Watsonville Environmental Science Student Workshop Gets $100K

WATSONVILLE, CA — Students in Watsonville, Santa Cruz County and beyond will have more time to brainstorm and create thanks to $100,000 in grant funding awarded to the Environmental Science Workshop —a Watsonville Public Works & Utilities program that runs after-school programs and workshops for free.

"Whatever a kid could want to make, we can help them make it," said Darren Gertler, coordinator of the program.

Physics Factory awarded Watsonville $25,000 for its workshop-on-wheels that travels throughout Watsonville and Pajaro. That money will help pay for staff time and materials, though Gertler said many of the materials used are donated or recycled.

"We're really good at dumpster diving due to the fact that we don't have (an) unlimited budget," he said.

Another $75,000 from the David and Lucille Packard Foundation will fund an after-school program for middle school students for two years. This is the first year the Workshop has received $75,000, up from the $50,000 award it has received over the past several years. That money will help pay staff, train staff and purchase higher-quality materials, Gertler said.

The Workshop partners with the Pajaro Valley Unified School District and offers an after-school workshop, where students can fix their bikes, work with a showing machine or even have access to a welder, he said.

The Watsonville City Council will decide Tuesday whether to accept the funds. Gertler expects it will; the Environmental Science Workshop relies on donations and grants for half of its funding.

Though the program is based in Watsonville, Gertler said the public is invited to stop by its River Park workshop (100 E. Front. St.) during the school year from 3:30 p.m. to 6:30 p.m. on Tuesdays, Thursdays and Fridays, and from 2 p.m. to 6 p.m. on Wednesdays. It's open during the summer from 2 p.m. to 6 p.m. from Tuesday to Friday, and Saturdays from 11 a.m. to 4 p.m.

Learn more about the Workshop at its website.