By Susan Harkins

This year, we were thrilled to receive numerous applications for our pollinator grant program. Selecting the winners was no easy task, as each proposal showcased incredible dedication and innovation. However, after careful consideration, we’ve chosen five projects that not only promise to enhance public education but also boast strong collaborative partnerships. Without further ado, let’s meet the winners!

Forestry Outreach Center

Located in Berea, the Forestry Outreach Center plans to utilize their grant to create more accessible community spaces celebrating native plants and wildlife. Equipped with informative signage, the area will transform into a captivating self-guided tour for the community. Students will lend their hands for the project while the dedicated staff ensures its upkeep. Berea’s educational staff will fulfill the crucial role of educational partners, enriching the learning experience for all involved.

Legacy Grove Park

Legacy Grove Park, managed by the nonprofit Legacy Greenscapes, stands as a testament to visionary park design. Featuring a sprawling two-acre play area inspired by Kentucky’s iconic landmarks, nature trails teeming with indigenous flora and fauna, and extensive ADA-accessible pathways, the park is a haven for both nature enthusiasts and families. With this grant, the park aims to establish garden beds brimming with native species, further enriching its ecological tapestry. Supported by a passionate volunteer program and led by garden curator Anna Campomanes, Legacy Grove Park is poised to continue its mission of environmental stewardship and community engagement.

Owensboro Community and Technical College (OCTC) Fund

Owensboro Community and Technical College (OCTC), dedicated to empowering individuals and transforming communities, will utilize their grant to establish a vibrant pollinator garden near the administrative building. Situated in a high-traffic area, the garden will serve as a living classroom for students and the public alike. With plans to incorporate the garden into various curricula and open its doors to the community, OCTC exemplifies a commitment to accessible education and environmental awareness.

St. Xavier High School

The Environmental Club at St. Xavier High School embarks on an exciting journey with this grant to create a pollinator garden within their school grounds. Providing students with a hands-on learning experience, the garden aims to raise awareness about the importance of preserving habitat diversity. Supported by Environmental Biologist II, Rebecca Clark, from the Kentucky Division of Water, and bolstered by a dedicated group of students and parents, St. Xavier High School is poised to become a hub of environmental education and activism.

Corbin School of Innovation

Their pollinator garden will be on site at Corbin School of Innovation which is a shared space with Corbin Elementary School. Both schools will be using the pollinator garden for scientific observations, calming space, and research for environmental education projects/biology. Support will be given from our maintenance department who will maintain the area around it. The Montessori middle and high school will be maintaining and up keeping the garden through weeding and replacing plants as needed yearly.
The Corbin Garden Club has also offered to come and add plants to it as needed. The Whitley County Extension has also offered to help with preparing the garden beds

We Encourage You to Apply

As we look forward to the next grant cycle, slated to open in January, we invite all interested parties to consider applying. Subscribers of The Ladyslipper will receive timely announcements and updates. While anyone is welcome to apply, we do emphasize a few key requirements:

• An educational partner with agricultural expertise must be involved to guide the project over a two-year period.
• Preference will be given to projects integrated into curricula.
• Preference will be given to projects accessible to the public, within reason.

Let’s continue cultivating a greener, more sustainable future together.

The Kentucky Native Plant Society (KNPS) is thrilled to announce the continuation of its Native Plant Pollinator Garden Grant, following a successful pilot phase last year. In its initial year, six grants of $500 each were awarded, marking a significant step towards promoting biodiversity and environmental education.

Our mission is to encourage people to establish pollinator gardens. They don’t have to be huge or even aesthetically beautiful for our purposes. They simply need to exist where humans can see them, commune with them, and learn about them.

The grant’s objective

The grant aims to foster the establishment of native plant pollinator gardens, emphasizing not only the ecological benefits but also the educational enrichment they provide. Through these gardens, KNPS seeks to nurture a deeper understanding and appreciation of native plant species and their crucial role in pollination.

This unique initiative partners with organizations that share an educational mission for two reasons:

• Pollinator gardens often fail. They have plenty of people willing to help, but the organization often lacks the expertise to establish and maintain a successful garden.
• We hope that these gardens will ‘put the bee in the bonnet’ of visitors. If only a few visitors go home and plant a few native plants for pollinator support, we all win.

These gardens can serve as vital educational tools, offering firsthand learning opportunities about pollination, plant species, and ecosystem health for our native plants.

Grant details

Details can be found on the application form, but in a nutshell, if you have a group of volunteers and a site that’s open to the public, within reason, or you plan to use the garden for educational purposes, and you have an educational partner, you qualify. If you don’t have an educational partner, we encourage you to apply because we can help you find someone.

To apply for a grant, follow this link to the KNPS Grants page. There you will find more details about the grant and a form to apply. But hurry, funds are limited. It doesn’t matter to us if you plant immediately or this fall, only that you plant in 2024. If you have any questions, email us at Grants@knps.org

Tichenor Middle School in Erlanger got a late start on their pollinator garden, but the students put forth a spectacular effort. The garden will be fabulous this spring!

Steven McNabb, a teacher at Tichenor, is the adult sponsored for the project. WildOnes Cincinnati are providing educational support for the next two years to help ensure the garden’s success. The school received a $500 grant from Kentucky Native Plant Society, and Ironweed Native Plant Nursery in Waddy supplied the native plants.

The school is hoping to plant even more plants this spring if they can secure more funding.

We have one more pollinator garden grant to announce for 2023. Tichenor Middle School of Erlanger, KY received a $500 grant to start a pollinator garden this fall. Science teacher, Steven McNabb is the school’s sponsor and the Greater Cincinnati WildOnes chapter has agreed to be their educational partner for the next two years. Ironweed Native Plant Nursery in Waddy, Kentucky is supplying the plants.

They plan to break ground in the next few weeks, so the garden will be ready for spring.