The Natural Resources Foundation of Wisconsin has awarded $27,945 to 29 applicants through the 2017 C.D. Besadny Conservation Grant Program. The program annually awards grants up to $1,000 that support the conservation of Wisconsin’s natural resources as well as education and outreach. The 2017 conservation grants range from pollinator protection to community trail building.

“We believe that nature has inherent value and that people want to make a difference,” said Ruth Oppedahl, executive director for the Natural Resources Foundation. “The C.D. Besadny Conservation Grant program is proof of this. These grants are awarded to people and organizations who are out there making a real difference for conservation and education in Wisconsin and we are so proud to support their work.”

2017 C.D. Besadny Conservation Grant recipients

American Players Theatre, Nature Trails at APT, Iowa County
Bayfield Regional Conservancy, Stewardship and Monitoring Innovation Project, Ashland, Bayfield, Douglas, Sawyer Counties
Boston School Forest, Deer Exclosure Study Site, Portage County
Cable Natural History Museum, Bee Wonderful: Providing Homes for Native Bees, Bayfield County
Crestwood Elementary School, Crestwood School Native Pollinator Protection Project, Dane County
Friends of High Cliff State Park, Butterfly Pond Trail Enhancement, Calumet County
Friends of Lake Wingra, Monarchs for Schools, Dane County
Friends of Schlitz Audubon Nature Center, Firefly Education & Monitoring Project, Milwaukee, Ozaukee Counties
Groundswell Conservancy, Nature Station at Lake View Elementary, Dane County
Harbor District, Inc., Harbor District Species Surveys – By Land and By Sea, Milwaukee County
Hoo’s Woods Raptor Center, Raptor Environmental Education Programs, Statewide
Hurley K12 School, Multi Habitat Walking Trail, Iron County
Malcolm Shabazz City High School, Project Green Teen, Dane County
Milwaukee Parkside School for the Arts, Native Perennial Butterfly Garden Outdoor Learning Lab, Milwaukee County
Mississippi Valley Conservancy, Kickapoo Caverns, Crawford County
Navarino Nature Center, Natural Playscape at Navarino, Shawano County
Neighborhood House of Milwaukee, Inc., Nature Center Stewardship Project, Dodge County
Northern Waters Environmental Charter School, Weiss Public Library Prairie Learning Garden, Sawyer County
Reedsburg Area High School, Citizen Science in the Hydrosphere: Reedsburg High School Students Monitor the GLOBE, Sauk County
River Valley School District, Community Trail Project, Sauk County
Southwest Badger Resource Conservation and Development Council, Lafayette County Remnant and Invasive Survey Work, Lafayette County
West Wisconsin Land Trust, Punchbowl Safety and Accessibility Improvement Project, Dunn County
Wisconsin Association for Environmental Education, Nature-based STEM in Early Childhood, Statewide
Wisconsin Chimney Swift Working Group, Feasibility of Partnering with Chimney Sweeps and Masons to Identify and Protect Chimney Swift Habitat, Dane, Rock, Waukesha, Brown, Milwaukee Counties
Wisconsin Conservation Hall of Fame Foundation, Expanding Wisconsin Conservation Hall of Fame Website, Marathon County
Wisconsin Friends of John Muir, The Portable John Muir Nature Center Project, Marquette, Dane Counties
Wisconsin Society for Ornithology, Honey Creek Nature Preserve Addition Property Management Master Plan, Sauk County
WisCorps, Inc., Pollinator Garden Inclusive Trail, La Crosse County
Woodland Dunes Nature Center, Forest Enrichment and Diversification, Manitowoc County

The C.D. Besadny Conservation Grant Program was established in 1990 to support projects in Wisconsin that benefit the public, involve management and restoration of Wisconsin’s natural resources, or contribute to knowledge about Wisconsin’s natural resources through education. The grant is named after the late C.D. “Buzz” Besadny, former Secretary of the Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources, who helped found the Natural Resources Foundation in 1986. Grants range from $100-$1,000 and must be matched 1:1.
Since its inception, the C.D. Besadny Conservation Grant Program has awarded $504,000 to more than 500 organizations across the state.