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Community Conservation Grants

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Community Conservation Grants for green projects

Each year, the GRCF and GRCA award Community Conservation Grants to groups and schools undertaking conservation projects in communities throughout the Grand River watershed. To be eligible, projects must be located in the Grand River watershed and available for the use or benefit of the entire community.

Grants of up to $1,000 are available for community groups and up to $750 for elementary schools. Preference is given to greening projects (such as schoolyard naturalizations and other tree and shrub plantings) rather than hardscaping. Community groups must have, or have access to, a registered charitable number. Applicant schools must be located within the Grand River watershed. Private schools, homeschool organizations and secondary schools are not eligible. Your school must ensure that your school board is aware that you are applying for a grant, and your school's Principal or Vice Principal must sign the application.

The 2023 Community Conservation Grants are now closed. Thank you to all of our 2023 applicants!

Successful applicants for 2023 have been notified. Each year the number of applications exceeds the amount we are able to grant. We appreciate all applications, however only those applicants who are successful will be notified.

Please note that due to the volume of applications we receive, we are not able to provide specific feedback to unsuccessful applicants.

Please subscribe to this webpage to receive notifications about the 2024 Community Conservation Grants when it is posted.

2023 Grant Winners

Elementary Schools

  • Courtland Avenue Public School - Native Shade Trees School Yard Greening Project
  • Monsignor Haller Catholic Elementary School - Haller Gardens
  • Groh Public School - Groh PS Garden
  • Lester B Pearson Public School - LBPs Pollinator Garden and Garden Club
  • N A MacEacharn Public School - Trees to Provide Shade 

Community Groups

  • Kitchener Horticultrual Society - Woodland Hillside
  • Crossing All Bridges Learning Centre - Nature-Based Learning
  • West Village Community Development Co-operative - Native Pollinator Garden

 

Grant funding sources
 Funding for the grants comes from two main funding sources:

  1. The GRCA's Thiess RiverPrize Endowment Fund. This fund was established in 2000 with the proceeds of the Thiess RiverPrize, which the GRCA won in 2000 for excellence in watershed management.

  2. The General Endowment Fund, established through private donations to support local environmental work.
Project examples

Community Conservation Grants can help turn your green dreams into reality! Here are just a few examples of the types of projects the grants may help with:

  • Community and pollinator gardens
  • Mindfulness nature spaces
  • Ecosystem preservation
  • Trees to provide shade
  • Naturalization efforts
Previous grant winners

The grant winners in 2022 were:

Elementary Schools

  • Country Hills Public School - Outdoor Classroom 
  • Riverside Public School - Nature & Windbreak Area Phase 2 
  • Sacred Heart (Rockwood) - Pollinator Garden/Green Space 
  • Notre Dame Catholic School - Notre Dame Greening Project 

Community Groups

  • Authur Trails Group - Pollinator Sanctuary 
  • Vista Hill Community Gardens - Native Pollinators Re-introduction to Vista Hill Sundew Park 
  • Ruthven Park National Historic Site - Soil Erosion Management at Ruthven Park

 

The grant winners in 2021 were:

Elementary Schools

  • Elora Public School

  • Rainham Central School 

  • Sheppard Public School

  • Westwood Public School

Community Groups

  • Elmira District Community Living

  • Haldimand Horticultural Group

  • Vista Hills Community Garden

  • Waterloo Region Children's Safety Village
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