Environmental Education & Outreach
The Larson Foundation strongly believes that Community Leadership starts with caring for, and teaching the youth of our community to care for where you live. Additionally, access to and spending time outdoors has been proven to improve health and mental well-being. The Connecticut River Conservancy offers a myriad of programs that are designed to empower youth to feel more confident and comfortable with water and river safety, as well as programs that teach about the local ecology and history of the waters in our neighborhoods.
The Raymond and Pauline Larson Foundation has collaborated for the last two years to help fund an Environmental Education & Outreach Assistant position. This position supported :
- Environmental education programs for local students (including East Hartford High School, East Hartford Summer Leadership Institute, Mayberry Elementary School, and Connecticut River Academy). Programming includes educational classroom visits, clean-up events of Martin Park and Labor Field, college/career guidance for high school students interested in environmental fields, and tabling at a family involvement fair
- Supports for existing school programming, like Mayberry River Day which serves over 200 students in partnership with the National Parks Service and CT DEEP's Fish with CARE program
- Providing at-risk adolescents and young adults with access to nature through kayaking in the Compass Youth Collaborative Paddle Program
- Educational programming and boat trips for Hartford-based summer camps – Heroes of Hope Future Leaders Summer Camp and STEM GEMS Summer Camp
- Exploration of robots to advance research and prevent pollution in aquatic environments with a local competitive robotics team
YMCA Adaptive Learning Space
The Raymond and Pauline Larson Foundation has funded an adaptive learning space at the Lois Nolan Larson Community Center in the Greater Hartford YMCA of Mayberry Village. The adaptive learning space will enhance the educational experience of students with special/support needs and support a culture of inclusivity. The project is expected to be completed in 2026 and increase access to meaningful preschool experiences for students with sensory processing or behavioral support needs.
One School, One Book
The Larson Foundation in partnership with East Hartford Rotary Club supported the district focus of literacy improvement through a project called "One School, One Book". This program is designed to create a shared reading experience within each elementary school.
Together both entities provided funding for the district to purchase the book, Cleo Edison Oliver, Playground Millionaire by Sundee Tucker Frazier, to all students in the district - grades 3-5. The Larson family also was on hand at Mayberry School to distribute the books during the roll out of the project.
Students read assigned chapters at home while listening (via chromebooks) to the chapters read by various staff members and community leaders - including Governor Lamont. This project provided for in school reading support and parent/child engagement at home. Teachers were encouraged by the energy and excitement to read the book.
Because it was a successful project, The Larson Foundation has agreed to generously support the “One School, One Book” program for the 2022-2023 school year at Mayberry Elementary School in East Hartford. With the Larson family having a connection to Mayberry School (the elementary school near the Larson homestead and the elementary school in which the the Larson children attended), East Hartford school administration felt that partnering with Mayberry School for this project would be a great way to enhance the district goal to increase literacy.
The 2023 chapter book, Almost Super, by Marion Jensen was selected and every student and staff member received a copy. Each week throughout the project, there were opportunities for students to hear the book read to them at school by staff, community leaders and members of the Larson Foundation. Students in turn completed activities to engage and excite them in the literacy process.