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Community Conservation Fund

Empowering communities to take action: our Community Conservation Fund supports locally driven conservation initiatives across British Columbia. Community conservation efforts make an important impact in protecting and enhancing our wildlife and ecosystems.

An immature Western Screech Owl tagged by Megan Buers as part of her MSc research, partially funded by the BC Conservation Foundation’s Community Conservation Fund.

Objectives

The Community Conservation Fund is a BC Conservation Foundation program that supports community-based conservation initiatives around the province.

Program objectives aim to provide community-based approaches, collaboration, applied knowledge and/or education to positively impact fish and wildlife populations at the local level.

Community Conservation Fund Grants

Please check back here in November to apply to the Foundation’s Community Conservation Fund grant program.

Decisions on Community Conservation Fund grant applications are made over the winter each year and are announced on our web site.

Applicants should fill in an application and budget template and submit online below.

Community conservation projects may receive up to $10,000 in funding. Make sure you read the funding guidelines as we have recently revamped the program.

Eligibility

Groups eligible for funding include:

  1. Indigenous Peoples and First Nations, non-profits, stewardship groups and/or community-based organizations located within British Columbia are eligible.
  2. The project should demonstrate community-based approaches, collaboration, applied knowledge, and/or education to positively impact fish and wildlife populations.
  3. Projects must take place in British Columbia within the calendar year.
  4. Post-secondary thesis, dissertations or special projects are not eligible for funding.
  5. The applicant cannot be the primary beneficiary of the intended project outcomes.
  6. Other funding sources and/or in-kind contributions are identified.
  7. A group or organization can apply for funding once per year.

Funding Conditions

Projects must be complete within the calendar year.

Successful applicants are required to sign a Project Agreement that outlines conditions.

Project reporting must be completed 30 days after project completion, or one year plus 30 days after funding commenced, whichever comes first.

Applicants must sign a multi-media release.

Congratulations to our 2023 Recipients!

Lake Windermere Ambassadors Society ($10,000)

To help fund a study, “Baseline Native Mussel Study for the Headwater Lakes Monitoring and Education: Lake Windermere Project,” that seeks to understand why the population of freshwater mussels is declining in Lake Windermere. The lack of mussels is especially concerning, as the lake was thought to have some of the best conditions for their survival. The study will highlight specific locations that provide critical habitat, and will use the information to inform future stewardship and restoration activities.

Christina Lake Stewardship Society ($2,200)

To support CLSS in updating and creating new displays in their visitors gallery to measure their height in comparison to actual-size common wildlife species that make their home in the Christina Lake Watershed, including white-tailed deer, coyotes, the American beaver, the black bear, and Rocky Mountain Elk.

Stay tuned for a revamped Community Conservation Fund in November.

In 2022, the Community Conservation Fund provided the resources necessary to update educational displays at the Kokanee Creek Nature Centre in the Central Kootenays.

Support from the Community Conservation Fund allowed the Simpcw First Nation to share ecological and cultural knowledge, and investigate site selection for future field work using Autonomous Recording Units (ARUs).