Symposium Project

SANTA FE, N.M., Jan. 24, 2005 -- Earth's Birthday Project, a non- profit education support organization with headquarters in Santa Fe, has been named the recipient of a $255,000 grant from the Toyota USA Foundation to launch a new national environmental science initiative for 7th - 9th grade students.

The award will underwrite the creation, development and implementation of the Earth Day Science Symposium, an annual hands-on, inquiry-based science research program for 30,000 middle school science classes and their teachers. It was one of four awards announced by the Foundation board of directors at its recent semiannual meeting in Washington, DC.

Using an endangered species as its subject, the Earth Day Science Symposium will provide the curriculum and materials needed for students to analyze, critique and present current research on a compelling animal in a threatened ecosystem.

"The Toyota USA Foundation is delighted to renew its association with Earth's Birthday Project," said Foundation president Atsushi "Art" Niimi, in announcing the award. "This will the third time we have joined with Earth's Birthday Project to bring an innovative science initiative into the classroom. In the past we have supported such successful endeavors as the Butterfly Classroom program, an activity for grades Pre K-6 and the Rainforest Exploratorium for grades 4-6. This new grant will support a program being designed for middle school students and their teachers," he added.

"Earth's Birthday Project is thrilled to partner with the Toyota USA Foundation to launch Earth Day Science Symposium," said Clifford Ross, president. "The Foundation's commitment to fund this innovative program is a wonderful gift. It gives us the opportunity to create an annual science activity that will have lasting, positive impact on the quality of science instruction at the middle school level. Through the partnership we are committed to actively involving 750,000 students and their teachers in cutting-edge scientific research."

Established in 1989, Earth's Birthday Project works to ignite children's intrinsic interest in the natural world, while inspiring them to take action on its behalf. Through its Big Gift to the Earth program, in partnership with The Nature Conservancy, K-12 students in 25,000 schools across the United States have raised nearly $5 million for the preservation of more than 200,000 acres of rainforest. In addition, more than 2 million elementary students, through Hands on Classroom, have been able to observe insect metamorphosis and behavior as part of their science curriculum.

Joining Earth's Birthday Project in receiving awards were the University of Michigan College of Engineering, Ann Arbor, MI; the University of Southern California School of Pharmacy, Los Angles, CA; and Keep America Beautiful, Inc., Stamford, CT.

The Toyota USA Foundation is a $40 million charitable endowment created to support innovative education programs serving kindergarten through 12th grade in the United States, with special emphasis in the areas of mathematics and science. For additional information about the Toyota USA Foundation, visit http://www.toyota.com/foundation.