Grants

With support from Toyota Motor North America, the National Environmental Education Foundation (NEEF) is pleased to announce $150,000 in grant funding to make public lands more accessible and enjoyable for Americans of all abilities.

When the system of public lands in the United States was first created, its mission was to “preserve unimpaired the natural and cultural resources and beauty...for the enjoyment, education, and inspiration of this and future generations.” Today, land management agencies are tasked with the ongoing challenge of preserving ecologically and historically important sites—while making sure that they remain accessible to all segments of the population, including people with disabilities (From NEEF’s Public Land Engagement Guide: https://www.neefusa.org/conservation/public-lands-engagement/activity-guides/focus-on-accessibility-guide).

According to the Centers for Disease Control (https://www.cdc.gov/ncbddd/disabilityandhealth/infographic-disability-impacts-all.html), 61 million Americans are living with a disability and 26% of adults in the US have some type of disability. The National Park Service conservatively estimates that a minimum of 28 million visitors with disabilities from all over the world visit national parks annually. Making sure that everyone truly has access to our shared public lands and waters is an ongoing challenge, supported by activists, outdoors organizations, and land management agencies themselves. NEEF, among other organizations, is committed to making the environment more accessible, relatable, relevant, and connected to people’s daily lives.

The Pennsylvania Lake Management Society (PALMS), with funding from the Pennsylvania Department of Environmental Protection, is pleased to offer assistance to address lake-related issues of critically eroded shorelines, excess nutrient loading, and/or aquatic invasive species that degrade the quality of lakes in the Commonwealth. Through this program, we are offering a limited number of mini-grants on a competitive basis of up to $24,000 to correct identified lake problems such as stabilize shorelines, establish riparian buffers, reduce nutrients, and control invasive species.

Urban parks and green spaces—playgrounds, pocket parks, outdoor recreation facilities, open spaces, trails, gardens, and green infrastructure—are crucial for community health and well-being, a fact made clear during the COVID-19 pandemic. Despite widespread appreciation for the health and environmental benefits of urban parks and green spaces, evidence shows persistent inequities in access, availability, quality of facilities, and programming, by race, place, and income. The Robert Wood Johnson Foundation (RWJF) is working to build a Culture of Health where everyone in America has a fair and just opportunity to live the healthiest life possible. Park equity is a key component of this vision.

Act 13 of 2012 establishes the Marcellus Legacy Fund and allocates funds to the Commonwealth Financing Authority (the “Authority”) to be used to fund statewide initiatives to establish baseline water quality data on private water supplies using the Baseline Water Quality Data Program (BWQDP). Projects which involve practices for water sample collection and analysis to document existing groundwater quality conditions on private water supplies.

Applications will be accepted between February 1st and May 31st of each year. All applications and required supplemental information must be received by May 31st.