SMP Awards Over $50,000 in Grants to 8 Organizations

From left, Katie Hess of SMP poses with Brian Whalen, founding board member of the Southern Appalachian Woodland Network, and Dr. Claire Jantz of DCNR

Through their Mini-Grant Program and Flex Grant Program, South Mountain Partnership (SMP) awarded eight organizations a total of $51,800 for various conservation projects throughout the region. The awards ceremony was held at the 15th annual Power of the Partnership event on Friday, September 12, at the Kings Gap Environmental Education Center in Carlisle, Pennsylvania.

The Mini-Grant Program is funded by the bipartisan Environmental Stewardship Fund through the Pennsylvania Department of Conservation and Natural Resources (DCNR) and administered by the Appalachian Trail Conservancy. In the last 16 years, SMP’s Mini-Grant Program has funded over 100 projects. Over $700,000 in grants have been awarded from this program, leveraging over $1,500,000 in matching funds.  The goal of the Mini-Grant Program is to stimulate on-the-ground projects to sustain the South Mountain region’s sense of place through the enhancement, promotion or conservation of our area’s resources and assets. Municipalities, counties, 501(c)(3) nonprofits, and educational institutions within Adams, Cumberland, Franklin, and York Counties are eligible to apply.

Five organizations received grants through the Mini-Grant Program this year:

  1. The Conococheague Institute, a Mercersburg nonprofit dedicated to teaching the cultural and natural history of the area through hands-on learning, received a grant of $2,500 to develop a native’s welcome garden around their birding wetlands area. 
  2. The Cumberland Valley Rails to Trails Council is an all-volunteer, non-profit, charitable corporation dedicated to conservation, historic preservation, recreation and alternative transportation in the Cumberland Valley. They received a grant of $15,000 to complete phase 2 of the Middle Spring Greenway section in Shippensburg.
  3. Gettysburg College received a grant of $14,100 to develop a K-12 geo-heritage story as part of their Advancing Science Program, linking Pennsylvania science curriculum standards to the South Mountain landscape and its resources via lessons plans and loaner kits for teachers. 
  4. The Social Enterprise Institute is a nonprofit organization dedicated to addressing social determinants of health through fiscal sponsorship. They received a grant of $8,900 to assess Caledonia State Park tributaries in Greene Township, Franklin County, for changes in the surrounding environment.
  5. South Middleton Township in Cumberland County received a grant of $7,500 to develop an easily accessible concrete canoe/kayak launch along the Yellow Breeches Creek across from South Middleton Township Park. 
Katie Hess, director of South Mountain Partnership (SMP) awards Matthew Wedd, executive director of The Conococheague Institute, the Mini-Grant Award certificate.
From left, Katie Hess of SMP poses with Cumberland Valley Rails to Trails Council president Garrett Stahlman and Dr. Claire Jantz, Deputy Secretary of the Pennsylvania Department of Conservation and Natural Resources (DCNR)
From left, Katie Hess of SMP poses with Val Stone, Assistant Director of the Advancing Science Program at Gettysburg College, and Dr. Claire Jantz of DCNR
From left, Katie Hess of SMP poses with Sarah Colondrillo, South Middletown Township’s Director of Parks and Recreation, and Dr. Claire Jantz of DCNR

SMP’s Flex Grant Program provides small-scale, more flexible support for projects not traditionally eligible for the Mini-Grant Program. Project awards are between $500–$2,000 and must be separate from projects submitted to the Mini-Grant Program. The Flex Grant Program has a wider range of eligible applicants, including community groups and businesses as well as organizations eligible for the Mini-Grant Program.

The Flex Grant program, now in its fourth year, is funded by private donations through the Friends of the South Mountain Partnership, a Project of The Foundation For Enhancing Communities.

Three Flex Grants were awarded this year:

  1. Southampton Township in Franklin County received $2,000 for habitat and native plant restoration at the 80-acre Furnace Run Park. 
  2. Southern Appalachian Woodland Network was given $750 to create conservation and woodland stewardship education, best practices, and training materials for forest landowners in Adams, Cumberland, Franklin, and adjoining counties. 
  3. Perry Yingling, a local conservation activist, was awarded $1,050 to build kestrel nest boxes for habitat monitoring and research as part of the Cornell Lab of Ornithology NestWatch program. 
From left, Katie Hess of SMP poses with local conservation champion Perry Yingling and Dr. Claire Jantz of DCNR

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