COLLIER CITIZEN

DDWS teacher grants deadline Oct. 31

Submitted

Deadline for the “Ding” Darling Wildlife Society-Friends of the Refuge (DDWS) 13th Annual Teacher Conservation Grants is Oct. 31.

Up to $10,000 in grant awards are available to districts, schools and individual teachers in Lee, Charlotte, and Collier counties this school year for conservation education-related projects.  

Teachers in the three-county area may apply for grants up to $1,000 each to fund new classroom science projects, promote stewardship, purchase teaching aids, acquire classroom materials, and conduct work projects in their community or beyond. This year, two grants up to $3,000 are also available to school- and district-wide projects.   

Refuge ranger Monica Scroggin leads a tour with Immokalee Middle School for its 2018 grant-funded"All Creatures Great & Small" project.

All applicants are invited to submit conservation-related proposals by Oct. 31. The approved proposals will be awarded by December 2018 for projects to be completed by May 2019. 

“Our conservation grants are an important part of the society’s mission to educate and create future conservation stewards out of our young students of today,” Wendy Kindig, DDWS Environmental Education Committee chair said. “This year we are offering two new $3,000 grants to encourage larger creative projects that will touch more students. Plus, we still offer $1,000 grants for teachers with single-class projects or smaller needs.” 

In the past 12 years, DDWS has granted more than $80,300 to local schools for environmental projects. The teacher grants are funded by monies received from the DDWS Conservation Education Endowment Fund established by Jay “Ding” Darling’s grandson, the late Kip Koss.

To make a tax-deductible donation in support of the fund, contact DDWS executive director Birgie Miller at 239-472-1100 ext. 4 or director@dingdarlingsociety.com. 

For further grant information and an application, visit tinyurl.com/dinggrants, or contact Sierra Hoisington at 472-1100 ext. 4 or shois@dingdarlingsociety.org.