Lake of Bays announces its 2024 Environmental Projects Grant Program recipients
Lake of Bays announced its 2024 Environmental Projects Grant Program recipients, in the March 11, 2025, meeting.
According to the staff report, the program was created as a community incentive to preserve and enhance the natural environment.
It adds, “The Environmental Projects Grant Program reflects this commitment by supporting projects that promote environmental sustainability, conservation, and stewardship. By funding initiatives that protect and restore the local ecosystem, the Township seeks to empower community members and organizations to actively contribute to the long-term health and vitality of the environment.”
Grant goals are aimed at “supporting/sustaining, promoting, informing/educating, celebrating, preserving, and/or providing access,” continues the report.
Accessible categories include the native plant restoration and landscape conservation projects, educational programs on local flora and fauna, community gardening, green space development, pollinator gardens, erosion control, and sustainable water management.
The grant is broken down into three funding streams, including the Habitat Fund offering up to $500, the Biodiversity Fund up to $1,000, and the Watershed Fund up to $5,000.
Economic Development Coordinator, Morgan Lonsdale, said the 2024 grant recipients are the Baysville Horticultural Society (BHS), and Andrew Daniels Fish Stewardship Foundation (ADFSF).
The BHS was awarded $2,500 for initiatives that involve planting flowers and maintaining gardens at locations such as the Centennial Park, Baysville Riverfront, Robertson Parkette, Baysville Dam Park and Van Seters Park. This initiative falls under the Green Space Development and Pollinator Gardens categories.
The ADFSF was awarded $4,000 for a Brook Trout Habitat Study, which involves monitoring stream/river temperatures to determine the status of spawning habitat and assist with the protection of this species in light of climate change. This initiative falls under the Erosion Control and Sustainable Water Management categories.
Lonsdale advised that the total cost of the 2024 recipient awards is $6,500, leaving $3,500 remaining from the $10,000 budget allocation. She said the remaining funds will be carried over to this year’s budget, resulting in $13,500 available for grants.
