We received 13 exciting applications totaling $109,530 for the 2021 season. However, because we budgeted $55,000 for these grant awards, we regret that we were not able to fund some very interesting projects that were included in this round of applications. Several of our awards represent seed money for projects that are in development and will take much more money to execute, but we are providing a start for the organizations to pursue more funding in the future for their projects from larger funders.
Solar Youth: Trailblazers - $3,500: Youth led project that connects neighborhoods in the West Rock neighborhoods by building trails.
West River Watershed Coalition: Restoring a Resilient West River in Edgewood Park - $9,700: Seed grant money to evaluate bank stabilization in an eroded area.
SCSU Office of Sustainability, Integrating Land and Marine Stewardship with Kelp at the SCSU Campus Community Garden - $9,980: Partnering with a CT aquaculture company to harvest kelp and evaluate using it as a soil amendment in growing crops.
River Advocates of South Central CT: Impaired River Investigation - $5,000: Student interns will sample local rivers to inform us and CT's DEEP (Department of Energy and Environmental Protection) about the health status of our local rivers.
Southwest Conservation District: Farm River Greenway Trail - $10,000: Seed grant money to develop a greenway in East Haven, CT. This the first grant we have awarded to this organization and the second grant awarded in East Haven in ten years.
New Haven Urban Resources Initiative: Park Score for Environmental Justice - $8,000: Survey parks in New Haven for more equitable allocation of resources in the future.
New Haven Leon Sister City Project: Climate Leadership Organizing - $7,500: Youth-led advocacy to ask political entities to approve policies that address climate change.
SPONSORSHIPS: To date we have sponsored two events: Rock to Rock Earth Day Ride - $1,000, April 2021 CT Green Building Council Summit - $1,000, March 25 & 26, 2021