Students from NYC will present their visions for “A Greener Future for New York City”

Projects based on Visionmaker NYC platform

Monday, April 27

Media time: 10am to 12pm

Bronx, N.Y. – April 23, 2015 – The first annual New York City Student Vision Maker Fair will be held at WCS’s (Wildlife Conservation Society) Bronx Zoo on Monday, April 27 from 10am to 3pm. Media is invited to attend the project presentations from 10am to noon.

WCS partners with 11 public middle and high schools to provide professional development support for teachers as they develop and implement curricula using the Visionmaker NYC platform. Visionmaker NYC is a web-based simulation platform, developed by WCS Senior Conservation Ecologist Eric Sanderson and his team. The platform allows users to examine and manipulate urban ecosystems throughout NYC and see how their decisions have affected the environmental performance using real-world data.

The Visionmaker Fair on April 27 is an academic competition where participating students from all New York City will present their vision of “A Greener Future for New York City.”  Students will present their projects to a panel of judges from WCS, and winners and runner-ups will be selected at both the middle school and high school levels.

This initiative is made possible thanks to the generous support from the Brooke Astor Fund for New York City Education in The New York Community Trust (www.nycommunitytrust.org).

  What:    First annual New York City Student Visionmaker Fair              

Who:      Wildlife Conservation Society

               And students from all five NYC boroughs

When:    Monday, April 27

   10am to 3pm

   Media time: 10am to 12pm

Where:   WCS’s Bronx Zoo

Flaherty Learning Center

Media note(s): Members of the media who wish to cover the event are asked to contact Max Pulsinelli at 718-220-5182; mpulsinelli@wcs.org so that reserved parking and in-park transportation can be arranged.

The Wildlife Conservation Society’s Bronx Zoo is open daily from 10:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m. weekdays, 5:30 p.m. weekends from April to October; 10:00 a.m. to 4:30 p.m November to March. Adult admission is $19.95, children (3-12 years old) $12.95, children under 3 are free, seniors (65+) are $17.95. Parking is $15 for cars and $18 for buses. The Bronx Zoo is conveniently located off the Bronx River Parkway at Exit 6; by train via the #2 or #5 or by bus via the #9, #12, #19, #22, MetroNorth, or BxM11 Express Bus service (from Manhattan that stops just outside the gate.) To plan your trip, visit bronxzoo.com or call 718-367-1010.

Wildlife Conservation Society (WCS) MISSION: WCS saves wildlife and wild places worldwide through science, conservation action, education, and inspiring people to value nature. VISION: WCS envisions a world where wildlife thrives in healthy lands and seas, valued by societies that embrace and benefit from the diversity and integrity of life on earth. To achieve our mission, WCS, based at the Bronx Zoo, harnesses the power of its Global Conservation Program in more than 60 nations and in all the world’s oceans and its five wildlife parks in New York City, visited by 4 million people annually. WCS combines its expertise in the field, zoos, and aquarium to achieve its conservation mission. Visit: www.wcs.org; http://www.facebook.com/TheWCS; http://www.youtube.com/user/WCSMedia  Follow: @thewcs.  

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