Pheasants Forever Youth Pollinator Habitat Program Offers Grants in Minn.

In an effort to support diverse wildlife habitat for the future of pollinators and upland gamebirds, Pheasants Forever is offering expanded grant opportunities for its signature “Youth Pollinator Habitat Program” in the state of Minnesota. Over 20 pollinator habitat grants of up to $2,500 are now available for youth community groups.

The program’s objectives are to increase awareness about declining grassland wildlife populations (including pheasants, quail, and pollinating insects), educate the general public on the importance of pollinator habitat, and establish quality pollinator habitat across the country. Local Pheasants Forever chapters and their partners are working with communities to create habitat projects that involve youth, school, and community groups.

“Pheasants Forever’s pollinator program has provided hands-on learning and educational opportunities for our students in an outdoor setting,” said Karla Juetten, curriculum coordinator for Weaver Lake Elementary School in Maple Grove, Minn., and recipient of Pheasant’s Forever’s most recent pollinator grant. “This space provides us a multi-year project for students to continue their learning in the realm of conservation.” In partnership with the Northwest Suburban Chapter of Pheasants Forever, students and volunteers established a high-diversity prairie for the benefit of pollinators and other wildlife while retaining its educational value.

Approximately one-third of all food consumed by humans is delivered by pollinators; including fruits, vegetables, nuts and coffee. Habitat necessary for rapidly declining populations of honey bees and monarch butterflies is also the very same diverse grassland and prairie flower habitat necessary for pheasants, quail, and a host of other wildlife species. Likewise, the insects produced in this habitat are the primary food source for pheasant chicks during their first months of life. 

Youth Pollinator Habitat Program Grant Details

Chapters/partners must engage a youth and/or community group in the establishment, maintenance, and monitoring of a pollinator habitat project (i.e. classrooms, 4H, Boy Scouts, Girl Scouts, FFA, etc.). 
Grants up to $2,500 are available in Minnesota for pollinator projects
All projects must occur on public lands
Pollinator projects must meet minimum pollinator habitat specifications set by the U.S. Department of Agriculture:

    1. Projects must be a minimum of 1/2 acre in size
    2. If planted in a strip, strip must be a minimum of 20 ft. wide
    3. Pollinator seed mix must include a minimum of nine native wildflower species
    4. At least three species shall have their primary onset of blooming during each period of April-June 15,          June 15-July, and August-October

Chapters/partners must provide a dollar-to-dollar match in order to receive grant funding for their projects. Match would include cash match from chapters and partners as well as in-kind match from donations and volunteer time spent establishing, maintaining and monitoring projects.
To apply for the Youth Pollinator Habitat Program, contact Drew Larsen, Pheasants Forever’s national habitat education specialist, at (308) 293-1194 or dlarsen@pheasantsforever.org.

Pheasants Forever’s Youth Habitat Pollinator Program is made possible by funding support from Minnesota’s Environment and Natural Resources Trust Fund, DuPont Pioneer, SportDog Brand, and local chapters of Pheasants Forever.

About Pheasants Forever

Pheasants Forever, including its quail conservation division, Quail Forever, is the nation's largest nonprofit organization dedicated to upland habitat conservation. Pheasants Forever and Quail Forever have more than 140,000 members and 700 local chapters across the United States and Canada. Chapters are empowered to determine how 100 percent of their locally raised conservation funds are spent, the only national conservation organization that operates through this truly grassroots structure.  Since creation in 1982, Pheasants Forever has spent $577 million on 489,000 habitat projects benefiting 12 million acres nationwide.

Photo: Cory McClure, youth program coordinator for the Northwest Suburban Chapter of Pheasants Forever, works beside his daughter during the most recent Youth Pollinator Habitat Program project at Weaver Lake Elementary School in Maple Grove, Minn. The local chapter of Pheasants Forever contributed money and time towards the school project which was matched by a grant from the Minnesota Environment and Natural Resources Trust Fund.

Media Contact
Jared Wiklund
(651) 209-4953
jwiklund@pheasantsforever.org