Programs

Collaborative Programs:

Teen Center: In 2004, JEF co-founded the Conanicut Community Coalition (CCC) to provide social activities for Jamestown adolescents. The CCC secured a grant from the Rhode Island Foundation for $50,000 for three years to develop and staff a Teen Center as a healthy recreational outlet for students between ages 11and 15. The Jamestown Senior Center provided a temporary location until February, 2008 when the permanent Center opened to great fanfare within the town Community Center. Participation is strong and teens take a leadership role in guiding programming. The Teen Center, supervised by Melissa Minto, provides adolescents a safe place to hang out together, plan activities and to become more involved in the community through volunteerism. CCC partners include JEF, Jamestown School Department, Jamestown Parks and Recreation Department, and Jamestown Philomenian Library.

Osprey Project: The Conanicut Island Raptor Project (CIRP) is a hands-on environmental education program that studies Jamestown's migratory ospreys. JEF teamed with several local organizations and individuals to give students and the general public a chance to study these fascinating birds of prey. A web camera atop the osprey nest at Jamestown's Marsh Meadows enables anyone with access to the web to observe real-time images of the nesting birds' routine. CIRP, together with the Rhode Island Audubon Society, fitted two fledglings from Jamestown's Marsh Meadows nest with satellite transmitters in order to study their winter migrations. Conanicus (hatched May 2005) traveled to Zapata Swamp, Cuba, while Comet (hatched May, 2006) is in Columbia and will return when he is sexually mature, about March 2008. Donations are being actively sought to erect several new osprey poles so that the returning birds will find a place to nest in Jamestown. Funding is also needed to pay for Argos satellite download time. Donations are fully tax-deductible and should be made to JEF, earmarked for the Osprey Project. Follow the action by visiting the CIRP website: www.conanicutraptors.com.

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