2016 Small Grant Awardees

1. Waukegan Beach Directional Signage
2. Lake Michigan Beach Assessment and Access Guide – Lake County Public Beaches
3. 2017 Mighty Acorns Nature Camp for Students from Illinois Coastal Zone
4. Winnetka Park District Lake Michigan Water Trails Signage (Tower & Lloyd Park)
5. High School Student Education and Stewardship in Chinatown
6. Watershed Demonstration Tools
7. Green Infrastructure Template Training

Grantee: City of Waukegan
Grant Award: $5,000.00
Matching Funds: $5,000.00
Project Total: $10,000.00

The City of Waukegan will further develop and implement the 2015 Waukegan Harbor AOC Sustainable Shoreline Plan to improve nearshore water quality and public access to the beach. The City of Waukegan will design and create wayfinding signage to designate public access routes to the recreational beach to eliminate trampling through the wetlands and dunes.

Grantee: Friends of the Parks
Grant Award: $5,000.00
Matching Funds: $5,000.00
Project Total: $10,000.00

Friends of the Parks will undertake a community planning process for Chicago’s Southeast Side to foster greater engagement with the lakefront and Calumet River areas as community assets. This process will facilitate formation of Park Advisory Councils, help articulate resident’s desires for parks, beaches, and open space, and promote environmental stewardship.

Grantee: Lake Forest Open Lands Association
Grant Award: $5,000.00
Matching Funds: $5,000.00
Project Total: $10,000.00

Lake Forest Open Lands Association will undertake an assessment of the Lake Michigan shoreline beaches in Lake County. Public access and amenity information for each beach will be collected and published in a comprehensive shoreline guide for community members and visitors.

Grantee: Dunes Learning Center
Grant Award: $5,000.00
Matching Funds: $7,816.00
Project Total:$12,816.00

Dunes Learning Center will fund 32 students from Cook and Lake Counties to attend Mighty Acorns Nature Camp at Dunes Learning Center in the summer of 2017. The Mighty Acorns Nature Camp is a 5 day retreat for third through sixth graders to continue and sustain the hands on environmental stewardship learning they receive throughout the year with the Mighty Acorns program.

Grantee: Winnetka Park District
Grant Award: $4,900.00
Matching Funds: $7,700.00
Project Total: $12,600.00
Winnetka Park District will install informational signage at Tower Park and Lloyd Park that link the parks to trails and waterways. The educational and interpretive signage will allow the Winnetka Park District to communicate with the public and inform them of activities at the parks and provide maps and educational and environmental information about sites in the area.

Grantee: Friends of the Parks
Grant Award: $5,000.00
Matching Funds: $2,267.00
Project Total: $7,267.00

The Chinese American Service League, in collaboration with Friends of the Parks, will offer a 3-day training course for 15-20 year olds during the summer of 2017 on ecology along the Chicago River, conservation, and environmental stewardship. The program will also include hands-on stewardship experience in the form of a clean-up event. Bilingual resources will be also created and distributed to educate area families about their environment and ways they can help.

Grantee: League of Women Voters of Illinois
Grant Award: $5,020.00
Matching Funds: $5,547.00
Project Total: $10,567.00

League of Women Voters will acquire two portable watershed models that will be used to educate the public about climate change impacts, nonpoint source pollution, and green infrastructure. The models will be offered as a component of the small and large meetings League of Women Voters are already engaged in and will help people better understand the factors involved in planning, investing, and adapting to the water issues the region faces.

Grantee: Delta Institute
Grant Award: $4,800.00
Matching Funds: $600.00
Project Total: $5,400.00

Delta Institute will design and host two training sessions to educate civil engineers and urban planners on how to use the open-source green infrastructure templates Delta Institute previously developed. The trainings will address a number of requests Delta Institute has received from city and community officials and will result in both more communities utilizing the templates and higher quality green infrastructure installations.