When James learned how to remove invasive blackberry shrubs at West Vancouver’s Caulfeild Elementary — the students’ Dare to Grow Further project helped create a healthier forest where kids can play that also supports local wildlife — he realized his newfound skills could help him create healthy wildlife habitat at home as well.

Dare to Grow Further project, West Vancouver, BC © Caulfeild Elementary Inspired by the school project funded by a WWF-Canada Go Wild Grant, the thirteen-year-old is now replacing invasive plants with native ones in his own backyard in hopes of attracting more birds.

This month marks the 10th anniversary of Go Wild Grants, one of the country’s longest running environmental grant programs for schools and post-secondary campuses. Go Wild supports educators and student leaders who are empowering young people like James to fight the urgent crises of biodiversity loss and climate change and take hands-on skills learned at school out into the world.

Since 2015, more than 570 funded projects have mobilized hundreds of thousands of students, educators, staff and community members in protecting and restoring nature across Canada.

Over the past decade, the Go Wild Grants program has become an important and reliable funding source for environmental action and education initiatives. Each year, students, educators, and staff at any school or post-secondary institution in Canada can submit their ideas during the open call for proposals. Selected projects create experiential learning opportunities that foster a love of nature and support local biodiversity.

Pollinator garden, North York, ON © Brebeuf College School “It is exciting to think there are now so many years of commitment to funding student-centered projects,” said Mardelle Sauerborn from Frank J Mitchel Elementary School in Sparwood, BC, which received a Go Wild Grant for 2016-17. “The Field Guide created through WWF’s Go Wild Grants is still used by staff and students today for nature-based learning. The lasting impact of this funding is enormous.”

Here are ten more examples highlighting the diverse Go Wild projects we’ve supported:

**Nature Explorer Kits,**École St Joseph’s Preschool, Yellowknife, NT, 2015-2016

At a classroom visit, students learned from an expert how to observe wildlife while respecting the animals and the environment. They also received kits for safe exploration in the Northwest Territories with bear bells, walkie talkies, track and scat identification books, and more.

Riverbank Stewardship, École de l’Assomption, Fabre, QC, 2015-2016

Students took a nearby river under their wing by doing studies on its water quality, creating posters to share their findings, and hatching a plan to stabilize the riverbanks and improve water quality by planting 200 shrubs.

Pollinator Garden, Brebeuf College School, North York, ON, 2018-2019

A student club created a low-maintenance native plant habitat in front of the school, which continues to be frequented by native wildlife including eastern cottontail rabbits and black swallowtail, painted lady and monarch butterflies.

Pollinator Wild Space, Nova Scotia Community College, Middleton, NS, 2018-2019

Local daycare students grew milkweed plants, which campus sustainability staff used to convert a former baseball diamond into a pollinator meadow that provides habitat for monarch butterflies and buffers a brook against runoff from paved areas.

Clark Caring Garden, Brampton, ON © Clark Boulevard Public School Clark Caring Garden, Clark Boulevard Public School, Brampton, ON, 2020-2021

When COVID-19 disrupted plans to create a pollinator garden at school, the grantee decided to send the garden to the students instead by delivering soil, seed, pots and other supplies to their homes, creating 38 balcony gardens at high rise apartments across the city.

Mission Monarchs, École St Norbert Immersion, Winnipeg, MB, 2020-2021

Students became stewards of the land through the planning and creation of a patch of monarch habitat, welcoming the butterflies back by restoring the native milkweed that was previously there.

Peace with the Pollinators, Octagon Pond Elementary, Paradise, NL, 2020-2021

The whole school teamed up to bring back and expand a large field of plants to support pollinators that had been removed during construction work.

Dare to Grow Further, Caulfeild Elementary, West Vancouver, BC, 2021-2022

Students and teachers restored habitat, and the vision of the benefactor who donated land in 1954, by replacing dead trees with fresh native flora.

Garry Oak Ecosystem Restoration, University of Victoria, Victoria, BC, 2022-2023

Over 400 volunteers removed thousands of invasive plants and planted thousands of native ones to restore a patch of Garry Oak ecosystem, which is rare and endangered.

**Outdoor Amphitheater Forest, Horace Allen Elementary School,**Coleman, AB, 2023-2024

Eco Club Leaders helped each grade level choose native shrubs to plant to make a beautiful outdoor learning space, connecting students to the land they live and learn on and inspiring them to be proud stewards of the habitat they helped create.

Peace with the Pollinators project, Paradise, NL © Octagon Pond Elementary In an educational landscape where environmental funding opportunities tend to come and go, WWF’s Go Wild Grants have consistently supported the leaders of tomorrow who want to take action today.

This has been made possible by supporters who understand that environmental conservation takes time and that young people need to be at the table if we are going to create lasting solutions for the crises nature is facing.

WWF-Canada’s Go Wild Grants is in partnership with The Barrett Family Foundation. We also thank our partners Brockelhurst-Jourard, Copernicus Educational Products, HP Canada, The Nissan Foundation, Walmart Canada, the Estate of Mary Lou Blackford and countless others who have empowered youth through their generous support.

Go Wild Grant applications are open

Do you have an idea to help nature thrive at your school or campus? Share your proposal with WWF-Canada from now until October 24, 2025 at https://wwf.ca/take-action/apply-for-funding/go-wild-school-grants/