Illinois Schools Help Promote Pollinators

Sand County Foundation is awarding pollinator seed starter kits to nine schools in Illinois.

The seed starter kits give K-12 students hands-on experience growing and planting milkweed and other pollinator-friendly wildflowers. Insect pollinators and monarch butterflies are essential for food production and ecological diversity, but their populations are at risk.

The selected schools are:

Cobden Unit School District, Cobden

Galva Community School District, Galva

Lincoln Middle School, Edwardsville

Paw Paw Elementary District, Paw Paw

Pecatonica High School, Pecatonica

Pleasant Plains High School, Pleasant Plains

PORTA Junior and Senior High School, Petersburg

Rolling Meadows High School, Rolling Meadows

Winchester Schools, Winchester

The kits were awarded to nearly 70 schools throughout Illinois, Iowa, Michigan, Minnesota, and Wisconsin. 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.

“Students are sowing native wildflower seeds over the winter and will transplant them outdoors in the spring as an experiential learning opportunity.” said Haley Diem, Sand County Foundation Education and Outreach Specialist. “Many schools are excited by this project because students of any age can participate, and it does not require a lot of time and resources.”

Each school received enough seed to grow at least 100 seedings, which they can use to establish a pollinator garden or as a giveaway to the community.

“Many native wildflowers require little maintenance while providing habitat and a food source for insect pollinators and monarch butterflies, year after year,” Diem added.

This first phase of the seed starter activity serves about 8,300 students. Sand County Foundation expects to accept applications for another round of schools to apply for seed starter kits in late 2025. To learn more, visit www.sandcountyfoundation.org/schoolgrants.

This work is made possible thanks to financial support from Syngenta, Monarch Joint Venture, U.S. Forest Service International Programs, Constellation, and Sand County Foundation’s Haglund Ecology Fund.