Foundation awards grant to Clearwater
The Dorr Foundation has awarded Hudson River Sloop Clearwater a two-year, $40,000 grant to combat microplastics pollution. The grant will fund activities such as teacher training, class workshops, shoreline programs and sails on the sloop Clearwater for 1,250 students.
Teachers will collect samples using a net called a manta trawl, enabling them to witness pollution first hand. Classroom workshops will demonstrate microplastics debris and include learning stations for hands-on exploration of water chemistry, watershed dynamics, wastewater treatment and environmental issues facing river communities. Sails and shoreline programs will cover the same material while also giving students the chance to study microplastics debris in the river.
“While a federal ban on microbeads was recently signed into law, this will take care of only a small portion of the problem,” said Dave Conover, Clearwater’s interim executive director. “For example, microplastic fibers from fleece clothing are shed in every wash cycle. Understanding what types of microplastics are entering the Hudson and from where will help us best address how to reduce this pollution.”
