St. Mary’s Garden Club Environmental Education Grants
SMGC in a non-profit founded in 1930 in Falmouth, Maine with the objective of educating and promoting environmental stewardship and cultivating a spirit of environmental citizenship. We are affiliated with state and national garden clubs that support environmental education throughout Maine and the United States.
Our primary interest is not in creating school gardens but enriching the educational experience of students. We also want to encourage students to lead initiatives to solve environmental problems themselves.
It is the goal of SMGC to encourage students as they explore their natural world. We are confident that in examining today’s environmental challenges, students will collaborate to find tomorrow’s solutions.
To support our mission the SMGC Scholarship Fund awards grants of $100-$2,000 annually for programs that promote horticulture, gardening, and environmental awareness. The funding is open to educators and student groups from Cumberland County public schools for environmental projects targeting middle and high school students.
SMGC grants are awarded according to the applicability of the program to SMGC objectives. Projects should address a particular issue. We hope that applicants propose creative and perhaps unconventional projects that meet the objectives of SMGC. We encourage proposals that include a multi-disciplinary approach. The committee is also receptive to funding multi-year projects for proposals that clearly state their duration. Educators and student groups can re-apply in subsequent years to continue funding their programs.
It is important for the applicants to be aware that they are expected to provide documentation of the progress of their projects periodically. SMGC would appreciate photos of students working on their projects, copies of video, poetry, written reports etc. at the end of the school year. With permission from the school some of these may be used on the SMGC website to demonstrate how grant monies are being used.
Please direct all questions and submissions to the SMGC email address (stmarysgardenclub@gmail.com ) with the Subject Heading “Scholarship/[name of your school]”.
Please be aware that at times emails go astray. If you do not receive acknowledgement of your email within a reasonable amount to time (24 hours), please call 207-229-3588 to follow up.
Download the Grant Application
The 2024 Grants Committee delivered a check to the Casco Bay High School Green Team for their Improving Bike Culture project at the Casco Bay High School campus. It is a student led project. The students are going to buy and organize the installation of a bike rack at their school. Well done Green Team!
Windham Middle School used their 2022-23 SMGC Environmental Education Grant to create interdisciplinary projects involving horticulture, plant cultivation, food insecurity, and pollination. Here the students learn about beekeeping and try honey from the hive!
SAMPLE PROJECT IDEAS
~ study, evaluate current approaches to, and design solutions for: limited spaces for farming, water run-off in your community,
~ develop a plan for community pollinator gardens, corridors, or limited mowing areas
~ identify both the value and challenges of urban living and design a city that will solve the problems of transportation, infrastructure, and community living
~ create a podcast to teach climate facts and propose solutions
~ work with a librarian to build “links” to gardening information and technology
~ invite a series of guest speakers including gardeners, chefs, botanists and city planners to share their rescue plans for the planet
~ use a drone as a tool to identify a concern in your community
~ study how the local landscape has changed over time and create images that reflect what we see or expect to see in the future
~ develop writing workshops that use various styles of writing to address specific environmental concerns
~ search the NOAA and FEMA websites to locate flood zones in your community, what your town is planning to do