Proposals for Champlain Watershed Education, Outreach Projects Sought

The Lake Champlain Basin Program is seeking education and outreach proposals for projects that inform students or adults about key Lake Champlain Basin watershed issues identified in the management plan Opportunities for Action.

Hands-on stewardship activities for citizens are strongly encouraged. Organizational capacity grants are designed to strengthen watershed groups during their development or to assist established watershed organizations in strengthening their organizational capacity. The Program anticipates awarding more than 25 grants totaling more than $300,000 to local organizations, municipalities, and educational institutions. In addition, local watershed groups may apply for $500 mini-grants for professional development purposes.

Current grants will be awarded in three categories:

Education and Outreach Small Grant Awards (up to $10,000 per award),
Education and Outreach Large Grant Awards (up to $50,000 per award), and
Organizational Support Grants Awards (up to $4,000 per award)

Recent projects supported by these local grant program include:

• Giant Lake Champlain Map Project, Lake Champlain Maritime Museum, Basin Harbor, VT
• Watershed Initiative for Upward Bound Teachers and Students, SUNY Plattsburgh, Plattsburgh, New York
• Stewardship and interpretation projects along the Saranac, Missisquoi, and Lamoille Rivers, Northern Forest Canoe Trail, Montpelier, Vermont
• Lake Champlain Headwaters Program, Paul Smiths College Adirondack Watershed Institute, New York
• Strategic Planning and Preparing for Act 76, Poultney Mettowee NRCD, Poultney, VT
• Nonpoint Source Pollution Management Strategy Update, Essex County SWCD, New York

Additional information regarding past and current LCBP-funded projects may be found through LCBP’s searchable grants database.

Projects located in the New York, Quebec, and Vermont portions of the Lake Champlain basin are eligible for consideration in this grant opportunity. Grant guidelines and applications for each category can be found on the Lake Champlain Basin Program’s website. Volunteer peer reviewers evaluate the proposals and develop the funding recommendations for the Lake Champlain Steering Committee to consider. Electronic versions of proposals must be received by grants@lcbp.org no later than December 21, 2020.

The grants will support projects that advance the goals of the long-term Lake Champlain management plan Opportunities for Action.

Photo of Lake Champlain bridge by John Warren.