Conservation@School Program
Join Conservation
@School
The Conservation Foundation’s Conservation@School program supports educators and school administrators in creating welcoming nature spaces right outside their doors. We help source affordable native plants, train teachers and volunteers on how to maintain native plant gardens, and offer a way to educate the community while also recognizing their hard work by providing a Conservation@School sign to display in their garden.Â
Looking to participate in our program?
Complete the Conservation@School application below.
For questions about the program, contact Beth Peluse at [email protected].
Thank you to Village & Wilderness for supporting the Conservation@School program!
The Conservation Foundation has been working with local schools in various capacities for 25+ years. The pilot for the Conservation@School program which provides more robust support and resources to schools, launched in 2024 with the help of Village and Wilderness.
Village and Wilderness is a national organization dedicated to helping communities adapt to climate change. Their flagship project, the Microhabitat Accelerator Program, supports established and emerging backyard habitat programs across the country. Â
Garden Build Resources​
We have created a variety of resources to help teachers, administrators, school staff, students, and volunteers build and maintain a native pollinator garden on school grounds.Â
Lesson Idea Resource
For educators seeking assistance beyond the garden build and looking for ways to incorporate a pollinator garden into their lessons, we have created a Conservation@School Nature Activity Guide. All three guides have similar activities but may be worded differently or include different images according to age-level.
Click on the images below to access the PDF of each guide.
School Garden Grants:
- Openlands’ List of School Garden Grants
- University of Illinois Extension’s List of School Garden Grants
Additional Resources:
- Green Schoolyards America
- Slow Food USA Garden Guide
- National Wildlife Federation Schoolyard Planning Guide
- Earth Partnership – University of Wisconsin Madison
- Children & Nature Network
- Winter Seed Sowing To Keep Adding Native Plants To Your Garden PDFÂ Â
- VIDEO: Winter Seed Sowing – Grow Your Own Native Plants in Milk JugsÂ
- VIDEO: Summer Maintenance and Volunteer Management (this video is for vegetable gardens but useful tips for pollinator garden maintenance as your plants get established)Â