Help Restore Pollinator Habitats and Beautify Public Spaces in Massachusetts
Our annual Plant Something Bee-eautiful program awards three $2,500 grants and five $500 grants to Keep Massachusetts Beautiful chapters and other organizations. These grants support the planting of pollinator-friendly plants and trees in public spaces. Our goal is not only to beautify public spaces, but also to restore critical habitats for pollinators.
Thank you to Noble Oak for providing $10,000 in funding to support this program.
Bees and other pollinators are in serious decline around the world. The decline of pollinators is caused by habitat destruction, the overuse of pesticides that include neonicotinoids, farming practices that eliminate patches of wildflowers and cover crops, parasites, and pathogens, as well as climate change.
According to the Pollinator Partnership, the monarch butterfly population has declined by 90% over the past 20 years. Pollinators, including 20,000 species of wild bees, contribute to the growth of fruit, vegetables, and flowering plants. Plants that depend on pollination make up 35 percent of global crop production volume with a value of as much as $577 billion a year.*
The annual deadline for submitting a grant request is July 31. Please scroll down to submit a grant application.
Congratulations to Our 2023 Plant Something Bee-eautiful Grantees!
In 2023, we received numerous grant applications and issued 11 grants for a total of $10,500. Grantees included:
- Keep Plainville Beautiful: $2,500 for the creation of a new pollinator garden at Telford Park
- Keep Mansfield Beautiful: $2,500 for the restoration of the pollinator garden at the Jordan Jackson School
- Keep Framingham Beautiful: $1,500 for the installation of a new pollinator garden at Farm Pond, a popular public park.
- Keep Walpole Beautiful: $500 for the installation of new adopt-a-spot locations and pollinator habitats
- Cove Elementary School in Beverly: $500 for the creation of a new pollinator garden in collaboration with a team of fourth-grade students and parents
- Wakullah Street Community Garden in Roxbury: $500 for the creation of a dedicated pollinator garden for bees, butterflies, and other creatures
- Aptucxet Garden Club in Bourne: $500 for the creation of a new pollinator garden and educational signage at the Jonathan Bourne Public Library
- Nahant Community Garden: $500 for an upgraded pollinator garden and raised beds at the Johnson School, a cooperative community resource
- Grow Native in Waltham: $500 for the restoration of a pollinator garden in partnership with Waltham Fields Community Farm
- South Shore YMCA Family Farm in Hanover: $500 for the creation of a new pollinator garden along the walking path from Camp Gordon Clark
Congratulations to our 2023 Plant Something Bee-eautiful grantees! You are all doing beautiful things for our environment and our pollinators.
The annual deadline for submitting a grant is July 31.
