Schoolyard Habitat Action Grant

Grants of up to $1,000 to Illinois PreK-12 teachers, youth group leaders, and nature center personnel to engage students in hands-on environmental stewardship activities. Projects must be implemented on school grounds or other public spaces, such as parks, nature centers, and forest preserve district lands.

Projects must emphasize student and youth involvement with planning, development, and maintenance and increase the educational and wildlife habitat values of the site. The applicant must be prepared to maintain and commit resources to the project for at least five years. 

There are two grant options:

Option One: The Standard Pollinator Garden Option

The Standard Pollinator Garden Option provides the applicant with a pre-selected list of native plant species to include in a pollinator garden.

The Standard Pollinator Garden Option provides the applicant with a pre-selected list of native plant species to include in a pollinator garden. All 14 of these plant species must be
purchased with funding through this option. Other items eligible for purchase through this option are mulch, topsoil or related soil product and lumber or hardware.

Option Two: Habitat Projects

Habitat projects may include, but not be limited to, the following activities: enhance or establish and maintain a schoolyard prairie plot, butterfly garden, rain garden, wetland, native tree arboretum, nesting platform or watering station; design and build a bird feeder or feeding station; or construct and install bat roosting boxes.

Funding requests for Option Two grants should focus on items necessary for enhancement or development of wildlife habitats, such as native plants, seeds, mulch and lumber/hardware for constructing nesting or roosting boxes and platforms. 

Plans that include vegetation should use native species.