Environmental education programs have become a fixture in classrooms around the country, but few offer the hands on experience that Save the Bay has offered the schools of Rhode Island in the past.  The program, which provides a unique education to over 17,000 public school students from around the state of Rhode Island, provides a variety of educational benefits to students.  The program allows for teachers to implement core curriculum skills in math and science through active discovery of Narragansett Bay.  Students who have participated in the programs have demonstrated a greater interest in math and science and a greater appreciation and awareness of Narragansett Bay.

This heralded program was previously funded through a one million dollar federal earmark, which was discontinued at the end of 2010 and numerous steps have since been taken to account for the sharp cuts within the program’s funding.  The entire Save the Bay staff has been decreased by 20% and the education staff has been reduced by one third.  Despite these efforts, there still remains a gap in the short term budget.

In order to continue providing this valuable resource to the students of Rhode Island, Save the Bay has announced its Keep Educating Young Scientists (K.E.Y.S.) Campaign.  The goal  of this initiative is to raise 200,000 dollars a year for the next three years in order to fund the environmental education program.  By raising this “bridge funding” over the next three years, Save the Bay’s environmental education program hopes to be completely self funded.  Donations can be made using a check or through the Save the Bay website, where the organization has allowed the donor to see what amounts provide specific services.  

By continuing the environmental education of the youth of Rhode Island, we can ensure that future generations will be able to learn from and enjoy the fabulous ecosystem of Narragansett Bay.  

SWiM!

WE SWIM because we treasure Narragansett Bay and its watershed as a natural resource.

WE SWIM because we believe environmentally sound management of the Bay is important to our way of life and the economy that supports it.

WE SWIM because it is one thing to say you are “for the environment” but quite another to get involved and dramatically demonstrate that clean water is a public health issue.

(http://www.savebay.org/Page.aspx?pid=1328)

Save the bays annual fundraising event, SWiM!, started before save the bay was established, Trudy Coxe and her friend, back in 1967 had the idea to swim the jamestown to Newport. Since their adventure, she began Save the Bay and kept the swim as an annual event that is now embedded in Rhode Islands culture.

The money from this fundraiser is dispersed throughout save the bays organizations. 78% of it goes to the program itself, 9% for fundraising, and 13% for the administration. 

To help fundraising, there are a few tips to follow!

Build on your foundations, tell your friends! Join swim and spread the world. Don't be bashful either, if you've participated in swim the best way to get the word out is to tell your story. Get others involved and it will grow and grow every year. If you know people who are interested but can't do the swim, get them involved in fundraising. Everyone is welcome to swim even if they can't participate. Swim is also for kayaks and canoes! 

History

The History Behind "Save The Bay"

The Save The Bay Foundation began in October 1970 in East Grenwich, RI.  It's founder, John Scanlon began the effort by implicating energy facilities along the coast.  Throughout the 1970's, many accomplishments were achieved.  The Coastal Resources Management Council was enacted and Save the Bay also opposed a nuclear facility which was to be implemented in North Kingstown earlier in the decade.  A Liquified Natural Gas plant was not put into effect the following year due to the foundation's protest.  

The word was spread about the Foundation in 1977 when the first annual "Save the Bay Swim" occurred.  The swim takes place from Jamestown to Newport.  During the same time, an 87 Million dollar bond was enacted to fix the conditions which were a result of Providence's sewage treatment facility, who were guilty of dumping millions of gallons of untreated sewage into the bay.  The Aquidneck Island Pollution Prevention Project provided more information on land use and how it led to pollution, which would not have been enacted if it were not for Save the Bay.  The foundation also set forth the first mandatory recycling bill in the nation.  

Even today, the foundation is doing all it can to restore Narragansett Bay.  By passing several bills to improve the restoration of waterways, implement knowledge of the foundation through school systems, and the planting of marsh and eelgrass shoots, The Save the Bay Foundation is doing a fantastic job at spreading the word and improving Narragansett Bay's conditions.  The most important aspect of this cause is to make it known to the entire population of Rhode Island.  We can all do something to help!

As we all know, climate change is pretty much unavoidable, but it can be contained to a certain extent. Climate change effects plants, animals and ecosystems, all in which can be found in the Narragansett Bay, here in Narragansett, Rhode Island. In order to restore and protect the Narragansett Bay, The “Save The Bay”, is a non-profit organization that promotes the ecological health of the Bay.

The thing that is so special about the Narragansett Bay is that it is part of a community. Not only is the bay home to many fish and ecosystems, but also a lot of activities are exercised on these waters as well such as; fishing, kayaking and boating. There was once a time where the bay was such a recognized body of water, and now it is barely functioning, and the main contributing factor to this problem is pollution. These waters over the years have become so dirty and polluted, its almost as if these waters are not even livable for certain wildlife anymore. Just think for a second, and picture the image of raw sewage pouring into the bay, is that right? Is that healthy to people, but most importantly the animals living in the water? The answer is no. Yes the conditions of the bay have deteriated over the past years, but there is still room for vast improvement, and there is still for people to get back to healthy fishing, swimming and sailing, but most importantly enjoying the waters of the Narragansett Bay. 

In an effort to “Save the bay”, as I already stated, the main issue that needs to be addressed is the pollution, and what we can do to control it. Narragansett in my opinion is a very close community but made up of all different types of ages. Yes, there are a lot of retirees, but there are also a lot of young people. By young people, I mean people aged anywhere from middle school too college. When it comes to maintaining the environment, young people seem to be the most careless and do the least to keep the environment clean. In order to hopefully change this, Save The Bay came up with “The Blue Water Challenge”. The blue water challenge is an opportunity for high school students in Rhode Island to get involved and make a difference in an attempt to protect the Narragansett Bay from further damage

With the Blue Water Challenge, students will compete competitively to create a public service announcement by print, audio or video. This is great because I feel like students can engage and interact with each other in a hands on matter in order to help support this great cause.  Different schools throughout the state will have an opportunity to compete, and the PSA should be designed to tell the ways that we can improve the water quality of the bay, ways to cut back on pollution and ways to conserve the water. Participants have a chance at winning $500, and Save The Bay will promote winnings to thousands of Rhode Islanders, and will participate in a live press event admiring the winning work. 

Being that young adults are the most careless when it comes to keeping our environment clean, this challenge in my opinion is a great way to sway the minds of this particular audience in efforts for a change to be made. With the Blue Water Challenge, not only do the people win, but also most importantly the bay wins. Awareness will be raised, and it will conserve and protect Rhode Island’s greatest natural resource, the Narragansett Bay.