filed under: Outdoor Classroom Set Up, School Garden Basics

BC School Garden Grants

School garden grants make all the difference in the start up, maintenance and enjoyment of a school garden. Grants and funds from sponsors are often necessary to run outdoor classroom and garden programs. And with school budgets so tight, it is all but impossible to get extra money for the supplies needed to run an effective school garden program. Information below is subject to change. I try to update this post at least twice per year. Give yourself plenty of time to write and edit your application. A clear and well considered plan will make your application more desirable to reviewers.

Have I missed an existing school garden grant? Please contact me to let us know about new grants!

BC School Garden Grant Information is current as of February 14, 2024

Current and Open Grants:

Farm Credit Canada (FCC) Community Funding

Available to: Public schools and registered charities

Grant window: ongoing

Grant value: Up to $10,000

Nutrition Link Services Society

Available to: Registered charities that support nutrition literacy (existing programs only)

Grant window opens: July, 2024

Grant value: $2,000- $5000

Whole Foods Foundation Canadian Farm to School Grant

Available to: public schools & non-profit organizations

Grant Window opens: February 5, 2024

Grant Window closes: April 5, 2024

Grant value: up to $10,000 for the development of a salad bar service at your school

Whole Kids Garden Grant Program

Available to: K-12 schools in Canada growing edible gardens (previous award winners can reapply if funds received before 2020)

Grant window opens: February 1, 2024

Grant window closes: March 1, 2024

Grant value: $3000 to support new or existing edible gardens

Community Spaces Funding

Available to: Registered charities & non-profit organizations that improve the places Canadians meet, play, learn and share

Grant window: February 1- March 1, 2024

Grant value: $25,000- $150,000 per project

Walmart Canada

Available to: public schools and charitable organizations specific to healthy eating, food access & building strong communities or disaster relief

Grant window: Ongoing

Grant Value: Varies by request

BC Hydro Grants

Available to: schools with a CRA charitable number and a project focus that aligns with their 3 priorities: workforce of tomorrow, safety and smart energy ideas

Grant Window: February 1- March 31, 2024

Grant Value: Grassroots grants $2000 Broad Impact Grants $10,000

TD Friends of the Environment School Garden Grants

Available to: educational institutions and charitable organizations

Grant window: Two grant cycles- applications due July 15, 2023 and January 15, 2024

Grant Value: $2000-$8000

Honda Foundation

Available to: public schools

Grant window: ongoing

Grant value: up to $50,000

Canadian Tire Sponsorships

Available to: Non-profit organizations

Grant Window: Ongoing

Grant Value: Contact your local store for details

Canada Post Community Foundation Grant

Available to: public & independent schools

Grant window opens: March, 2024

Grant value: Multiple funding streams. Read the linked page for details.

PHE Canada Empowerment Grants

Stream One: Healthy Active Programming- for school projects that initiate, enhance, and/or increase access to meaningful physical and health education programming and/or healthy school initiatives. Grants typically ranging from $500 to $2,500 and can include garden related projects and initiatives that support physical and health education programming, healthy eating, mental health.

FREE Professional Learning & Resources for teachers

The Garden Classroom Series

Available to: practicing K-7 teachers who wish to try and locate their curriculum in school gardens.

Information: This online 10-part series supports K-7 elementary teachers eager to explore opportunities for teaching across the curriculum in their school gardens. Each month we will review timely tasks that help keep gardens growing, as well as specific curricular connections, and practical management tips for teaching outdoors. Seasonal resources will be shared, and participants are encouraged to share their own success stories and challenges to broaden our collective expertise.

Take Me Outside

Available to: teachers across Canada

Information: Download the resource hub to access community partners and local resources.

The Outdoor Learning Store

Available to: Teachers across Canada

Information: Free webinars and curated resource kits for school gardeners. Recordings of school garden webinars and links to resource kits I helped developed can be viewed here.

Farm to School BC

Available to: teachers across BC

Information: Free webinars and EXCELLENT resources for teachers who wish to use their gardens as classroom spaces.

Ongoing projects that are free to teachers.

Bulbs For Kids

Available to: schools until all packages are claimed.

Sign up to their email list to be the first to know when bulbs are available again! Even if all the packages are gone this year, you’ll be the first to know next year! Requests for packages usually come out in the early Spring.

BC Agriculture in the Classroom: Planting a Promise

Available to: Teachers across British Columbia

Rick Hansen Foundation

Available to: schools wanting to improve the accessibility of their parks and playgrounds

Contact the foundation if you have accessibility concerns in your garden or outdoor classroom.

Jane Goodall Roots & Shoots

Inspiring and equipping the next generation of conservation leaders

Online guides, tools and resources are available.

Previous Grants not available at this time. Check back soon as grant windows can open unexpectedly.

Go Grants

Available to: public school & independent school classrooms or schools (no district applications)

Grant Window: Two deadlines September 1, 2023 or February 1, 2024

Grant value: $600

Whole Kids Foundation Bee Grants

Available to: The Traditional Bee Grant allows for K-12 schools or non-profit organizations that serve any grades K-12 to start a new or enhance an existing bee program hosting live bees on their campus.

Grant window opens for applications: September 1, 2023

Grant window closes: October 15, 2023

Grant value: A choice of a monetary ($1500) or equipment grant intended to support schools in bringing live bees to their campus or grow their already existing educational hive program.