The East-West Center was awarded $173,000 to study how key climate information spreads across areas and countries in the Pacific islands.
With $148,000 in funding from the U.S. National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration and $25,000 from the Department of Interior’s Pacific Islands Climate Science Center, researchers will use the recently released Pacific Islands Regional Climate Assessment report as a springboard for collecting data to analyze the flow of climate and fresh-water information in Hawaii and the U.S.-affiliated Pacific islands, the East-West Center said in a news release.
The center said researchers plan to map gaps in the communication and flow of climate information.
"Due to the large amount of distance between Pacific islands and their diverse cultures, environments and economies, collaboration and communication about climate knowledge and fragile water resources across the region is essential," said East-West Center environmental researcher Victoria Keener, the project’s principal investigator. "There are no existing formal analyses that track the flow, sources, and quality of this information across the Pacific islands region, so this project will help address the blind spot researchers and agencies currently have as to which communities and stakeholders may be not be getting access to key knowledge."
For more information, visit www.PacificRISA.org or contact KeenerV@EastWestCenter.org.
OTHER GRANTS:
» Goodwill Industries of Hawaii Inc. announced it has received a one-year, $125,000 grant from the Office of Hawaiian Affairs for the Ola i ka Hana (to live and thrive by means of your work) Youth Program, which works to improve Hawaii State Assessment scores of Native Hawaiian middle and high school students attending public schools on Hawaii island.
Goodwill will use the money to provide mentors, tutoring and homework support, and basic math and reading skills training. The funds will allow the program to provide services to 60 youths.
» The Beta Beta Gamma Foundation has awarded grants totaling $14,000 to support several Hawaii nonprofit groups and a University of Hawaii-Manoa scholarship.
The Read to Me International Foundation will receive $4,500 for its "Mom’s the Word" program, promoting early literacy for toddlers of mothers participating in the federal WIC (Women, Infants & Children) program.
Volunteer Legal Services of Hawaii will get $4,000 to help fund workshops for families who need guidance and support in adopting children or appointing a guardian.
The Creative Connections Foundation will receive $1,500 for its Camp SEEK program to provide socialization opportunities for children with special needs such as autism and Asperger’s syndrome.
A $4,000 scholarship was awarded to UH for an undisclosed program.
» The Pacific Aviation Museum Pearl Harbor was awarded a $75,000 Museums Connect grant to launch a project with Jianchuan Museum Cluster in Chengdu, China, one of Honolulu’s sister cities. The grant will enable the two museums to implement a student research exchange project called Past to Present: U.S.-Sino Bridge of Connection, according to a press release.
Students from Kaiser High School and their counterparts in Chengdu will conduct joint research on the legendary American Volunteer Group/Flying Tigers of the Chinese air force. Selected students from each country will participate in a study trip to explore the impact of World War II on cultural attitudes and traditions, and connect these lessons to contemporary issues and realities, the museum announced.
Museums Connect is a joint initiative of the American Alliance of Museums and the U.S. State Department’s Bureau of Educational and Cultural Affairs.
