Need funding for a park, trail, or conservation project? The Pennsylvania Department of Conservation and Natural Resources (DCNR) – Bureau of Recreation and Conservation is hosting its free, annual grant workshops in November. All workshops will be virtual this year due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
Anyone interested in applying for bureau grants in 2021 is strongly encouraged to attend. The workshops are especially suited for municipal officials, consultants, board members, trail managers, land trust staff, and park and recreation professionals.
The workshops provide insight on:
- Who can apply
- What can be funded
- When funding will be available
- How to make project applications more competitive
“I’m hoping applicants will view these sessions as building blocks in DCNR’s blueprints that lead many a borough, township, or watershed group from dreaming about yesterday’s plans to implementing tomorrow’s improvements,” DCNR Secretary Cindy Adams Dunn said. “They offer continuing refinements in a process that’s designed to make grant applications easier.”
Three workshop dates are available. Those in eastern counties should attend on Wednesday, November 4. Those in central Pennsylvania should attend on Thursday, November 12. And those in the west should attend on Tuesday, November 17.
Workshop dates are organized by county to allow for region- and project-specific Q&A with DCNR grant managers.
Each workshop runs from 9:30 to noon. There will be ample time for project-specific Q&A with DCNR’s professional grant managers. Projects discussed will include:
- Parks, pools, and playgrounds
- Land protection
- Trail planning and construction
- Waterway access and conservation
The workshops are free, but pre-registration is required to ensure participants receive needed materials. Attendance at each workshop is limited to 200 participants. Videos of workshop presentations will be made available on the DCNR YouTube channel for those who cannot attend.
To register for the workshops, visit events.dcnr.pa.gov. Select the date of the workshop you want to attend from the calendar on the right, then find the workshop in the list of events for that day. Click “Register” to begin the registration process. Follow the prompts to complete your registration.
The Bureau of Recreation and Conservation provides grants to support recreation and conservation projects. The bureau has funded projects in every Pennsylvania county.
Funding for the grants comes from the Environmental Stewardship Fund; the Keystone Recreation, Park, and Conservation Fund; the Pennsylvania Recreational Trails Program; and the Land and Water Conservation Fund.
In 2019 the Bureau of Recreation and Conservation funded over 200 construction projects including parks, playgrounds, trails, boat launches, pools, ballfields, and more. Funding for these projects totaled nearly $38 million.
For more information on bureau grants, please contact one of the bureau’s regional office staff. Bureau staff will meet with community leaders and stakeholders in the field to discuss projects and explore potential funding sources. Their contact information is listed in the graphic below. Contact the staff person associated with the county your project is located in.