By Janis Fontaine
The Philanthropy Tank was started in 2015 as a way to challenge young, fertile minds to tackle society’s pressing problems by equipping students with funds to implement sustainable, service-driven solutions. Using a format borrowed from television’s Shark Tank, the competition is open to Palm Beach County students in grades 8 through 12.
On April 11, a team from FAU High School — Mallory Thomas and Anna Jarvis of Boca Raton, Elise Siegel of Highland Beach and Alyssa Jiggetts of Coconut Creek — will pitch its idea to the Philanthropy Tank panel.
The girls’ project, Growing Native Oases Made for Engagement (affectionately known as GNOME), would establish community butterfly gardens to bring more stress-lowering green spaces to local communities.
“We hope these gardens will last for years to come,” Mallory said.
The primary purpose of their project is the human purpose: to use the healing power of nature.
Dozens of studies show that time spent in nature improves cognition and is associated with increases in happiness and well-being, positive social interactions and a sense of meaning and purpose in life, as well as decreases in mental distress, according to a 2019 article in Science Advances (Vol. 5, No. 7).
The secondary purpose of the garden is to promote the use of native plants in local landscapes.
The students chose community butterfly gardens because of their easy maintenance. They worked with experts to discover the native plants that flourish in different habitats. Choosing plants that do well without constant attention topped the list of “must-haves.”
Mallory, 16, has a passion for environmental science. She volunteers at Daggerwing Nature Center in Boca Raton and Sandoway Discovery Center in Delray Beach, and she’s been a butterfly enthusiast for years, purchasing milkweed at Home Depot for the annual monarch butterfly migration.
She had an outline for GNOME and she reached out to other students she knew who had volunteered on the FAU Biosphere Project. It engages the community along with FAU students and faculty in the exploration of the local biosphere — the plants and animals in backyards.
Elise, 16, loves science and riding her bike. She appreciates the benefits of getting outside in nature and its effect on mental health. But she felt she was missing a sense of community and that bringing people into a green space might help them make personal connections.
“Coming together as a community requires access to a community space,” said Elise, who collected data for the Biosphere Project.
Along with her interest in science, Elise is an artist who makes mosaic-like mixed media art using paint color sample cards she gets at hardware stores. She has developed an interest in creative writing since transferring from Boca High to FAU High School in her sophomore year.
Students there are all working on college credits while still attending high school. Many will graduate high school with more than half of their college degree credits, without paying a dime in tuition.
Mallory says that allows her to save tuition dollars for her post-grad degree, which she expects to be in environmental engineering or environmental law.
The pandemic made preparing for the presentation to the Philanthropy Tank a bit of a challenge. The girls have worked together for months, but meetings and mentoring sessions with Adriene Tynes have been virtual.
Tynes is well-known for her philanthropic work in Palm Beach County, including five years on the board of Community Greening, a collective effort to improve the environment, and as director of accreditation for Nonprofits First in Palm Beach County.
She’s been the perfect mentor for GNOME, Elise said, “with really helpful tips on formatting our slides for our presentation.”
Each team will have three minutes to pitch its idea to a panel of judges who decide who gets the funding and how much each group gets.
Since its inception, Philanthropy Tank has awarded more than $600,000 to more than 45 projects in Palm Beach County and the Philanthropy Tank’s second location, Baltimore. Fourteen of the programs have established 501(c)(3) nonprofits.
So, there’s a lot riding on those three minutes. Elise admits she has had a few nervous moments, but Mallory says, “I don’t like the word nervous. I like the word excited.” She says it’s the same feeling, it’s just how you choose to frame it.
“I want to make an impact on South Florida, to educate people, but still keep it light and fun and pleasant,” Mallory said. “If we inspire just a few people to appreciate science, that can make an impact. I read a quote recently: ‘Small drops make a mighty ocean.’”
For more information on the Philanthropy Tank, visit www.philanthropytank.org.
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