Pollinator Grants Offered to High Schools

Sand County Foundation is now accepting applications from high school teachers for pollinator habitat grants.

This competitive grant program gives Iowa, Minnesota and Wisconsin high school students hands-on experience growing native wildflowers and establishing habitat for imperiled insect pollinators and monarch butterflies.

Successful applications will receive prairie seeds and seedlings, a webinar and consultation, and $1,000 to support project expenses. The deadline to apply is November 19, 2021. To apply, visit www.sandcountyfoundation.org/SchoolGrants.

Insect pollinators are essential for crop pollination and ecological diversity. In recent years their numbers are low partly due to loss of native wildflower habitat, especially in the agricultural landscape. Restoring habitat for pollinators is a key component of a regenerative food production system.

“Students will germinate and grow native plants in the greenhouse in late winter and early spring, and manage and monitor the site through the summer,” said Parker Witt, Sand County Foundation agricultural conservation specialist. “We encourage applicants to partner with landowners to establish pollinator habitat on agricultural and other working lands.”

Pollinator habitat grant program sponsors include: Syngenta, Enel Green Power North America Inc., Dairyland Power Cooperative, and the Natural Resources Foundation of Wisconsin.

In addition to the grant program, teachers can access a Pollinator Habitat Curriculum Guide. Aligned with state and national education standards, the guide’s activities engage students in planning, establishing, managing and monitoring prairie habitat. The guide is available for free download at https://bit.ly/2JHdq1u.

Sand County Foundation is a national non-profit that champions voluntary conservation practices by farmers and ranchers to improve soil, water and wildlife habitat.