Are you an educator with a project in mind to involve students in enhancing the schoolyard for wildlife habitat, connect students with the outdoors, and integrate nature into student learning in line with the curricula? Grants from the New Hampshire Partnership for Schoolyard Action Grants are available for schools with students from pre-kindergarten through grade twelve to help fund nature-based projects.
The New Hampshire Partnership for Schoolyard Action Grants includes the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service New England Field Office, N.H. Project Learning Tree, the N.H. Fish and Game Department, and New Hampshire Audubon. The partnership was created to make it easier for school staff to apply for a grant to enhance the school yard. Now, a common grant application works for all four of the partner organizations and greatly simplifies the application process.
Examples of projects that have been funded by the partner organizations in the past include the establishment of pollinator gardens, creation of outdoor learning areas, installing solar-powered bird baths and replanting of school grounds with native plants that enhance wildlife habitat. Other types of projects eligible for support include trail or pond building, citizen science activities, and water or bird feeding stations.
Projects or items not eligible for funding include vegetable gardens, staff time, field trips, school grounds landscaping, or purchase of educational supplies unless directly related to the project.
Both student and community involvement in planning and on-site work is strongly encouraged. Professional consultation is available for project planning.
Grant Application Details
Grant Period: The 2021 Grant Round is now open. Applications 
are due by January 29, 2021.
Eligibility: New Hampshire schools that teach Preschool-12th grade may apply.
Grant Award Amounts: Grant awards range from $500 – $2,000.
Application Procedure
Research has proven that nature-based learning has a positive impact on student academic and developmental growth. A survey of staff at 100 schools with active schoolyard-based studies had positive impressions about the impact of those studies on student development and performance. A comparative study of schools across the United States found that students who are engaged in learning that uses the natural environment as an integrating context scored 92% higher when compared to students following a traditional approach; scores improved in science, math, language arts, and social studies depending on the focus of their studies. Moreover, learning that involved the student’s local environment and community contributed to pride and ownership in their work, fostering a growing stewardship ethic.
About Our 2020 Winners
The New Hampshire Partnership for Schoolyard Action Grants, a collaboration that supports schools wishing to link the school curriculum and their students with the local environment, is pleased to award action grants to these schools.
- The Beech Hill School, Hopkinton
- Blue Heron School at Squam Lakes Natural Science Center, Holderness
- Child Development Center at Keene State College, Keene
- Clark Elementary, Amherst
- East Derry Memorial Elementary School, Derry
- Francestown Elementary School, Francestown
- Garrison Elementary School, Dover
- Great Brook Middle School, Antrim
- Merrimack Valley Middle School, Penacook
- Pittsfield School, Pittsfield
- Sanborn Regional High School, Kingston
- Somersworth Middle School, Somersworth
“All awardees demonstrated how their outdoor spaces would be used to enhance student learning as well as improve local wildlife habitat. We are excited to work with these schools over the next couple of years and look forward to seeing their end products,” said Ted Kendziora of the US Fish and Wildlife Service.
Click here to read the full press release.
About Our 2019 Winners
The New Hampshire Partnership for Schoolyard Action Grants, a collaboration that supports schools wishing to link the school curriculum and their students with the local environment, is pleased to award action grants to these schools.
- Bow Elementary School – Pollination Station: Native Plants Attracting NH Wildlife
- Campton School – Growing Homes for Wildlife
- Chesterfield School – Integrated Wildlife Education
- Cross Road School – Natural Learning in Outdoor Classroom
- Dewey School – Paradise Meadow Projectr
- Gilmanton School – Bird Observation Area
- Nature and Nurture Preschool (Newfields,NH) – Connecting Learning to Nature through Pollinator Gardening
- Nelson School – Avian Exploration
- Seacoast Charter School – Certified Monarch Garden
- Southwick School – Nature Trail System
Interested in pollinator activities? Students of all ages can put their knowledge into practice by participating in building a pollinator habitat or taking other activities to support pollinators both inside and outside of the classroom.
About Our 2017 Winners
The New Hampshire Partnership for Schoolyard Action Grants, a collaboration that supports schools wishing to link the school curriculum and their students with the local environment, is pleased to award over $6,000.00 in action grants to these schools.
- Beech Hill School, Hopkinton, NH—Building Bowers, Buffers, and Biodiversity
- Loudon Elementary, Loudon, NH—Pollinator Garden
- Westmoreland High School, Westmoreland, NH—Nature Trail and Outdoor Classroom
- Winchester High School, Winchester, NH—Nature Trail Project
- Seacoast Charter School, Dover, NH—Schoolyard Mater Plan
- Prospect Mountain High School, Alton, NH—Shade Tree Habitat
- Jaffrey Grade School, Jaffrey, NH—Schoolyard Bird Watching
- Namaste Montessori School, Goffstown, NH—Namaste Children’s Garden
About Our 2016 Winners
New Hampshire Project Learning Tree is pleased to announce the winners of the 2016 Outdoor Classroom Special Fund grants. Each winner will receive a $250 grant to develop or improve outdoor classrooms for their students. These recipients received their checks at the New Hampshire Project Learning Tree Annual Celebration on May 15, 2016.
- Ledge Street School, Nashua, NH: adding benches to their outdoor classroom gazebo.
- Hampshire Cooperative Nursery School, Hanover, NH: Restoration of Connecticutt River Valley Ecology
- Deerfield Community School, Deerfield, NH: Wildlife Garden
About Our 2015 Winners
New Hampshire Project Learning Tree is pleased to announce the four winners of the 2015 Outdoor Classroom Special Fund grants. Each winner received a $250 grant to develop or improve outdoor classrooms for their students. The Outdoor Classroom Special Fund was started to honor the leadership of Esther Cowles, Executive Director of NHPLT from 1997-2011.
- Ledge Street School, Nashua, NH: The Ledge Street School will be adding a solar water pump and motion camera to their frog pond. The water pump will keep the pond water circulating, improving habitat for the tadpoles they raise there. The motion camera will enable students in all classrooms to watch the paid of Red Tail Hawks that visit and bath in the ponds. “I see smiles on their faces and wonderment in their eyes as they discover something new in the outdoor classroom.