Waterfowl Festival is excited to announce its fourth year of connecting financial resources with environmental needs across Delmarva through its “Community in Conservation” funding program. These grants, supported by proceeds from annual Waterfowl Festival weekend, offer non-profits and community entities the chance to receive monies for projects and initiatives at the intersection of conservation and community.
“Waterfowl Festival continues to be dedicated to supporting waterfowl habitat improvement by funding regional projects, large and small,” explains Margaret Enloe, Waterfowl Chesapeake Executive Director. “This annual grant program creates opportunities for supporting healthy populations of ducks, geese and swans and increasing people’s connection and understanding of their importance in the ecosystem. And we welcome applicants from all across the Chesapeake region.”
University of Delaware ecology students participate in a Waterfowl Hunter Education Course, a program funded by the Waterfowl Festival in 2019. Photo courtesy of the University of Delaware.
The Community in Conservation program is unique for its three-pronged approach that recognizes the importance and interconnected roles that science, education and restoration play in the effort to restore waterfowl populations and landscapes. Waterfowl Festival hopes that the broad emphasis on “community”, which draws on the long history of its annual event by the same name, will encourage organizations to think creatively about who they can serve and will help generate new ideas to bring people and regional conservation work, research and education together. In 2019, this program supported two initiatives: 1) Increasing winter food sources for diving ducks and 2) Building relationship between graduate students in environmental fields and hunters and landowners.
Interested organizations should submit a their Letter of Inquiry & Support online at https://waterfowlfestival.org/conservation/community-in-conservation by September 10, 2021. Requests must align with WC’s focus areas and make the connection between the project or initiative, the community of people engaged and waterfowl-related issues.
PROGRAM FOCUS AREAS
We will support:
- Initiatives at the intersection of conservation and community – a broad new category meant to allow for new thinking, projects and applicants;
- Education of current and future generations of enthusiasts, conservationists and educators;
- Research and scientific work of graduate students, volunteer groups and non-profits that affect waterfowl populations; and,
- Restoration & conservation projects to benefit waterfowl.
About us: Waterfowl Festival, Inc., is dedicated to the promotion and conservation of waterfowl and wildlife and their habitat within the Chesapeake Bay watershed.
Write a Letter to the Editor on this Article
We encourage readers to offer their point of view on this article by submitting the following form. Editing is sometimes necessary and is done at the discretion of the editorial staff.