Top row (left to right): Taylor Knoke, sponsor of the Dreher Botany Club; Dreher students Beatrice Barilla, Eloise Ogden and Adena Weinkle; and Columbia Mayor Daniel Rickenmann. Bottom row: Dreher students Rachel Schoeman, Berkeley McCants, Aria Le and Micah Roth.
The Dreher High School Botany Club has received a $4,320 microgrant from the City of Columbia through the Bloomberg Youth Climate Action Fund.
Columbia was one of 100 cities worldwide selected by Bloomberg Philanthropies for the fund. The fund provides “technical support and financing to enable young people ages 15-24 to design, produce, and manage urgent climate solutions in their cities.” Each city received $50,000, which will be distributed as microgrants to fund youth-led climate initiatives that meet local circumstances and goals.
Dreher’s botany club will use the money from the micro-grant to increase biodiversity at the school by planting native plants on campus. Taylor Knoke, botany club sponsor, says the organization is also working with the city to increase biodiversity at a city-run park and provide plant beds for growing food in a community garden.
“This scholarship has shown my students that they can make an impact on their community from a young age. I am so excited to see the plants grow, but also to see my students grow as they learn more about the environment and connect with people in our community,” Knoke said.
The Botany Club’s project was one of nine projects and initiatives in the city that received a micro-grant.
