Grants Available to Help Youth Learn About Wildlife

The state of New Hampshire is offering mini-grants of $300 - $600 to teachers and others in the community who want to help youth learn more about wildlife. Through the New Hampshire Fish and Game Department, the grants will help teachers and others to develop habitat projects that can take place at schools, in public areas or other places in the community.

Nine out of 10 teachers in New Hampshire elementary schools teachers last year were female, according to the state Department of Education. This provides an excellent opportunity for women, as well as men, to apply for a Homes for Wildlife Action Grant Program mini-grant that will make a tremendous impact on young students.

The project design is totally up to the teacher. It can include anything from butterflies to birds, fish to amphibians. As long as the project is designed to provide a hands-on learning opportunity for children, applicants may request help through the grant program. The first $300 does not have to be matched; the second $300 of a $600 grant request must be matched by a school or organization.

The grant program is sponsored and funded by the Conservation License Plate fund (moose plates), through the Nongame and Endangered Wildlife Program at Fish and Game. The program has supported more than 150 projects in New Hampshire since 2001.

For more information, visit http://www.wildnh.com/Education/project_HOME.html