With support from Toyota Motor North America (TMNA), the National Environmental Education Foundation (NEEF) provided $200,000 in grant funding in support of two nonprofit organizations working on pollinator habitat enhancement projects in the United States. Habitat enhancement projects funded by this grant directly support the creation, restoration, remediation, improvement and protection of habitats for important pollinator species such as butterflies, bees, bats and more. Funds are also used to incorporate community outreach and engagement activities designed to educate the public and empower them to create and protect local pollinator habitats. 

NEEF, with support from TMNA, recently awarded three 2023 Biodiversity Conservation Grants to support pollinator habitat enhancement projects on America’s public lands. The grant period started in July 2023 and will run to the end of June 2024.

• The Urban Prairies Project (UPP) plans to leverage partnerships and volunteers to plant native species, reseed restoration areas, remove noxious weeds and collect native plant seed for propagation on public lands in the Denver metro area. NEEF funds will directly impact over 1,500 acres and expand volunteer and community engagement within UPP.
• Olmsted Parks Conservancy plans to enhance and preserve pollinator habitat in Louisville, Kentucky. The grant will improve or create 52 acres of pollinator habitat, including at Chickasaw Park, where volunteers will install a pollinator meadow to honor Muhammad Ali, who trained there in his youth.
• The San Joaquin River Parkway and Conservation Trust, Inc. plans to support understory plantings and seeding on nearly 1,000 acres of closely connected San Joaquin River Parkway properties in California, where woody shrubs can provide protection and nectar sources for monarch butterflies and other pollinators.