As we celebrate Earth Day, Niagara Community Foundation (NCF) is pleased to announce our 2024 Environmental Grants.
From tree planting to restoration projects, educational campaigns to assessment studies, NCF's Environmental Grants have invested over $200,000 into Niagara in 2024.
“Once again we are pleased to see the variety and depth of projects this year,” says NCF’s Executive Director, Bryan Rose. “Our Environmental Grants program puts an emphasis on partnership and collaboration. We know that the complex and ever-changing needs across Niagara require us to work together and this grant program empowers the charitable sector to do just that.”
In 2022, NCF received a significant boost to the Environmental Grant program, through the Dorothea Thomas Foundation at the Niagara Community Foundation; a $5M gift that provided extra capacity to approve more projects within the sector.
Below is a list of the 2024 Environmental Grant Recipients:
Organization Name | Project Name | Project Summary | Grant |
| City of Niagara Falls | Environmental Action Committee Tree Planting Event | Environmental Action Committee will partner with local school groups to plant native Carolinian trees within Preakness Park to help enhance the urban forest canopy. | $4,500.00 |
| City of St. Catharines (Hair Neighbours) | The Queenston Tree Campaign | ArborSTC will canvass residences in the Queenston neighbourhood of St. Catharines to offer native species trees and/or tree planting services to property owners and tenants at no cost. | $3,525.00 |
| City of Welland | Kingsway Tree Re-planting | Support tree canopy replacement project along the Kingsway/Canal Lands is a proactive step toward environmental responsibility and community improvement. | $12,000.00 |
| Heartland Forest Nature Experience | Forest & Wetland Restoration and Community Education | Restore forest and wetland habitat, providing citizen science opportunities and educating through signage, interactive programming and a new Water Quality educational exhibit within the Discovery Atrium. | $33,000.00 |
| Niagara College | Motus Wildlife Tracking Tower at Niagara College - Welland Campus | Fill knowledge gaps with the necessary equipment to install a Motus tower at Welland Campus that will allow for complete coverage of Niagara Region, providing valuable data to inform conservation decisions on local & global scales. | $13,000.00 |
| Niagara Peninsula Conservation Authority | Coastal Wetland Habitat and Shoreline Restoration project at Lakewood Conservation Area | Restore 6 ha of wetland habitat and enhance 160 m of Lake Erie shoreline within Lakewood Conservation Area, including managing invasive species, planting of native trees/plants, and installing nature-based shoreline solutions. | $47,000.00 |
| Scouts Canada | Camp Wetaskiwin Twelve Mile Creek Watershed Improvements | Restore 12 Mile Creek, vital to Niagara's ecosystem, ensuring the return of brook trout and other species to Camp Wetaskiwin and remove invasives, plant native trees for shade, and curb erosion to revive the cold-water stream. | $30,000.00 |
| Shaw Festival Theatre, Canada | Creating a Model for Sustainability for the Theatre Industry in Canada | Assess current practices and carbon footprint and, using the Theatre Green Book as a guide, we will create a roadmap for us and for the Canadian theatre industry, on how to become more environmentally sustainable. | $10,000.00 |
| The Niagara Parks Foundation | Niagara River Shoreline Buffer Restoration Program | Restore and expand 1km of riparian vegetated buffers along the Niagara River shoreline through the removal of invasive species and the planting of over 7,500 native plants. | $20,000.00 |
| The Regional Municipality of Niagara | Stream Science Experiential Learning Model and Lesson Plan | Create and deliver hands-on learning opportunities to teach the community about stream science, how water moves across the landscape, why erosion happens, and how conservation practices can be implemented to prevent erosion and water quality impacts. | $10,000.00 |
| The Town of Lincoln | Town of Lincoln Miyawaki Mini Forests Pilot Project | Support Mini Forests Pilot Project, using the Miyawaki model, that aims to naturalize our urban spaces with a forest habitat, in compact areas, this project combats climate change, boosts urban biodiversity, and forms a green oasis. | $17,000.00 |
TOTAL | $200,025.00 |
