The Hughes Project | Net Resource Foundation

$1,400 is going to The Net Resource Foundation, thanks to Executive Director Raquetta Dotley. For what? Trees. In partnership with the Westside Community Baptist Church, The Hughes Project will beautify the area between 3996 Hughes Avenue (you picking up on why its called The Hughes Project?) and the Westside Community Garden located at 4023 Hughes Avenue. This beautification aims to cool the area from the Urban Heat Island Effect with cooling from strategically placed trees, provide recreational green space, and an open food source with the community garden.

In a partnership with the city, we’ll be buying 20 bare root Apple Serviceberry and American Redbud trees and getting most of them planted. We’re looking forward to having an ice cold lemonade with under one of them real soon.

Fall Daycamp for Woodmore | Wauhatchie School

The Wauhatchie School (wa-ha-chie) is a 501C3 nonprofit organization and nature based school promoting place-based, nature immersion experiences that foster holistic growth, the love of learning, and compassion for all. Wauhatchie School provides education for students and training for educators, facilitating students holistic development—body, mind and soul–and helps them grow into lifelong learners and compassionate stewards of the earth.

Back in November 2016, a terrible accident occurred involving a Woodmore Elementary School bus crash. Numerous children were badly injured. Tragically, some lost their lives. This experience left families shaken, some broken, and many with questions unanswered; a scar on our community still felt today. For many of the children at Woodmore, this experience meant the loss of close friends and others family. Many children still live in the wake of this incident. November 2017 will be the one-year anniversary of this trauma, a time experts recognize results in the reawakening of anxiety, panic, fears of the past experience.

In October 2017, Wauhatchie School is working with community partners to host an Arts and Outdoor based Day Camp for the Woodmore Elementary School students that teachers believe have been most affected the accident. Wauhatchie School will provide an adventurous weeklong outdoor day camp packed with art and water based activities, demonstrations, and games. Community partners will provide daily activities for students, facilitating a safe space for expression and learning of new skills. This will be a free gift to Woodmore students, providing the cost of camp, transportation, and all needed materials and gear.

The UNFoundation is honored to be able to play a small role in this effort by providing $800 for outdoor gear and materials that the Woodmore students will be able to use and take home. 

Forest Kindergarten: Winter Gear

Forest Kindergarten is an early childhood education model that allows children to learn in and through the natural environment. 20 kids at Red Bank Elementary are lucky enough to be a part of this phenomenon right now in its inaugural year. Similar to the original German model where 100% of class time is spent outdoors, this model is a bit different with 2.5 hours each day spend outside. While outside, students will have the opportunity to practice the content that has been taught in the classroom through their own exploration.

Now that you know what it is, I bet you're wondering how we helped? Winter gear. Waterproof gloves, wool socks, warm hats, gaiters. The UNFoundation, warming hearts and hands. 

Calvin Donaldson at the Nature Center

As a capstone field trip for the year, Calvin Donaldson Environmental Science Academy's 55 4th grade students will travel to the Reflection Riding Nature Center to put faces with the names of species they've been learning about all year. If the best way to appreciate nature and natural processes is by forming a personal relationship, then these young Chattanoogans are setting off on the right foot!

Pollinator Garden

With pollinators facing threat from colony collapse, habitat loss, and reduced biodiversity, Crabtree farms is taking steps to increase public awareness and provide a habitat for our pollinator species like honey bees, butterflies, and even birds. Without these species, we'd be unable to cultivate 1/3 of our food crops, so for a nonprofit farm to encourage protection of these important species is a thoughtful and potent endeavor. 

Friends of Stringers Ridge June 2014

Recipient: Jim Johnson

Stringer’s Ridge is a new 92 acre urban park located in Hill City on the Northshore.  If you haven’t been, check it out!  Friends of Stringer’s Ridge is a grassroots organization formed to promote this fantastic opportunity for Chattanoogans to enjoy the outdoors in an urban setting.  Please view their fundraising campaign on Causeway.  Their lastest cool idea was to host a symphony event on the peak of Stringer’s Ridge.  WE FUND COOL IDEAS, and obviously had to jump on this one!  On a crisp fall day, we sponsored a brass quintet to perform on that hilltop and had a great experience.  Can’t say we’ve ever been to a symphony on a hilltop before.  But we did, and it was awesome.  Look for this event next year, it’s going to be a lot of fun.

Running With Sasquatch September 2013

Recipient: Ivy Academy

Who wouldn't want to run a 5k along the North Chick Creek while being chased by a huge, furry Sasquatch? Especially when all proceeds go towards Ivy Academy, a Charter school focused on environmental, project-based learning. We just had to fund them! Phillip Mansueto is a teacher and avid runner and positioned this run to be an annual fundraiser for the school. Our funds went towards the overhead to get the race going so all proceeds raised would go straight to the school. They leveraged over $6,000 from our original grant. Way to go, Ivy Academy!