The National Environmental Education Foundation (NEEF) is pleased to announce the awardees for the 2020-21 Restoration and Resilience COVID Recovery Fund grant. Thanks to major support from Toyota Motor North America, International Paper, and the Hilton Effect Foundation, NEEF is providing over $200,000 in grant funding to support 87 public lands sites impacted by increased use during the COVID-19 pandemic.
“COVID-19 has made a significant impact on our lives, and public lands are no exception,” said Meri-Margaret Deoudes, president and CEO of NEEF. “Federal and local agencies and organizations have struggled to maintain public lands due to reduced staff and volunteer resources, as well as a dramatic increase in visitation during this time of social distancing. With the Restoration & Resilience COVID Recovery Fund, we can help restore these special places by distributing resources and mobilizing volunteers as needed.”
First established in 2018, NEEF's Restoration & Resilience Grant has provided monetary support for improving public lands and developing strategies to make those lands more resilient to future disasters. To date, NEEF and its partners have given over $260,000 in additional Restoration & Resilience Grant funding to land trusts and foundations across America, providing them with necessary resources to mobilize community volunteers and educate participants about the importance of their actions and their relationship to the long-term sustainability of local public lands.
With the 2020-21 Restoration and Resilience COVID Recovery Fund, NEEF is able to further refine its support for public lands directly affected by COVID-19. Standard eligibility restrictions were relaxed to reach as wide an audience as possible, including both public and private land to which the public or patrons have a reasonable expectation of relatively unrestricted access. Applicants were required to describe the impact of COVID-19 on the public land site and how their project would address this impact.
The following groups (arranged by type of project) will receive up to $2,500 to fund improvement projects on America's public lands:
- Adkins Arboretum, Ridgely, Maryland
- Bolsa Chica Conservancy, Huntington Beach, California
- Branch Brook Park Alliance, Newark, New Jersey
- California State Parks Foundation, San Francisco, California
- Charles River Conservancy, Cambridge, Massachusetts
- Corps of Engineers Natural Resources Education Foundation, Kansas City, Missouri
- Cottonwood Canyons Foundation, Cottonwood Heights, Utah
- Douglas-Hart Foundation, Mattoon, Illinois
- Dunwoody Nature Center, Dunwoody, Georgia
- EUREKA! McConnell Science Museum, Grand Junction, Colorado
- Fort Winnebago Surgeons Quarters, Portage, Wisconsin
- Friends of Long Hunter State Park, Hermitage, Tennessee
- Friends of Panthertown, Inc., Cashiers, North Carolina
- Friends of Reinstein Nature Preserve, Depew, New York
- Friends of Scotchman Peaks Wilderness, Sandpoint, Idaho
- Friends of the Lost Coast, Whitethorn, California
- Friends of the Lower Olentangy Watershed, Columbus, Ohio
- Friends of the North Fork of the Shenandoah River, Woodstock, Virginia
- Friends of the Upper Wabash Interpretive Services, Andrews, Indiana
- Governors Island Alliance, Inc., New York, New York
- Grand Canyon Youth, Flagstaff, Arizona
- Great Parks of Hamilton County, Cincinnati, Ohio
- Greater Farallones Association, San Francisco, California
- High Cascades Forest Volunteers, Springfield, Oregon
- Idaho Conservation League, Boise, Idaho
- Institute for Environmental Solutions, Denver, Colorado
- Ka 'Ohana O Honu'apo, Na'alehu, Hawaii
- Kennebunkport Conservation Trust, Cape Porpoise, Maine
- Lookout Mountain Conservancy, Lookout Mountain, Tennessee
- Maine Appalachian Trail Club, Portland, Maine
- Marine Park Alliance, Brooklyn, New York
- Mississippi River Water Trail Association, St. Charles, Missouri
- Mojave Desert Land Trust, Joshua Tree, California
- Natural Lands Trust, Media, Pennsylvania
- Nature Center at Shaker Lakes, Cleveland, Ohio
- North Shore Community Land Trust, Haleiwa, Hawaii
- Ozaukee Washington Land Trust, West Bend, Wisconsin
- Partnership for Providence Parks, Providence, Rhode Island
- Reeves-Reed Arboretum, Summit, New Jersey
- Roaring Fork Outdoor Volunteers, Basalt, Colorado
- Rock Creek Conservancy, Bethesda, Maryland
- Rocky Mountain Wild, Denver, Colorado
- San Diego Mountain Biking Association, San Diego, California
- Save Habitat and Diversity of Wetlands (SHADOW), Renton, Washington
- SOLVE, Portland, Oregon
- Southeast Michigan Land Conservancy, Superior Charter Township, Michigan
- Southern Conservation Trust, Fayetteville, Georgia
- Southwest Colorado Canyons Alliance, Cortez, Colorado
- Steep Rock Association, Washington Depot, Connecticut
- Sudbury Valley Trustees, Sudbury, Massachusetts
- USDA Forest Service, Norwood Ranger District, Norwood, Colorado
- Waltham Land Trust, Waltham, Massachusetts
- Wehr Nature Center, Milwaukee County Parks Department, Franklin, Wisconsin
- Westmoreland Sanctuary, Mount Kisco, New York
- Whitefish Legacy Partners, Whitefish, MT
- Wild Alabama, Moulton, Alabama
- Willamette Riverkeeper, Atlanta, Georgia
- Corps of Engineers Natural Resources Education Foundation, Kansas City, Missouri
- Door County Facilities and Parks, Sturgeon Bay, Wisconsin
- Friends of Long Hunter State Park, Hermitage, Tennessee
- Friends of the Upper Wabash Interpretive Services, Andrews, Indiana
- Grand Canyon Youth, Flagstaff, Arizona
- Idaho Trails Association, Boise, Idaho
- Kent Land Trust, Kent, Connecticut
- Land Trust of North Alabama, Huntsville, Alabama
- Lookout Mountain Conservancy, Lookout Mountain, Tennessee
- Maine Appalachian Trail Club, Portland, Maine
- Michigan Legacy Art Park, Thompsonville, Michigan
- San Diego Mountain Biking Association, San Diego, California
- Sequoyah State Park, Hulbert, Oklahoma
- South Yuba River Citizens League, Nevada City, California
- Southeast Michigan Land Conservancy, Superior Charter Township, Michigan
- Southwest Colorado Canyons Alliance, Cortez, Colorado
- Steep Rock Association, Washington Depot, Connecticut
- Sudbury Valley Trustees, Sudbury, Massachusetts
- Timucuan Parks Foundation, Jacksonville, Florida
- Botanical Garden of the Piedmont, Charlottesville, Virginia
- Charles River Conservancy, Cambridge, Massachusetts
- Corps of Engineers Natural Resources Education Foundation, Kansas City, Missouri
- Eastern Interior Field Office, Fairbanks, Alaska
- Friends of Long Hunter State Park, Hermitage, Tennessee
- Friends of Panthertown, Inc., Cashiers, North Carolina
- Friends of the Lost Coast, Whitethorn, California
- Friends of the North Pikes Creek Wetlands, Bayfield, Wisconsin
- Friends of the Upper Wabash Interpretive Services, Andrews, Indiana
- Great Parks of Hamilton County, Cincinnati, Ohio
- Hermann Park Conservancy, Houston, Texas
- Hot Springs National Park, Hot Springs, Arkansas
- Idaho Conservation League, Boise, Idaho
- Idaho Trails Association, Boise, Idaho
- Kennebunkport Conservation Trust, Cape Porpoise, Maine
- Kent Land Trust, Kent, Connecticut
- Kisatchie National Forest, Pineville, Louisiana
- Louisville Parks Foundation, Louisville, Kentucky
- Maine Appalachian Trail Club, Portland, Maine
- Marine Park Alliance, Brooklyn, New York
- Mohonk Preserve, Inc., New Paltz, New York
- North Shore Community Land Trust, Haleiwa, Hawaii
- Piedmont Appalachian Trail Hikers, Greensboro, North Carolina
- Potomac Appalachian Trail Club, Round Hill, Virginia
- Roaring Fork Outdoor Volunteers, Basalt, Colorado
- San Diego Mountain Biking Association, San Diego, California
- Shelby Farms Park Conservancy, Memphis, Tennessee
- Somerset County Park Commission, North Branch, New Jersey
- Southeast Michigan Land Conservancy, Superior Charter Township, Michigan
- Southern Appalachian Wilderness Stewards (SAWS), Asheville, North Carolina
- Southern Conservation Trust, Fayetteville, Georgia
- Steep Rock Association, Washington Depot, Connecticut
- Teaneck Creek Conservancy, Teaneck, New Jersey
- The Nature Connection, Hotchkiss, Colorado
- The Sawtooth Society, Inc., Hailey, Idaho
- Tree Advisory Committee, Norwalk, Connecticut
- Viles Arboretum, Augusta, Maine
- Whitefish Legacy Partners, Whitefish, MT
- Willamette Riverkeeper, Atlanta, Georgia
- City of Loveland Parks and Recreation Foundation, Loveland, Colorado
- Fort Winnebago Surgeons Quarters, Portage, Wisconsin
- Friends of Long Hunter State Park, Hermitage, Tennessee
- Ka 'Ohana O Honu'apo, Na'alehu, Hawaii
- San Diego Mountain Biking Association, San Diego, California
- Tahoe Heritage Foundation, South Lake Tahoe, California
- Wehr Nature Center, Milwaukee County Parks Department, Franklin, Wisconsin
- Wild Alabama, Moulton, Alabama
Learn More about the Restoration and Resilience COVID Recovery Fund Projects
For more information on the projects funded through NEEF's Restoration and Resilience COVID Recovery Fund, click the image below to visit our story map, with photos and information on the grant projects.
Find out about other funding opportunities from NEEF and our partners by visiting the Grants section of our website.
