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Grants
Wyoming Youth for Natural Resources
- Application Instructions
- Application Form (fillable pdf)
- Application Form (word)
- Final Report Forms
- 2010 Recipients
- Grant Application Checklist
2011 Project winners
Wyoming Agriculture in the Classroom WYNR Grant Advisory Committee awarded $26,325.00 to project applicants for the 2011 grant year. See below for project summaries. Want to apply? Please download the application documents and submit by January 1, 2012.
- Jackson Hole Wildlife Film Festival – “Summer Quest”
The Jackson Hole Wildlife Film Festival (JHWFF) is a non-profit organization dedicated to encouraging natural history programming world-wide and is committed to education and outreach through the innovative use of media, increasing the appreciation and awareness of wildlife and habitats. The JHWFF has initiated several partnerships designed to enhance curriculum presented to schoolchildren in these areas and will provide office space, administration and coordination services to the project as well as instruction in photography and all new media aspects of the program.
The Teton County School District’s mission is to ensure that all students have the foundation for success and are challenged to reach their full potential. Serving 1035 elementary school students, including 148 latinos, the District employs 97 school teachers. TCSD has committed to funding the salaries of its employees involved in this program as well as the transportation costs associated with busing students to the Refuge for field trips.
Tree Fight is a project of Befingia South with support from Bridger-Teton National Forest and Grand Teton National Park. Tree Fight is committed to inform the public of the plight of the GYE’s white-bark pines, and to search for solutions to prevent their extinction and engage citizen scientists in this process.
- Niobrara County Conservation District – “Niobrara Recycles with Pride”
In the next few years the towns of Manville and Lusk are faced with the closure of the landfill. Several wells have shown contamination. The Niobrara Recycles Project will expand the communities’ recycling efforts in order to help mitigate the landfill closure, educate the community on safe alternatives and encourage the use of the recycling center and trailers, Household Hazardous Waste Collections and other opportunities to protect the environment. Students from the Niobrara County High School will design and construct recycling trailers and develop and educational campaign to promote recycling and Best Management Practices to protect the groundwater and the community.
- Sheridan County School District – “Sagebrush Outdoor Lab”
Sagebrush Elementary School fourth graders will be involved in the 21st season of an outdoor environment project call Outdoor Lab. This is a three to four week long unit of environmental activities that take place at the Sagebrush school with culminating sessions at the Thorne-Rider Youth Camp. Lessons are present by personnel from the Wyoming Game and Fish Department, the U.S. Forest Service, Wyoming Wilderness Association, Sheridan County Conservation District, University of Wyoming Extension Agency and Sheridan Area Search and Rescue. Other community members and district teachers also participate as volunteer labor or presenters.
Many students have not had the opportunity to experience and learn about the magnificent outdoor area surrounding them. Outdoor Lab provides the fourth graders with information and experiences pertaining to Wyoming wildlife, habitat awareness and water conservation. It also models career opportunities in these fields for Sagebrush students. As a result of Outdoor Lab, Sagebrush students become more responsible users of nature and more award of their environment.
- Campbell County Conservation District – “Black Hills Natural Resources Youth Camp”
Black Hills Natural Resources Youth Camp is a three-day natural resource camp for students ages 9 to 13. The camp utilizes the pristine outdoor classroom at Camp Mallo to educate the youth of Wyoming about natural resources, camping and team building. Hands-on lessons instructed by Wyoming Game and Fish, NRCS, Conservation Districts and Audubon of Wyoming personnel teach the students about soil, water, plants, animals, air and human influences. Wise use, coordination, stewardship and public involvement are also included in the camp’s educational menu. The camp also focuses on team building and careers in the natural resource field. The Wyoming Youth for Natural Resources funds will go to provide educational materials, camp expenses (fishing poles, archery supplies, teambuilding, etc) and supplies. Each year the camp theme changes and focuses on a specific natural resource. We have not decided on a theme for 2011, but the 2010 theme was “Conservation Habits = Healthy Habitats” and focused on habitat and habitat change due to development, boat safety, fishing ethics, geo-caching and utilizing GPS, wildlife relationships and more. Team building, hikes and camp fire activities are camp favorites.
- Sublette County 4-H Council – “Bluebird Housing Project”
The Sublette County 4-H Afterschool Program in the community of Pinedale, Wyoming proposes to build and erect 20 bluebird houses in Pinedale’s two public parks to create a bluebird trail and improve habitat for bluebirds in our community. The students will learn about bluebirds through programming that will be conveyed by Wyoming Audubon society naturalists. With the assistance of community volunteers the students will assist in the construction and erection of the birdhouses, and they will learn how to monitor bird activity. It is anticipated that their work, which will be documented by local newspaper reports and the county website, will serve as a catalyst for community members to become involved and aware of diminishing numbers of bluebirds and the reasons for conservation efforts to encourage sustainability of the species.
- Wyoming Land Trust – “Wyoming Nature Camps”
The Wyoming Land Trust (WLT) is a 501 (c)(3) nonprofit organization with the mission to work with landowning families to conserve Wyoming’s agricultural and natural heritage for today’s inhabitants and as a legacy for future generations. If we are going to continue to speak about our work in generational terms, it seems only appropriate to further our efforts to work with and engage the next generation, the future stewards of the lands and natural resources of the State of Wyoming.
The WLT plans to host, with the Teton Science School, Nature Camps in the summer of 2011 in four communities around the state: Campbell County, Natrona County, Sublette County and Sweetwater County. We plan to build on the success of two years of camp experience in Sublette County, where each year 48 children participated in educational and recreational activities focused on the area’s natural resources. The WLT will again use public and private lands as outdoor classrooms to teach children about wildlife habitat, agricultural lifestyles and natural resources. Nature Camp will be offered as a “free” (minimal registration fee to encourage serious camper commitment) to children; scholarships to cover registration fees will be available.
The nature awareness-based program is an opportunity for campers to explore their relationship with the natural world around them. Children learn what they live, and by spending a week “living with nature”, the campers become stewards of nature-the next generation of conservationists. The goal of the camp is to offer nature-based education to train the next generation of conservationists by instilling a love of nature.
- Hot Springs County School District – “Birds of Hot Springs County”
The Birds of Hot Springs County project would serve as a catalyst to move elementary students out of the classroom and into rural settings to interact with Wyoming wildlife in its natural habitat. The focus is to connect students with the natural resources and wildlife that flourish in our county. Our students rarely encounter Wyoming’s natural resources in day-to-day activities centering around school, television and sports.
All K-4 students at Ralph Witters Elementary (RWE) would have an opportunity to participate in this project under the leadership of the writing and enrichment teacher who will coordinate this ongoing, Birds of Hot Springs County, school-wide initiative.
The Hot Springs Conservation District and Wyoming Game and Fish encourage amateur bird watching through local surveys. RWE students, in partnership with Thermopolis FFA mentors, would identify and count species of birds by habitat and submit surveys to these agencies.
The Thermopolis FFA Chapter has agreed to provide the research and manpower to build birdhouses, locate nesting areas and install rural webcams for the elementary students as a community service project.
REMINDER:
WYNR grant final reports are due December 1, 2010. Reports must be submitted prior to re-application for funds.
WHAT IS IT?
The Wyoming Youth for Natural Resources (WYNR) is a program designed to encourage Wyoming youth to develop imaginative wildlife and natural resources conservation projects that incorporate education, technology, volunteering and service to others. The program is a collaborative effort of the Wyoming Community Foundation and Wyoming Agriculture in the Classroom.
WHO CREATED IT?
Grants between $500 and $5,000 are available for imaginative youth centered projects. Grant funds are generated from an endowment created in 1999 by former Governor Jim Geringer. He established the endowment fund through the donation of proceeds from the sale of the Governor’s complimentary hunting licenses as they are defined by Wyoming State Statute 23-1-705(a).
WHO CAN APPLY?
Grants may be made to public schools, youth organizations or other nonprofit organizations exempt from federal taxation under Section 501(c)(3) of the Internal Revenue Code and, on occasion, to public/governmental agencies. Grants are not made to individuals.
WHAT ARE THE CRITERIA?
The program is designed to encourage Wyoming youth to learn about Wyoming’s natural resources, about science and technology and their application to the well being of Wyoming’s citizens. Proposals should include at least one of the following elements:
- address at least one wildlife or natural resource conservation issue (for example, habitat and open space enhancement and protection, or the relationship of industrial development to habitat, or non-consumptive wildlife management);
- serve as a catalyst to initiate conservation and/or best practices in the areas of wildlife and natural resources;
- encourage the involvement of young people in volunteer activities centered around natural resources;
- apply new technologies (for example, geographic information systems or remote sensing to classroom learning); and
- consider sustainability of the proposed project once grant funding has ended.
In addition to evaluating each proposal against the above elements, the WYNR Advisory Committee asks the following questions about each grant request:
Awards generally range in amounts between $500 and $5,000, although grants of greater or lesser amounts may be considered from time to time. Generally, an organization may apply only once within a twelve-month period, and applications from organizations that did not submit final reports from prior grants will not be considered.
- Is the proposed project youth centered?
- Do youth have active participation in the project?
- Does the proposal emphasize the project rather than simply requesting funds for equipment?
- Does the proposed project have measurable outcomes and objectives?
- Does the proposed project collaborate with other natural resource agencies?
- Does the proposed project have other funding sources?