The Island Institute in Rockland, Maine, recently received a grant from the National Science Foundation, reports the Bradenton Herald.
The foundation's funds will be used by the nonprofit to empower rural communities and schools lacking in technology, according to the news source. The grant will amount to $1.2 million and will be used by the Energy of ME initiative, which has already received funds from Time Warner Cable and the Environmental Protection Agency.
The project is STEM centered, as the news source states the program is designed ro "expand the development, implementation and evaluation of an educational model designed to increase the science, technology, engineering and math."
Energy for ME will encourage students to take a vested interest in their state's future, especially on issues relating to the environment and energy consumption. Teachers looking to introduce technology into the classroom while maintaining energy efficiency may consider using grant money to buy an EnergyStar-rated computer, an automated recycling device or a mercury-free classroom projector.
According to the media outlet, the program will service 13 of Maine's coastal communities and a de facto competition on which town is the most energy efficient will result.
