With origins in both Stark County, Ohio and southeast Florida, the Foundation often works to link these geographic areas, bringing seemingly disparate groups and interests together to form innovative and ground-breaking technologies and theories. Coupled with outreach and media exposure, these advances lead to new ways of thinking about issues and means to solving our most challenging issues.
CURRENT FEATURED PROJECTS
Beech Creek Pond Restoration: A Journey to a Healthy Ecosystem
Focus Area: Education
2021 – This grant provides the funds necessary to restore a pond on the Beech Creek property to a healthy, natural habitat, and it supports educational opportunities for students and teachers in Stark County to learn about ecological restoration and natural habitats throughout the process.
Non-target Analysis of Ohio River Waters in Response to Major Chemical Plant Building and Operation
Focus Area: Environment
2021 – Scientists from Kent State University and Florida International University will collaborate on a scientific study to assess pollutants in the Ohio River using the novel non-target analysis method. This water “fingerprinting” of the Ohio River over time can provide citizens the information needed to understand the health of the Ohio River and how it is impacted by various land use changes.
Pew Marine & Biomedical Science Fellowship
Focus Area: Science
2021 – This grant creates the first-ever Pew Charitable Trusts program linking marine and biomedical scientists. Following the framework of Pew’s Marine Fellows and Biomedical Scholars programs, this grant will provide funding each year over three years for a competitively selected individual to conduct a pioneering project melding these two fields.
Communicating the Connectedness – Healthy Watersheds, Healthy Oceans
Focus Area: Education
2021 – Malone University students will engage in local watershed projects in collaboration with the Stark Soil and Water District and Ohio State University Stark County Agricultural Extension. These students would then be eligible to participate in a trip to Florida to conduct scientific research with UM Sharktagging, Rescue a Reef, and Debris Free Oceans in Miami, Florida.
Incorporating Literacy, Diversity, and Social/Emotional Learning into K-12 Science and STEM
Focus Area: Education
2021 – The fifth year of The Herbert W. Hoover Foundation Speaker Series is unique, as it brings National Geographic Fellow and waste systems expert, Dr. Jenna Jambeck, to Stark County to conduct a closed-loop systems assessment of the Ohio River, starting from Canton, Ohio, in collaboration with students in Stark County. This is part of a larger effort to assess waste in the Mississippi River Basin, which drains to the Gulf of Mexico. Other speakers include Dr. Neil Hammerschlag, Dalton Hesley, and Richard Kern in either an in-person or remote setting.
Automating the Detection of Harmful Algal Blooms using Google Earth Engine and Google Cloud Platform
Focus Area: Science
2021 – Building on previous research funded by the Herbert W. Hoover Foundation, researchers will automate the novel method of analyzing water quality in the Google Earth Engine and Google Cloud Platform, meaning researchers around the globe could have access to an inexpensive and consistent method of assessing water health.
Determining and Addressing the Causes of Reproductive Failure in Corals in FL and HI
Focus Area: Science
2020 – Using novel techniques developed by Dr. Robert Richmond of the University of Hawaii, scientists will assess the health of coral reefs in Florida and Hawaii with the goal of pinpointing their main stressors with specificity. Ultimately, this will allow resource managers the opportunity to enhance coral populations in their regions by stopping these pollutant stressors at their source.
Field-Scale Estimates of Soil Carbon Based on Modeling and Soil Optical Properties
Focus Area: Science
2020 – Building upon prior grants provided by the Herbert W. Hoover Foundation, this project by Ohio State University and Kent State University seeks to assess the quality of soil through imaging. This will enable farmers, scientists, and resource managers to more readily assess carbon sequestration capacity in soil as well as overall soil health at a fraction of the cost.
Rebuilding Coral Populations Through Reefs of Opportunity
Focus Area: Environment
2020 – This funding to the South Florida National Parks Trust will support Biscayne National Park’s efforts to rebuild and restore its coral reef populations, providing habitat for the multitude of species that reside there.
Continuing the Study of Neurodegenerative Disease and Algal Blooms
Focus Area: Science
2020 – Scientists at the University of Miami Brain Endowment Bank will continue to study the linkages between BMAA, a blue-green algal toxin, and neurodegenerative disease. By analyzing donor brain tissue, this study will build upon long-term funding from HWHF investigating the link between blue-green algae and brain disease.
Using Satellite Imagery to Analyze Toxic Algal Blooms
Focus Area: Science
2020 – Dr. Joseph Ortiz at Kent State University, in partnership with SkyTruth, receives funding to monitor toxic algal blooms in Lake Okeechobee utilizing Google Earth Engine and spectral decomposition methods. Toxic algal blooms can unexpectedly shock a community and disrupt its ability to obtain clean water, as these blooms can lead to liver disease, kill pets, and even cause neurodegenerative disease. With this technology, communities can receive notice further in advance as to whether to expect a toxic algal bloom so they can take action to protect themselves as well as action to prevent additional algal blooms in the future.
Stark Sustainable Soil Initiative
Focus Area: Environment
2019 – HWHF is providing funding to The Ohio State University to conduct groundbreaking soil health research under the direction of world-renowned soil scientist Rattan Lal in Stark County. On-farm studies will assess the impact of agronomic management for restoration of soil health on crop yield and nutritional quality. Improved management practices, including conservation agriculture with and without cover crops, and with and without use of farmyard manure, will be implemented. The project will produce globally relevant outcomes by adding new insights to the literature on assessing the carbon footprint of small landholder production systems.
North Canton Heritage Trail
Focus Area: Community
2019 – Funding was provided to the North Canton Heritage Society for the installation of seven permanent signs spread throughout the city of North Canton. These signs showcase important historical events and contributions of local residents and organizations throughout history, including the impact of The Hoover Company and family.
Aerosolized Algal Toxins in Biscayne Bay and South Florida
Focus Area:
2018 – The Foundation supports the research of Dr. Larry Brand, at the University of Miami, studying the aerosolization of toxins released from Harmful Algal Blooms. This research looks at Biscayne Bay, where many people live and there is a high abundance of cyanobacteria due to land runoff of nutrients. Most previous Harmful Algal Bloom research focuses on the presence of these toxins in water and seafood. This novel research aims to give more insight into the human health risks of communities neighboring water bodies with Harmful Algal Blooms.
Lettuce Provide Massillon City Schools Indoor Gardens
Focus Area: Education
2018 – HWHF provides funding for 5 Massillon City Schools to procure indoor hydroponic gardens and the tools needed to teach students about agriculture and its effect on personal, community, and environmental health. Using these hydroponic gardens, students plant seeds, watch them grow, harvest, and eat the food that they grew directly inside of their classroom. This experience allows students to see the entire life cycle of agronomy, from seed to salad. (Photo Credit: Kevin Whitlock)
Creating “Media Building-Blocks of Environmental Knowledge” (MBEK) aka the “Ocean Health Voyage”
Focus Area: Education
2014 – HWHF funds the development and creation of the online course “Ocean Health Voyage,” an innovative educational online platform that weaves a modular syllabus with adventurous documentary-style films. The educational cinematic experience features marine researchers on-site from field locations, above and underwater, as they teach fundamental ocean science and shine a light on the real-life complexities of working with stakeholders, finding solutions for balancing resource consumption, and conservation. This course is offered to members of the Hemispheric University Consortium, bringing the course from the United States to 6 other countries – Universidad Austral in Argentina, Universidad de los Andes in Colombia, Pontificia Universidad Católica Madre y Maestra in the Dominican Republic, Universidad San Francisco de Quito in Ecuador, Tecnologico de Monterrey and Universidad de las Americas Puebla in Mexico, and Universidad Peruana Cayetano Heredia in Peru.