The Lowe’s Charitable and Educational Foundation has awarded a $3,755 Lowe’s Toolbox for Education grant to José Martí MAST 6-12 Academy in Hialeah for the establishment of a botany lab and shade house to support research on propagation and out-planting of rare native orchids.
José Martí MAST 6-12 Academy is one of 593 schools across the United States to be awarded a Lowe’s Toolbox for Education grant during its fall 2016 grants cycle for improvement projects.
Botany and AP Statistics students at José Martí MAST 6-12 Academy are establishing a botany lab where research is conducted on rare native orchids. In cooperation with the Million Orchid Project at Fairchild Tropical Botanic Garden, José Martí MAST has taken the initiative to lead research on one of the most difficult native orchids to propagate, Cyrtopodium punctatum, the cowhorn orchid.
Project goals include increasing the capacity of outdoor shade house and outfitting the fledgling botany lab with furniture and equipment necessary for authentic research. Establishment of the botany lab and improvements to the outdoor shade houses are scheduled to be completed in May.
“Our school motto at José Martí MAST 6-12 Academy is ‘Where learning means more doing!’” said principal Jose Enriquez, Jr.
Assistant principal Sofia Buttacavoli said, “What Andrew Kearns and his students are doing has a two-fold purpose. They are learning experimental design, descriptive statistics and inferential statistics – important curricular components in our math and science focused school – while addressing a critical environmental concern – preservation of native South Florida biodiversity.”