The Evergreen workshop experience (Photo: Evergreen)

Winning a new grant starts with writing a superb proposal. “Getting More Green” is one of Evergreen’s leading workshops with hands-on activities and useful resources to help groups get results from their grant proposals. Join us on Monday, January 17, 6–9pm for this invaluable workshop hosted by Evergreen and University of Toronto Mississauga.

Check out some comments from previous workshop participants:

“The group activities really drove the point home and facilitated good conversation within group conversation.  It was good to look at funding from the funders’ perspective.” —from the 2009 workshop at Black Creek Pioneer Village

“Group activities, [a] list of funding sources and other handouts, and viewpoint of funders looking a potential projects.” —from the 2009 workshop at Black Creek Pioneer Village

“There was a nice mix between presented material and hands-on activities.  Case studies and experience of presenters also helpful.” —from the 2008 workshop at Evergreen Brick Works

Find out more about the workshop and how to register on our Events Calendar!

Digging (Photo Credit: Anna-Kay Gordon)

The Kokum’s Little Friends Daycare at the Brandon Friendship Centre in Manitoba had an extra special harvest this fall. With the support of a Walmart-Evergreen Green Grant, their on-site children’s garden became, according to the Daycare Co-ordinator Anna-Kay Gordon, “a magical garden,” that taught the children about the importance of growing your own food as well as provided for 36 families in the community.

The children, many of whom have developmental impairments, were involved in every step of the garden’s development, and learned about dirt (its texture, smell, taste and uses!), watering and weeding, and sang “Bumblebee, ants, go marching one by one!” by the garden non-stop to keep pests away. Together, the centre’s staff, students, community members, Elders, and contractors harvested corn, potatoes, beets, squash, pumpkins, zucchinis and onions to supplement the centre’s food services.

Watering (Photo Credit: Anna-Kay Gordon)

Anna-Kay was thrilled with the outcome, saying “I have nothing but thanks from us to Evergreen for making this dream possible. Teaching good nutrition to low income families is so important and essential. Over the summer duration the children waited and counted the days for their next visit back to the garden.”

The Brandon Friendship Centre is an urban Aboriginal community centre that administers programs that attempt to bridge the gap between the community’s urban and non-urban cultures.

The Kokum's Little Friends Daycare (Photo Credit: Anna-Kay Gordon)

Since 2005, Walmart has partnered with Evergreen to create Walmart–Evergreen Green Grants, a national program that has supported more than 319 community-based projects focused on introducing or enhancing local community green spaces. In 2010, $453,000 was awarded to 58 projects across the country from St. John’s to Whitehorse, including the Brandon Friendship Centre in Brandon, Manitoba.

Get the full list of 2010 Walmart-Evergreen Green Grant recipients here.

The application and guide for the 2011 program will be available on the Evergreen website during the first week of December 2010, with a submission deadline of January 31, 2011. For more information about the Walmart–Evergreen Green Grant program, please visit our web site.

In the corn field (Photo Credit: Anna-Kay Gordon)

Learn more about the Brandon Friendship Centre on their web site.

Students using their outdoor classroom at Cassandra PS, Toronto. (Photo: Cam Collyer)

With summer almost behind us (*sniff*) and September fast approaching, let’s look to the school year ahead. Have you been giving some thought to your school ground? Does it need a little green?

The Toyota Evergreen Learning Grounds grant applications are now available online and will be accepted starting September 7. We are excited to say that we have been offering this program with Toyota’s support for over a decade! Since 2000, the Toyota Evergreen Learning Grounds program has distributed $2.1 million to over 1,700 schools across Canada. In 2009/2010 alone, we awarded $260,000 in grants to 158 schools.

Join the hundreds of schools across Canada who have taken part in this program and start filling out your application today!

For more information on deadlines, eligibility and to access your application, click here.

Help rebuild nature in your community. (Photo: Peter Thompson)

We are now accepting applications for the Rebuilding Nature Grant Program, supported by The Home Depot Foundation and led by Evergreen. These grants support environmental stewardship projects in communities across Canada. Grants are available in amounts of $1,000, $3,000 or $12,000 – plus $2,000 in The Home Depot gift cards – to cover the costs of tools and equipment, native plants and trees, and other expenses.

Deadline is May 21. To learn more and download an application form and guide, click here.

Create an outdoor classroom at your school. (Photo: Robert Christie)

Looking to green your school ground? Need some money for trees, shrubs, seating or vegetable gardens?

The Toyota Evergreen Learning Grounds program can help you. You can receive up to $2,000 for your public school, but time is running out. Hurry to meet the deadline of this Friday, January 15, 2010!

Click here for more information and to access the funding application.

Green your community! (Photo: Michelle Scrivener)

Evergreen Common Grounds is now accepting applications for the Walmart – Evergreen Green Grants program supporting community groups initiating environmental stewardship and restoration projects across Canada.

The application deadline is January 29, 2010, so apply quickly!

Just in time for the holidays, Evergreen invites you to give the Gift of Nature. Cross that hard to buy for person off your list with a donation to Evergreen in their honour.

For each donation made, a personalized card will be sent to your loved one detailing how your gift has helped to support Evergreen’s mission of making cities more livable.

Should your donation be $45 or more, a seed packet of heritage tomatoes will be included inside the card along with planting instructions. After starting the seeds indoors, the tomatoes will thrive in a window box or balcony container for a gift that truly keeps on growing.

To give the Gift of Nature, please visit our website to download the Gift of Nature form.

As an infrequent bowler, I decided I’d be more useful donating money to “Team Conifera,” named after our Evergreen mascot.

After the event I got to  sit down with Cara, one of the Team Conifera captains, to get the lowdown on how the pins fell.

Team Conifera: Cara, Mel, Nicola, Sarah, Zanita and Sue (l-r) (Photo: Evergreen)

As you can see from the picture above, the whole team showed up in style. Cara even wore her costume to the office the Friday before to solicit more donations from the office.

Cara said that Team Conifera made themselves right at home at the cosmic-lit Bowl-A-Rama. Nicola, as it turns out, is a bowling phenom, and the team was by far the loudest.

In total, $800 was raised, but perhaps even more importantly, Team Conifera won the spirit prize because of their costumes, hghi-fives and cheers.

Good job y’all!

Back to a barren school ground? Add some healthy green this year!

Toyota Evergreen Learning Grounds program is now accepting applications for the 2009/10 school year.

Download the application and guide today!

The Toyota Evergreen Learning Grounds program had a record number of applications last year and we were pleased to distribute over $210,000 to support 136 school ground greening or food gardening projects across Canada. We want to do it again this year!

If you’re looking to green an asphalt school ground or enhance an existing greening project, we strongly encourage you to apply, but quickly! Funds tend to run out before our January 15, 2010 deadline.