Neah Bay High School and Markishtum Middle School that serve students from the Makah Tribe on the Olympic Peninsula of WA state are one of the 12 finalists in Samsung’s Solve for Tomorrow contest. To help them get funding for technology to support their science project, all you have to do is go to http://www.samsung.com/... and vote for them. They have an impressive documentary video (at the Samsung site) showing their project to restore the soil of Tatoosh Island, a sacred Makah island off Cape Flattery that is heavily polluted by diesel fuel from years of government use of the island. Voting Closes at 11:59 p.m. ET on Monday, March 12, 2012! So consider doing it right now!
There is a local news article about the contest at the Peninsula Daily News website. This small Native American community is competing with much larger school districts across the country that can muster large voting blocks. However, I think you'll find the Neah Bay story very compelling when you watch their video and it's a project that is real. The students are already experimenting with the fungi they hope will clean up the contamination. It's a project that promises significant impact both on the science education of these Makah students, but also on the restoration of their environment.
Washington State isn't eligible for the Inoculation Projects that Daily Kos supports at DonorsChoose, but the community that believes in Science and Math education can certainly get behind supporting these Makah students in their efforts.
So please go to http://www.samsung.com/..., look at their great documentary video, and vote for Neah Bay!