The Kentucky Native Plant Society (KNPS) is thrilled to announce the continuation of its Native Plant Pollinator Garden Grant, following a successful pilot phase last year. In its initial year, six grants of $500 each were awarded, marking a significant step towards promoting 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.

This unique initiative partners with organizations that share an educational mission for two reasons:

• Pollinator gardens often fail. They have plenty of people willing to help, but the organization often lacks the expertise to establish and maintain a successful garden.
• We hope that these gardens will ‘put the bee in the bonnet’ of visitors. If only a few visitors go home and plant a few native plants for pollinator support, we all win.

These gardens can serve as vital educational tools, offering firsthand learning opportunities about pollination, plant species, and ecosystem health for our native plants.

Grant details

Details can be found on the application form, but in a nutshell, if you have a group of volunteers and a site that’s open to the public, within reason, or you plan to use the garden for educational purposes, and you have an educational partner, you qualify. If you don’t have an educational partner, we encourage you to apply because we can help you find someone.

To apply for a grant, follow this link to the KNPS Grants page. There you will find more details about the grant and a form to apply. But hurry, funds are limited. It doesn’t matter to us if you plant immediately or this fall, only that you plant in 2024. If you have any questions, email us at Grants@knps.org

Tichenor Middle School in Erlanger got a late start on their pollinator garden, but the students put forth a spectacular effort. The garden will be fabulous this spring!

Steven McNabb, a teacher at Tichenor, is the adult sponsored for the project. WildOnes Cincinnati are providing educational support for the next two years to help ensure the garden’s success. The school received a $500 grant from Kentucky Native Plant Society, and Ironweed Native Plant Nursery in Waddy supplied the native plants.

The school is hoping to plant even more plants this spring if they can secure more funding.

We have one more pollinator garden grant to announce for 2023. Tichenor Middle School of Erlanger, KY received a $500 grant to start a pollinator garden this fall. Science teacher, Steven McNabb is the school’s sponsor and the Greater Cincinnati WildOnes chapter has agreed to be their educational partner for the next two years. Ironweed Native Plant Nursery in Waddy, Kentucky is supplying the plants.

They plan to break ground in the next few weeks, so the garden will be ready for spring.