Volunteers planting the pollinator garden at EKU’s Science for Sustainable Living Initiative
The Kentucky Native Plant Society (KNPS) is thrilled to open applications for its 2026 Native Plant Pollinator Garden Grant. Grants of $500 will be awarded to several applicants to promote biodiversity and environmental education.
Our mission is to encourage people to establish pollinator gardens. They don’t have to be huge or even aesthetically beautiful for our purposes. They simply need to exist where humans can see them, commune with them, and learn about them.
Grant Objectives
The grant aims to foster the establishment of native plant pollinator gardens, emphasizing not only the ecological benefits but also the educational enrichment they provide. Through these gardens, KNPS seeks to nurture a deeper understanding and appreciation of native plant species and their crucial role in pollination.
Did you know that the Kentucky Native Plant Society offers small grants to help defer the costs of botanical research, inventory and native plant restoration? Beginning in 2012, the Kentucky Native Plant Society has been awarding annual grants to undergraduate and graduate students that are researching native plants and plant communities in Kentucky. Since 2012 we have awarded over $10,000 in grants.
The total number of grants awarded in any given year is based on the number of proposals received, the quality of proposals and available funding. Each year the Society offers awards of $1,000 for graduate student projects, and $500 for undergraduate projects. Awards are given for field-based botanical projects that contribute to the knowledge of Kentucky’s flora or natural communities.
We prefer that students submitting grant requests attend a Kentucky college or university, although this is not a requirement as long as the research is based in Kentucky. The grant may be used to purchase consumable supplies and materials such as herbarium paper, label stock, and topographic maps apps such as gaiagps. The grant may also be used to cover travel expenses, and lodging
The graph below shows the kinds of projects that have been funded over the years.
All Grant Proposals are due by March 15th, 2026.
If you are interested in applying for any of the KNPS grants, visit the Grants page at the KNPS website. If, after reading the grants page, you have any questions, please email them to: grants@knps.org
Since 2023, Kentucky Native Plant Society has been awarding five grants of $500 per year to foster the establishment of native plant pollinator gardens, emphasizing not only the ecological benefits but also the educational enrichment they provide. Through these gardens, KNPS seeks to nurture a deeper understanding and appreciation of native plant species and their crucial role in pollination.
In 2025, we were thrilled to receive nearly 30 worthy applications for this $500 garden grant. Picking only five was difficult for the committee: David Taylor, Rachel Cook, Kelly Watson, and Susan Harkins. You can see all five of this year’s grant winners here, KNPS 2025 Pollinator Garden Grant Winners!
One of this year’s winners was Wright Elementary School, in Shelbyville. Their new garden is a second-grade project, but will be used by the entire school for many academic endeavors. They have big plans for this garden’s future, including an irrigation system, benches, and even a picnic area.
We recently received this update about their garden and the images from Amanda Nett, a Second Grade teacher at Wright Elementary.
With the grant we received we were able to fill 2 large and 2 medium garden beds with native plants. Our students were able to plant them, care for them and learned why native plants are so important to Kentucky. We focused a lot on pollinators and how the native plants we selected can help pollinators. We cannot begin to thank you for the grant money. It was such a wonderful gift and really furthered our students’ learning and appreciation of native plants! I’m sending several pictures of the kids preparing the beds, the whole group and after we added the native plant beds. Many of the plants are blooming now, and we can’t wait to see how much it grows in the upcoming years!
This year, we were thrilled to receive nearly 30 worthy applications for this $500 garden grant. Picking only five was difficult for the committee: David Taylor, Rachel Cook, Kelly Watson, and Susan Harkins.
These grants are used to establish or expand pollinator gardens for educational outreach. This year’s winners follow, in no particular order.
Friends of Walter Bradley Park
Midway is home to the 28-acre Walter Bradley Park, near downtown Midway in northern Woodford county. This group plans to replace non-natives with natives by establishing a pollinator garden for educational programs. If you’d like to donate further, click the park link in the first line and browse down about halfway to find the donation link.
Friends of Carter Caves
Carter Caves is a Kentucky state park located in Olive Hill. This garden will be used to educate visitors and school groups about the importance of pollinators and Kentucky natives for providing food and habitat for Kentucky wildlife. If you wish to donate, you can use the Contact Us link or call the park directly to get more information.
Sawyer Hayes Community Center
Louisville’s E.P. Tom Sawyer State Park sponsors the Sawyer Hayes Community Center. Their new pollinator garden will offer educational and enrichment opportunities for visitors and educational groups. For information on how to donate to this worthy cause, contact the community center directly.
Wright Elementary School
Shelbyville is the home to the Wright Elementary School Jets. Their new garden is a second-grade project, but will be used by the entire school for many academic endeavors. They have big plans for this garden’s future, including an irrigation system, benches, and even a picnic area. If you’d like to donate, please contact the school directly for more information.
Montgomery County Library
The Montgomery County Library is in Mt. Sterling. This new library has a substantial tract of land, and the library hopes to create a program that is environmentally responsible that can also provide education to the community at large regarding pollinators and Kentucky natives. To donate or volunteer, contact the library directly for more information.
Feel free to help
Gardens, even those with native plants, can be expensive and labor-intensive to establish. If you can help by donating or volunteering, please do.
Looking forward to next year
Next year, we hope to open the application process earlier, so we can get checks sent out earlier. This should be especially helpful to school groups who have limited spring days to work before summer. Please be sure to check the fall issues of The Ladyslipper for exact timing.
Volunteers planting the pollinator garden at EKU’s Science for Sustainable Living Initiative
The Kentucky Native Plant Society (KNPS) is thrilled to open applications for its 2025 Native Plant Pollinator Garden Grant. Grants of $500 will be awarded to several applicants to promote biodiversity and environmental education.
Our mission is to encourage people to establish pollinator gardens. They don’t have to be huge or even aesthetically beautiful for our purposes. They simply need to exist where humans can see them, commune with them, and learn about them.
The grant’s objective
The grant aims to foster the establishment of native plant pollinator gardens, emphasizing not only the ecological benefits but also the educational enrichment they provide. Through these gardens, KNPS seeks to nurture a deeper understanding and appreciation of native plant species and their crucial role in pollination.
We have exciting news — KNPS is partnering with horticultural education groups across the state to provide funds and educational support for pollinator gardens. 2023 is a pilot year so we can find partners throughout the state and work out the kinks.
We’re partnering with organizations with an education mission because the success rate of grant gardens is small. With a two-year educational support commitment from our educational partners, we hope to improve the success rate.
The partnership includes three parties:
The Kentucky Native Plant Society as grantor will provide funds for the purchase of native plants and seeds.
The grantee will be the owner or caretaker of the garden. The site should have education as part of its mission and offer public access, within reason.
An educational partner will provide education and continued support for at least two years.
Currently, each grant is $500. KNPS and educational partners can assist with purchasing plants. The grantee will use their volunteers to prepare, plant, and maintain the garden.
The five pilot sites
Currently, we have five pilot sites in the works. Two are in Frankfort and three are at or near Eastern Kentucky University.
Gerrard County High School
Kelly Watson, Ph.D. and the associate director of Eastern Kentucky University’s Division of Natural Areas supplied the education component for this new pollinator garden on school grounds. The KNPS grant of $500 was used to purchase native plants from Ironweed Native Plant Nursery in Waddy.
On May 17th, Kelly worked with two shifts of students: One was an Agriculture/Horticulture class (taught by Natasha Parsons), and a second group of students is part of GearUp, working with Amy Whitt. Kelly will continue to support these groups in maintaining the garden to secure its success.
Students planting the outside classroom. Students planting the outside classroom.
Science for Sustainable Living Initiative
Kelly Watson serves as the educational partner for this pollinator garden outside the EKU science building and the plants were purchased from Ironweed Native Plant Nursery. EKU has two gardens here that are used as outdoor classrooms and during the campus pollinator workshops, which occur twice a year.
The gardens were established two years ago through a grant from Novelis, using seeds from Roundstone Native Seed Company. The groups caring for these gardens have battled invasives since then. By adding mature plugs, the group hopes to tilt the tables a bit more in favor of the natives.
In May, a group of group of summer student interns (they get paid!) and Kelly spent six hours weeding preparing the gardens. The gardens were planted on May 31 and June 2.
Volunteers planting the pollinator garden. Student volunteers.
EKU Scholar House
Kelly Watson is providing the educational partner for this large outdoor classroom space and plants were purchased from Ironweed Native Plant Nursery. This site already has three large, raised beds and they’re currently working to create a larger outdoor classroom space.
On June 1, EKU Scholar House and EKU Sustainability Office hosted a planting event. Volunteers helped plant the classroom space and children visited educational tables with games and activities. One table taught the children how to plant a seed, and the children took their small pots home!
Students help volunteers plant their new garden classroom. Teachers and volunteers lead the planting.
Second Street School
Connie Lemley of Frankfort facilitated the grant for the group. The plants were purchased from Ironweed Native Plant Nursery and the Capital Area Extension Master Gardeners (CAEMG) will provide educational support to ensure the garden’s success.
On Saturday, June 3, Eagle scout candidate Sam Curry and his fellow scouts planted a pollinator garden at Second Street School in Frankfort, Kentucky. The spot is concrete bound by sidewalks and Second Street, so it will receive a lot of traffic.
First, the group removed a large knock-out rose and turf before planting. Sam has a large number of volunteers to help maintain the garden over the summer. From there, the school’s volunteers, under Connie’s direction, will resume care using Sam’s educational and maintenance plan for guidance.
A before shot of the Second Street School pollinator garden plot. Second Street School volunteers. Second Street School scout volunteers.
Liberty Hall Historical Site
Anna Campomanes, the garden curator for Liberty Hall in Frankfort, secured a grant to restore an historical garden that is available to the public. CAEMG is the educational partner.
Anna decided to supplement an existing historical garden with native shrubs. CAEMG visited the site and provided a list of sun-loving native shrubs that would fit the garden nicely and attract pollinators. Many people don’t think of native shrubs when they think of pollinators, so this is a unique opportunity.
Planting is scheduled for fall. Liberty Hall hopes to host a public workshop for planting shrubs that day. This will give KNPS and CAEMG the opportunity to promote native shrubs as pollinators to the public!
Going forward
It’s an auspicious start, and the commitment and enthusiasm from the grantees are infectious! We plan regular updates throughout the summer, so watch for more information in The Lady Slipper.
