Larimer awards grants to eight organizations

FORT COLLINS – Eight organizations have received a combined $30,863 in grants from the Larimer County Department of Natural Resources.
The grants, through the 2025 Small Grants for Community Partnering program, support community and neighborhood projects that are designed to help educate and connect people to the land.
The awards support a variety of nature-inspired proposals submitted by K-12 schools, homeowner associations, nonprofits and community groups. The projects include nature and stewardship themes ranging from building school gardens to treating invasive species, providing outdoor recreation access for underrepresented youths, and more.
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The recipients and the projects funded:
- American Adventure Sports Club, $4,000 for restoring connections between underrepresented communities and nature in Northern Colorado.
- Colorado Youth Outdoors, $4,000 for sustainable-agriculture demonstration plots in Windsor.
- Estes Valley Recreation and Park Foundation, $3,882 for a permaculture program at Lake Estes Golf Course in Estes Park.
- Hispanic Women’s Farming Proyecto, $3,961 for healthy vegetables for Harmony Village families in Fort Collins.
- Fort Collins Museum of Discovery, $4,000 for its Tuesday Night Live programming for “Nature All Around Us” special exhibit.
- Fort Collins Montessori, $4,000 for its educational gardens.
- Fossil Creek HOA, $3,520 for a Russian olive removal project.
- Sproutin’ Up: $3,500 for its Three Sisters Garden in Fort Collins.
The Larimer DNR since 1998 has awarded a portion of the Help Preserve Open Spaces sales tax directly back to the community through the Small Grants for Community Partnering Program. To date, the department has awarded $445,983 for 246 community and neighborhood projects.
Grant funds from this program are available to nonprofits, community organizations, homeowner associations and K-12 schools for outdoor neighborhood and community-based projects across Larimer County that align with DNR’s mission, meet community needs and inspire stewardship of the natural world.
Each fall, the department invites new and returning applicants to apply for seed or capacity building support for projects that:
- Provide or enhance natural landscapes, including wildlife habitat, rivers, wetlands, outdoor community gathering spaces, neighborhood parks, greenbelts, lakes/ponds, etc.
- Provide nature-based environmental education opportunities, including outdoor education signs and materials, outdoor classrooms, workshops, and training.
- Provide opportunities for people to connect with the land by providing access to nature for those experiencing barriers including limited transit options, financial obstacles, etc.
- Provide opportunities for people to connect with the land via local agricultural food production.
- Develop new research on Larimer County open spaces which will provide information on the ecology, history visitation, and/or human dimensions.
For more information about the program, coontact Jennifer Almstead, Small Grants Program Coordinator, at 970-619-4569 or jalmstead@larimer.org, or go to www.larimer.org/small-grants.
Eight organizations have received a combined $30,863 in grants from the Larimer County Department of Natural Resources.