Dolphins aid Perry Cohen project
Fundraising, boosted by a $25,000 pledge from the Miami Dolphins Foundation, is continuing for the Perry J. Cohen Wetlands Laboratory at Jupiter High School.
The plan calls for raising about $400,000 to transform an existing stormwater retention pond at the front of the school into a wetlands habitat and outdoor classroom.
The Perry J. Cohen Wetlands Laboratory will include native plants, educational information and a boardwalk to provide hands-on training for Jupiter Community High School Environmental Research & Field Studies Academy students. Other students will also have access to the area.
In addition to the $25,000 pledged by the Miami Dolphins Foundation, about $30,000 has been raised in private contributions. The Perry Cohen Foundation has pledged to match the first $100,000 raised.
The goal is to complete the fundraising effort by February 2018. Construction would begin the following June and be completed in advance of the graduation of the class of 2019.
“We are extremely grateful to the Miami Dolphins Foundation and organization for their commitment to support such an important project that will educate and positively impact our community, the world’s natural resources, and the lives of tens of thousands of students over its lifetime. Not only was Perry a Dolphins fan and an incredible athlete, he loved the outdoors, nature, wildlife and marine life and all that it had to offer,” said Pamela Cohen, Perry Cohen’s mother and president of the Perry J. Cohen Foundation.
Perry and Austin Stephanos, both 14, were reported missing after leaving the Jupiter Inlet on July 24, 2015, in a 19-foot Seacraft boat. They never returned.
Perry had been accepted to attend the school’s environmental academy before he and Austin were was lost at sea.
The 200 students in the academy and the Partnership for Environmental Education have been working for several years to transform the existing stormwater retention pond into an outdoor classroom.
Students in ninth to 12th grade in the magnet pro- Bill DiPaolo gram study wetlands ecology, renewable energy and work with local environmental agencies such as the Jupiter Inlet District. They must complete 50 hours community service with a local environmental agency to graduate.
Shepard Fairey, the artist who created the iconic HOPE 2008 poster of President Barack Obama, plans to donate his time to create a mural for the project. Fairey will paint the mural on the wall at the wetlands project at Jupiter High.
Fairey, who has two young daughters and is friends with the Cohens, created the yellow and blue Perry Cohen Foundation logo for free for the nonprofit foundation founded by Perry’s parents to support the advancement of boating safety, marine and wildlife education and preservation, teenage entrepreneurship and supporting the arts.
“When I heard about what happened to Perry (and Austin Stephanos) it broke my heart. ... Perry’s story resonated with so many people. I want to help create good out of something tragic,” Farey told The Palm Beach Post in January.
Since 2004, JERFSA students have assisted in massive exotic plant removals, general tract cleanups, the reintroduction of native plant species, an ongoing tidal wetlands construction project, tortoise burrow monitoring and planting of more than 10,000 mangrove seedlings.
Students from ( JERFSA) have contributed more than 12,000 hours of volunteer service since the inception of the program. Many of the program’s graduates continue their education and careers in the marine and environmental studies fields.
For information about the project and the foundation, go to pjcf.org