British Columbia Conservation Foundation’s Board of Directors announced three successful recipients for the Community Conservation Fund totaling $19,145.
A diverse range of applications were submitted from across the province, encompassing initiatives focused on community-based environmental education, collaboration, and habitat conservation. The Community Conservation Fund Committee evaluates proposals based on alignment with the BC Conservation Foundation’s mission to support community-based conservation efforts, addressing key needs or knowledge gaps, organizational capacity, and innovation. Collaboration with other groups, particularly with Indigenous communities, and the project's long-term impact are also important.
Successful proposals include the following:
1) Land, Life and Legacy – École Citadel Middle School
École Citadel Middle School is creating a Gathering Garden to engage students in land-based learning and conservation. Their Gathering Garden will serve as an outdoor classroom where students in grades 6-8 learn about native plants, pollinator habitats, and keystone species.
Through hands-on activities such as planting, seed harvesting, and seed sharing, students will deepen their understanding of biodiversity and ecological stewardship. The garden will also be accessible to community members, enhancing local green space and supporting wildlife corridors in this urban-wildlife interface.
The intended outcome is to foster a sense of environmental responsibility and connection to the land, empowering youth to recognize how small actions, like planting and sharing seeds, can contribute to long-term conservation efforts.
Award – $4,145
2) Native Plants for Native Pollinators, Community Restoration Support - Kootenay Native Plant Society
Native Plants for Native Pollinators provides regionally-appropriate native pollinator plants and guidance to community-led restoration projects across the West Kootenay region. Building on a successful 2024 pilot ("Milkweed and Monarchs"), this year's theme is "Pollination Partners: Specialist Bees & Western Bumblebee Edition."
The project draws on KNPS's five-year Pollination Pathway program, which documents plant-pollinator networks identifying high-value species unique to the West Kootenay and its diverse bee communities. Specialist bees are key ecological indicators whose survival depends on specific native plants, providing a powerful lens for targeted restoration.
By supplying no-cost, locally-sourced ecotype plant kits to supplement existing plantings, the project removes a major barrier to restoration: access to appropriate native plants. Participants will contribute observations to iNaturalist, helping fill regional monitoring gaps.
This project strengthens ecological literacy, increases stewardship capacity, enhances pollinator habitat, and builds a scalable, community-led model for native plant conservation grounded in local research and connectivity.
Award – $10,000
3) EduWild Biodiversity Monitoring Project – Telkwa Community Initiatives Society
Initiated in 2024 in the Bulkley Valley, the EduWild Project aims to involve local students and citizens in an educational wildlife monitoring project that will provide valuable data to assess the long-term health of our local ecosystems.
This initiative seeks to 1) engage local students and residents in hands-on, place-based learning about our local wildlife, 2) collect long-term wildlife monitoring data for the Bulkley Valley, and 3) provide this data in an open-access global database that can be used by scientists, regional planners, and forest management personnel, as well as by the students themselves!
Class projects and science fair projects are encouraged, as well as in-class use of data by teachers. The EduWild project/data is currently managed by Dr. Petra McDougall (PhD, Wildlife Biology).
Award – $5,000
Media Contact:
Deborah McNicol
Director of Finance
(604) 576-1433 ext. 314
dmcnicol@bccf.com
About us: The BC Conservation Foundation promotes thriving fish and wildlife populations through education, collaboration and habitat conservation. We do this by managing projects and initiatives on behalf of key stakeholders and running our own signature programs, such as the Community Conservation Fund. For more information, please visit www.bccf.com.