PITTSBURGH, December 14, 2010 – The Sprout Fund and The Pittsburgh Foundation are excited to announce $190,000 in grant funding for 20 new biodiversity projects supported through the Spring Program.

 

The Sprout Fund Spring Program is a funding stream, supported by The Pittsburgh Foundation, to support local biodiversity initiatives. This new program catalyzes community-based projects in Allegheny County and the surrounding communities of Southwestern Pennsylvania with grants of up to $20,000.

 

“These projects offer an exciting array of innovative solutions to the many environmental challenges we are facing. With diverse objectives and creative approaches, they give promise that the biodiversity of our resource-rich region can be preserved and enhanced for generations to come,” said Dustin Stiver, Civic Engagement Manager at The Sprout Fund.

 

The full list of funded projects, complete with organizational affiliations and brief descriptions, is below.

 

Six biodiversity projects received $20,000 awards:

 

BioShelter and Food Systems Center

 

Garfield Community Farm will build a permanent BioShelter greenhouse structure to extend the growing

season on the farm located in the Garfield neighborhood of Pittsburgh and to expand educational offerings at the nearby Fort Pitt Elementary School.

 

Community Tree Nursery

 

Tree Pittsburgh will create a tree nursery to support their ongoing planting and public education efforts. The nursery will provide a more diverse tree stock for local reforestation and ecosystem restoration efforts, while increasing the public’s understanding of urban forestry and the community’s stewardship of urban trees.

 

Green Roofs for Bus Shelters

 

East Liberty Development, Inc. will introduce biodiverse flora and fauna into an urban environment through the creation of a public transit bus shelter that incorporates a living green roof on Penn Ave in the East Liberty business district.

 

Heritage Seed Bank and Nursery

 

Blackberry Meadows Farm will establish community seed banks and nurseries for native heritage or heirloom edible plant species and stock public spaces and gardens with native edibles to raise greater public awareness.

 

Native Appalachian Garden

 

Pittsburgh Botanic Garden will build a nursery that cultivates woodland species of the Appalachian Plateau and Coves. Volunteer master gardeners will work together with horticulture students from Bidwell Training Center to inventory a collection of sprouts and nurture new specimens from seedlings to maturity.

 

Take a Hike: Backyard Biodiversity

 

Carnegie Science Center will develop a traveling assembly presentation to lead elementary school children on an exploration of Earth’s biomes. Students will learn how to classify plants and animals, examine water quality, collect and organize data in field guides, and note change over time due to human impact.

 

14 biodiversity projects received $5,000 awards:

 

Auberle’s Outdoor Classroom

Auberle will create an outdoor educational facility for leading hands-on experiential biodiversity and

environmental learning projects for children and families served by Auberle’s Summer Work Program.

 

Borland Green Ecological Garden

 

Pittsburgh Permaculture will implement a permaculture garden on vacant land in Pittsburgh’s East Liberty neighborhood to restore a host of native plant species cultivated along permaculture design standards and provide a wildlife habitat, access to native edibles, and offer ongoing community programming.

 

Chimney Swift Towers

 

The Audubon Society of Western PA will construct four new artificial chimney habitats for Chimney Swifts, neotropical migrant birds, along riverfront trails to increase habitat options for Swifts in the Pittsburgh area.

 

Growing Biodiversity: A schoolyard transformation

 

Nine Mile Run Watershed Association will create a rain garden on the grounds of the Word of God School in Swissvale that uses storm water runoff to irrigate native plant communities established in the garden.

 

Knotweed Knockout

 

Polish Hill Civic Association will remediate one-acre of knotweed-infested city-owned land in the Polish Hill. neighborhood of Pittsburgh using non-toxic cinnamon oil to kill the exposed knotweed plants and hinder their recurrence.

 

Monessen Community Garden Project

Private Industry Council of Westmoreland County will conduct a weeklong biodiversity camp for youth to learn about biodiversity in agriculture, rainwater collection, composting, and gardening.

 

Moraine Native Plant Restoration Area

 

3MJC will establish the Moraine Native Plant Restoration Area on a 1¼ acre site in the south shore section of Moraine State Park to educate visitors about the relationship between native and invasive species and ecological health.

 

Peebles Square Transitional Land Plan

ACTION-Housing, Inc. will establish a native wildflower garden on vacant land in Wilkinsburg to increase the biodiversity of local flora and fauna and establish protocol for responsible development and standards for the stewardship of vacant urban land.

 

Pollinator Restoration and Education Program

The Outdoor Classroom will restore existing and create new native plant gardens in Upper St. Clair Township that provide food for pollinators and increase plant, insect, and animal biodiversity.

 

Promoting Biodiversity in the Peters Creek Watershed

Peters Creek Watershed Association will raise awareness and understanding of biodiversity in communities in southern Allegheny and northern Washington Counties through public festivals, geocaching hikes, and community volunteer project activities.

 

Shaler Area Green Initiative

Shaler Area High School will construct an educational garden using native plants and trees for use as a

functional outdoor classroom. Using innovative sustainable growing methods like aquaponic fertilization, the garden and accompanying greenhouse will cultivate native plants in a setting in which students can learn about life and earth sciences, sustainability, and ecological stewardship.

 

Shelby Montgomery Community Garden

Manchester Beautification Committee will construct a community garden in a vacant lot in the neighborhood of Manchester on Pittsburgh’s Northside. In addition to restoring a blighted area of the neighborhood, the garden will be cultivated with native plants and other selected species and will include training and educational programs for neighborhood youth.

 

Southmoreland Middle School Wetlands Project

Jacobs Creek Watershed Association will enhance biodiversity in a wetland located in Scottdale Borough by increasing the number and variety of wetland flora to stabilize an area that receives significant storm water runoff from multiple sources.

 

Tanoma AMD Wetlands Environmental Education

Evergreen Conservancy will deliver educational programming at the Tanoma Abandoned Mine Drainage Wetlands site near Indiana, PA that covers environmental remediation, alternative energy production, and local natural resource conservation efforts.

 

 

The Sprout Fund enriches the Pittsburgh region’s vitality by engaging citizens, amplifying voices, supporting creativity and innovation, and cultivating connected communities. Founded in 2001, Sprout facilitates community-led solutions to local and regional challenges and supports efforts to create thriving, progressive, and culturally diverse communities.

 

The Pittsburgh Foundation is the 14th largest community foundation in the country. Since 1945, it has worked to improve the quality of life in the Pittsburgh region by evaluating and addressing community issues, promoting charitable giving, and connecting donors to the critical needs of the community.

 

CONTACT: Dustin Stiver

The Sprout Fund

412.325.0646

dustin@sproutfund.org