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.
Anyone interested in applying for bureau grants in 2022 is strongly encouraged to attend one of these virtual workshops. 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 Thursday, Nov. 4. Those in central Pennsylvania should attend on Wednesday, Nov. 10. And those in the west should attend on Tuesday, Nov. 16. Applicants for statewide and regional projects should attend the workshop based on their office location.
Workshop dates are organized by county to allow for region- and project-specific Q&A with DCNR grant managers.
Each workshop runs from 9:00 AM to noon. There will be ample time for project-specific Q&A with DCNR’s professional grant managers. Projects discussed will include:
- Planning, constructing, and renovating outdoor recreation facilities such as parks, pools, and playgrounds
- Land acquisition
- Non-motorized and motorized trail planning and construction
- River access and riparian forest buffers
- Statewide and regional partnerships
A general session for all applicants will begin at 9:00 AM. Project type-specific breakout sessions will start at 10:25 AM and 11:15 AM. Applicants should plan on attending both the general session and the breakout session for the project type they plan on applying for.
The workshops are free, but pre-registration is required to ensure participants receive needed materials. Attendance at each workshop is limited to 200 participants. Register for workshops here.
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.
DCNR’s Bureau of Recreation and Conservation provides grants to support outdoor recreation and conservation projects. The bureau has funded projects in every Pennsylvania county.
Funding for the grants comes from the state Environmental Stewardship Fund and the Keystone Recreation, Park, and Conservation Fund; as well as the federal Pennsylvania Recreational Trails Program and the Land and Water Conservation Fund.
In 2020 the Bureau of Recreation and Conservation funded over 250 projects including parks, playgrounds, trails, nature preserves, boat launches, pools, ballfields, and more. Funding for these projects totaled over $40 million.
For more information on DCNR 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.
