KEENE — After a record number of grant requests, the Adirondack Garden Club recently announced the following Ellen Lea Paine Memorial Nature Fund grant awardees for 2021.

¯ Adirondack Center for Loon Conservation for the creation of a series of photographic murals depicting a year in the life of a loon. These will hang in the ADK Loon Center in Saranac Lake.

¯ Adirondack Land Trust for the purchase of two trail cameras at the Coon Mountain Preserve to educate the community about the bounty of wildlife in the Champlain Valley. The photos will be accessible to all who follow ALT on social media.

¯ AuSable Forks Elementary School Library for the purchase of new and interesting books for the students that represent the natural environment in which they live.

¯ Champlain Area Trails for the purchase of a “Carts Vermont” garden cart and construction materials.

¯ Cornell Cooperative Extension’s Essex County 4-H Youth Development Program, toward the FULL STEAM AHEAD Immersion week of Natural and Environmental Science where the youth will be introduced to our food system and nutrition education, as well as many other environmental activities.

¯ Craigardan for helping enrich community members’ connection with the natural environment through their community garden, by teaching members about seed starting, growing a variety of vegetables, working with the chickens and sheep and preparing the produce, practices that can be easily replicated at home.

¯ Essex County Historical Society to repair of areas of the Colonial Garden and to purchase supplies needed for the repair.

¯ Friends of Moody Pond to help meet the management objective for Eurasian watermilfoil in Moody Pond and to educate the pond community about EWM to prevent continued infestation and spread to other water bodies.

¯ Friends of Poke-O-Moonshine for updating the “Welcome to Poke-O-Moonshine” interpretive brochure for the mountain and the Ranger Trail on the east side of Poke-O-Moonshine.

¯ Keene Valley Congregational Church’s Creation Justice Church Ministry, toward the planting of native perennials and shrubs to improve birding habitat on the church’s property. The program will create additional habitat for ground-nesting, over-wintering and migrating birds, and provide food sources for the birds. In addition, there will be less lawn required to mow thus reducing the carbon dioxide from the mowers.

¯ Lakeside School at Black Kettle Farm, toward the salary of a much-needed kindergarten assistant teacher who will enable more appreciation of the wonder of the natural world and its many cycles, and to experience the “forest classroom.”

¯ Mace Chasm Farm, toward drip irrigation, seed nuts, and root stock for the planting of native trees.

¯ North Country School to help offset the cost of “Access Wild Places,” a pilot program to provide intentional outdoor experiences and mentorship to 10 students from the Hempstead Union Free School. Without this opportunity these students would have little or no access to the forests, lakes, mountains and other wild places.

¯ Northern Lights School, toward the creation of three raised beds for growing flowers, herbs and annual vegetables for the education and consummation by the students and staff at their new location in Saranac Lake.

¯ Paul Smith’s College Adirondack Watershed Institute, toward the designing of a restoration plan and purchase of native grass seed to help improve habitat quality for Bobolink and Savannah Sparrow at Heaven Hill Farm, Lake Placid.

¯ Paul Smith’s College Visitor Interpretive Center, toward the renovation and augmentation of the flora in the Butterfly House, the rejuvenation of the plantings outside the Butterfly House, and the installation of a water feature in the “turtle pond.”

¯ Protect the Adirondacks for the cost of digital ads advertising 100 great hiking trails in the Adirondack Park outside of the overused and crowded High Peaks Wilderness Area.

“This year’s record Ellen Lea Paine Memorial Nature Fund grant requests include an exciting and wide range of proposed projects,” said Liz Jaques, chair of the ELP Committee. “We look forward to the completion of these worthy projects studying, protecting, and making the natural environment of the Adirondack Park enjoyable for all. Congratulations to all awardees.”

The Adirondack Garden Club Ellen Lea Paine Memorial Nature Fund was established in 2005 to give financial assistance to individuals and not-for-profit organizations involved in programs whose purpose is to study, protect and enjoy the natural environment within the Adirondack Park. Awarded grants range up to $1,500. More information on the Adirondack Garden Club Ellen Lea Paine Memorial Nature Fund is available at adirondackgardenclub.com.

Founded in 1928, the Adirondack Garden Club’s mission is to stimulate the knowledge and love of gardening, to aid in the protection of native plants and birds, and to encourage civic planting, and the conservation of our natural resources. In 1933, the club joined The Garden Club of America, a volunteer, nonprofit organization comprised of 200 member clubs and approximately 18,000 club members throughout the U.S.

The Adirondack Garden Club’s purpose is the conservation of the plants, shrubs and trees native to the Adirondack region, and the making of both wild and cultivated gardens characteristic of the environment in which they are placed, the furthering of the cultivation of gardens throughout the Adirondack area, and the promotion of civic conservation and beautification. More information is available on the club’s website.