© Mohawk College Pollinator Garden Planting

Go Wild Grants

Hundreds of thousands of students and educators are making a difference for wildlife and nature!

Stay tuned this January for the announcement of our 2023-2024 Go Wild Grant recipients.

Primary, secondary and post-secondary schools are going wild with WWF-Canada!

From coast to coast to coast, Canada is bursting with natural riches, diverse species and varied ecosystems that sustain us and provide benefits essential for a healthy life. To show our appreciation, let’s take care of nature so it can continue taking care of us. Every fall, students and educators can apply for a grant to kick-start school and campus projects that help nature thrive.

© Sarah Patterson Primary school students learning about gardening

Primary Schools

Primary schools play an important role in connecting students with nature and empowering them to make a difference for wildlife in their communities through educational, hands-on projects.

Since 2015, Canadian primary schools have been going wild with WWF-Canada, leading projects that help build a future where people and nature thrive. From native plant pollinator gardens, to outdoor classrooms, to ‘no mow’ zones for wildlife, the imaginative projects demonstrate the power of students for nature.

The application period for the 2023-2024 school year is closed and applications are being reviewed. Recipients will be notified in December 2023 and publicly announced in January 2024. Stay tuned to meet this year’s Go Wild primary school recipients.

Learn more

© Dunbarton High School

Secondary Schools

Canadian secondary schools are going wild with WWF-Canada, creating leadership opportunities and student experiences in building a sustainable future.

The application period for the 2023-2024 school year is closed and applications are being reviewed. Recipients will be notified in December 2023 and publicly announced in January 2024. Stay tuned to meet this year’s Go Wild secondary school recipients.

Learn more

© Hillfield Strathallan College

Colleges, Universities & CEGEPs

Since 2017, over 45 Go Wild projects have launched on campuses across Canada. Faculty, staff and students are leading initiatives to help nature thrive locally while inspiring their peers to walk the talk at their college, university or CEGEP.

The application period for the 2023-2024 school year is closed and applications are being reviewed. Recipients will be notified in December 2023 and publicly announced in January 2024. Stay tuned to meet this year’s Go Wild post-secondary recipients.

LEARN MORE

Interested in going wild with WWF-Canada?

Every fall, WWF-Canada invites students, faculty, staff and educators to share their best ideas that will help nature thrive. You will have the opportunity to submit your proposal for a chance to receive a grant to kick-start your project in your school or campus community.

Go Wild Grants are designed to help students and educators protect and restore habitat on school and campus grounds, for the benefit of wildlife and people. Previous grantees have created native pollinator gardens and seed orchards, restored creeks and forests, monitored local wildlife, conducted biodiversity inventories, raised awareness about conservation issues, and more!

We prioritize ideas that help school communities to:

  • Learn and discover the local ecosystem, its history, biodiversity, how it works and what it needs
  • Take action for nature by creating, restoring or protecting habitat with native plants and trees
  • Connect with your communities to create lasting impact

Stay tuned for our next call for proposals in fall of 2024. Sign up for our Living Planet @ School and Living Planet @ Campus newsletters for updates on how you can Go Wild with WWF-Canada.

 

  • More than $320,000 awarded to primary, secondary, and post-secondary students, educators and schools.

  • Over 450 projects implemented across Canada.

  • Students and educators have launched school projects to grow native plants, study wildlife, and restore native habitat for monarch butterflies, bees, bats, birds and more!

GET INSPIRED

Congratulations to the recipients of the 2022-2023 WWF-Canada Go Wild Grants!

Here are a few inspiring examples:

Whitehorse, YU: Students at Jack Hulland Elementary School will create outdoor education areas in partnership with members of the First Nation community to promote land-based learning and respect for wildlife.

Maple Ridge, BC: Kindergarten and grade one students at c̓əsqənelə Elementary School will create a pollinator garden with raised garden beds and local pollinator-friendly plants.

Windsor, ON: James L. Dunn Public School students will create a habitat demonstration and learning garden for birds and pollinators to teach students about urban wildlife and their habitat requirements.

Oromocto, NB: Oromocto High School will create a wildlife meadow by converting a large portion of their school grounds into a “no mow” protected wild zone where plants and wildlife can live and thrive.

Thunder Bay, ON: Lakehead University will create an educational and functional native planting space adjacent to the campus firepit to extend its use for ceremonial and culinary purposes, including smudging and tea-making, allow Indigenous people accessible and free use of these plants, and educate people who already use this space on the importance of native plantings to culture and biodiversity.

 

Find all 2022 – 2023 recipients below:

Primary and Secondary Schools

Académie Catholique Notre-Dame, Kemptville, Ontario – Des fleurs pour nos abeilles

Bert Fox Community High School, Fort Qu’Appelle, Saskatchewan – Bert Fox Food Forest

Bertrun E. Glavin Elementary School, Winnipeg, Manitoba – Bringing Back Wildlife and Nature

Calgary Changemaker School, Calgary, Alberta – Changemaker Sensory and Pollinator Garden

Central Middle School, Victoria, British Columbia – Native plants teaching garden

Central Park Public School, Unionville, Ontario – Grow Zone

c̓əsqənelə Elementary, Maple Ridge, British Columbia – Pollination Garden

Churchill Public School, Sudbury, Ontario – Indigenous Teaching Garden

Coronation Park Community School, Regina, Saskatchewan – Cor Park Reconciliation Learning Gardens

Davisville Jr. Public School & Spectrum Alternative School, Toronto, Ontario – The Davisville Garden

Dunning Foubert, Ottawa, Ontario – Truth and Reconciliation Garden

École Antonine-Maillet, Dieppe, Nouveau-Brunswick – Émergence d’un parc

École Arbour Vista, Guelph, Ontario – Going Back to Our Roots

École Le Marais, Dieppe, Nouveau-Brunswick – Parc à oiseaux

École secondaire Chanoine-Beaudet, Saint-Pascal, Québec – Les nichoirs du Kamouraska

École St-Augustin, Garson, Ontario – Jardin de pollinisateurs : Fleurs et plantes indigènes

École St-Paul, Lively, Ontario – Pro-bio-écolo-recyclo

École Victor Brodeur, Victoria, British Columbia – Les plantes médicinales indigènes: Planter et restaurer des habitats dans la cour d’école

Florenceville Middle School, Florenceville-Bristol, New Brunswick – Buttermilk Creek Wildflower Garden

Jack Hulland Elementary School, Whitehorse, Yukon – Land- and cultural-based centre for excellence

James L. Dunn Public School, Windsor, Ontario – Attracting Northern Cardinals to “The Nest”: Habitat demonstration and learning gardens for birds and pollinators

Killarney Elementary, Calgary, Alberta – Killarney Legacy Outdoor Learning Commons

Lach Klan School, Kitkatla, British Columbia – Rediscovering and replanting indigenous plants

Manitoulin Secondary School, M’Chigeeng, Ontario – Greenhouse Project & Healing Forest

Maple Ridge Secondary School, Barrie, Ontario – Pollinator Garden

Nakoda Elementary School, Morley, Alberta – NES Children’s Garden

Oromocto High School, Oromocto, New Brunswick – OHS Wildlife Meadow

Osprey Woods, Mississauga, Ontario – Pollinator Project

Paul-Arseneau, L’Assomption, Québec – Le jardin des butineurs de Paul

Richer School, Richer, Manitoba – Worms and Butterflies

Roots Elementary Program Inc, Moose Jaw, Saskatchewan – Indigenous Medicine Wheel Garden

St. John Catholic School, Guelph, Ontario – Project New Life: Our Sustainability Initiative

Windsong Heights, Airdrie, Alberta – Pollinators at Play

Wishart Elementary, Victoria, British Columbia – Wishart School Pollinator and Native Plant Garden

Wood Elementary, Port Alberni, British Columbia – Greening our Space

Post-Secondary Institutions

Algoma University – Sault Ste. Marie, Ontario, Corn Circle Seed Nest

Champlain College CEGEP – Saint-Lambert, Québec, Plan d’aménagement et de plantation

Concordia University, Loyola Campus – Notre Dame-de-Grace, Québec, CultivAction – Loyola Farm

Dalhousie University – Halifax, Nova Scotia, Pollinator Wall

Lakehead University – Thunder Bay, Ontario, Flora and Fire: Indigenous Ceremonial and Culinary Plants

University of Guelph – Guelph, Ontario, University of Guelph Biodiversity Inventory

University of Victoria – Victoria, British Columbia, UVic Garry Oak Ecosystem Restoration

University of Windsor – Windsor, Ontario, University of Windsor Seed Orchard

York University, Glendon – North York, Ontario, The Campus Forestry Student Planting Initiative

York University, Keele Campus – Toronto, Ontario, Increasing Pollinator Habitat and Awareness around the Native Plant Garden at York University