New student-based projects will restore and protect habitats across Canada

WWF
Go Wild

WWF-Canada’s Go Wild Grant Program is part of a 10-year plan to Regenerate Canada 

TORONTO – World Wildlife Fund Canada is pleased to award 56 Go Wild grants to projects from primary, secondary and post-secondary schools across the country. Valued at $500 – $2,500, these grants will support student activities that protect or restore nature in schoolyards, campuses and communities. This grant program is part of WWF-Canada’s 10-year plan to Regenerate Canada, which includes the goal of restoring one million hectares for biodiversity and climate by 2030.  

Since 2015, WWF-Canada has funded 425 Go Wild school and campus projects, totaling $249,500. Whether growing native plant gardens, building bat boxes, monitoring local wildlife, restoring creeks, or raising awareness about conservation issues, every Go Wild project has the same goal: to make a tangible difference for local nature and wildlife. Applications are accepted every fall with projects taking place the following spring and summer. 

Elizabeth Hendriks, vice-president of restoration and regeneration at WWF-Canada, says: 

“By protecting and restoring local habitats and ecosystems, students and teachers are helping nature and the climate. These butterfly gardens and restored riverbanks are not only providing food and shelter for local wildlife, but they are also absorbing and storing carbon from the atmosphere. We are thrilled to be able to support the important conservation work happening at schools and campuses across the country.”    

Some of the Go Wild School Grant projects this year include: 

  • Vanscoy, SK: Students at Vanscoy School will restore habitat in their school yard using native plant and bush species, and use these spaces to educate other students and community members on how to restore habitat at home.  
  • Gatineau, QC: Kindergarten teachers at Pierre Elliott Trudeau Elementary School will build an insect hotel and mud kitchen to create habitat and teach students about insects and ecosystems.   
  • Woodstock, NB: Educators and students at Townsview School will help recover declining butterfly and bee populations by creating new habitat in the form of a native plant garden on school property. 
  • St. Catharine’s, ON: Students at Brock University will create a native plant seed library, which will provide locally-sourced seeds to community members,  and run training days and workshops to help gardeners create habitat in their own yards and balconies. 
  • Vancouver, BC: Students Langara College will create inclusive pollinator gardens on campus by designing and building raised beds suitable for wheelchair users and people with limited mobility.   

The Go Wild School Grant program is a part of WWF-Canada’s Living Planet @ School and @ Campus programs, which are generously supported by Walmart Canada and Nissan Canada Foundation. For a complete list of Go Wild School Grant projects, visit wwfcastg.wwf.ca/schoolgrants