Schools Receive Pollinator Habitat Grants

Sand County Foundation is awarding pollinator habitat grants to agriculture and science programs at 16 high schools in Illinois, Iowa, Michigan, Minnesota, and Wisconsin.

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

Grant recipients receive native seeds and seedlings, consultation, and $1,000 to support project expenses.

Insect pollinators are essential for crop pollination and ecological diversity. In recent years their populations have declined partly due to loss habitat, especially in the agricultural landscape.

“Students will germinate and grow native plants over the winter, and plant them outside in the spring as an experiential learning opportunity,” said Haley Diem, Sand County Foundation school grant program coordinator. “We encourage applicants to partner with landowners to establish pollinator habitat on agricultural and other working lands.”

The selected schools are:

ILLINOIS

• Athens High School, Athens
• Fulton High School, Fulton
• Pleasant Plains High School, Pleasant Plains

IOWA

• East High School, Waterloo

• North Scott High School, Eldridge

• Sumner-Fredericksburg High School, Sumner

MICHIGAN

• Alma High School, Alma

• Jackson Area Career Center, Jackson

• Milan High School, Milan

MINNESOTA

• Face to Face Academy, St. Paul

WISCONSIN

• Amery High School, Amery

• Clayton High School, Clayton

• La Follette High School, Madison

• Mary D. Bradford High School, Kenosha

• North Division High School, Milwaukee

• Woli/Akii-gikinoo’amaading Environment Charter School, Hayward

Sand County Foundation is a national non-profit that champions voluntary conservation practices by farmers, ranchers, and forestland owners to improve soil, water, and wildlife habitat. The pollinator habitat grant program is made possible thanks to financial support from Syngenta, Monarch Joint Venture, U.S. Forest Service International Programs, We Energies Foundation, and Constellation. 

Educators and landowners interested in becoming involved in the project are encouraged to contact Haley Diem at hdiem@sandcountyfoundation.org for more information.