By TW_Grand
Published November 20, 2008
This article is from Audubon Florida
. Audubon has 31 conservation action centers and more than 500 community and campus chapters across the U.S. serving local communities. Find your local center or chapter here.
National Audubon Society developed an extensive partnership with Toyota, titled TogetherGreen and funded through a 5-year $20 million grant. A significant component is their Innovation Grants Program. This Program funds creative and ambitious projects to engage diverse audiences in efforts ultimately contributing to measurable conservation outcomes. One-year grants are offered for projects in urban, suburban, or rural areas that:
* Meet the conservation goals of TogetherGreen
* Engage new and diverse audiences in conservation action
* Inspire and use innovative approaches and technologies to engage people and achieve conservation results
* Build the capacity of conservation professionals within the Audubon network and beyond
We are very pleased to announce that four Audubon Chapters here in Florida were awarded these much sought-after grants:
Collier County Audubon Society - Reduction of Energy Use and Greenhouse Gas Emissions in Two Cities - $5,834.
St.Petersburg Audubon Society - Sharing the Habitat: A Model Using Bird Stewards to Protect Nesting Birds on Busy Beaches - $9,081.
West Volusia Audubon Society - Rain Garden Workshop - $5,036.
Audubon Society of the Everglades - Greening Children, Schools, Community: Pine Jog's Residential Native Landscape - $15,000.
In addition to these Innovation Grants, we received $7,000 each for four Volunteer Days - two hosted by Audubon Centers, and two hosted by Audubon Chapters:
Audubon Center for Birds of Prey - Wetland maintenance, lake front clean up, water quality monitoring. Partnering with local African American community organizations.
Blair Audubon Center at Corkscrew Swamp - Revert old agricultural lands to native wetland/upland habitat; restore native plants and animals. Recruiting from churches/universities.
Broward County Audubon Society - Recycling; community eco-action projects, beach clean ups, mangrove swamp restoration, climate change workshops. Partnering with American Express.
Manatee County Audubon Society - Remove invasive species, restore marsh habitat, and improve water quality at several preserves. Build native plant garden. Partnering with local schools.
These awards are a wonderful endorsement of the dedication and hard work going on here in Florida.