Are you interested in applying for The Underline’s request for proposals for nonprofit environmental education? This initiative “Growing Miami’s Green Corridor” is supported by an urban forestry grant from the Forest Service, U.S. Department of Agriculture. The goal of this grant opportunity is to empower our community to become environmental stewards through urban forestry education.

In case you missed our info session here’s some of the highlights!

Q: How are you going to deal with the noise on the park? Can we purchase equipment to deal with that? 
A: Yes, The Underline’s Phase 1 is loud. If you want to request funds for AV or amplification equipment, you can. 

Q: Can I request funds for transportation? 
A: Yes. you can request funds for transporting kids 

Q: Do the workshops have to be on The Underline? 
A: We envisioned them being on The Underline, but if there is a creative way for you to engage new populations about the native ecosystem on The Underline in a different space, we would be open to exploring that option. 

Q: When are you going to go North? 
A: That is a question we receive on a weekly basis. We are going to finish The Underline’s 10 miles and then we are happy to assist others in their efforts to grow Miami’s trail network. In the meantime, we are always here to offer assistance- we are happy to help others learn from our mistakes. 

Q: What is the total amount collectively available and the possibility of negotiating budgets if partial funding is available? 
A: Between $40-$50,000 is available this award period. 

Q: Could an organization’s proposed program budget be reduced to accommodate more nonprofits? 
A: It may be possible that a nonprofits ask may be reduced, but that the grant administrators will try to keep in mind the intent of the ask. 

Q: Will there be grant opportunities for each of the five years or just for this year?
A: Grantees will be awarded for one year (Please refer to the grant application form for the specific time frame). Additional grants may be available on an annual basis throughout the life of the USDA grant. 

Q: Not a question but something we expanded on: What constitutes a “workshop”? 
A: Activations can range from artistic to scientific and anywhere in between. Examples include planting workshops, after school programs on The Underline, creative plant walks through the gardens, etc. Organizations are encouraged to be creative. Off-site examples could be working with a group of students in the classroom to create interactive signage to implement on The Underline. Perhaps it’s students creating a documentary about The Underline’s ecology. We have 189 plant species in the gardens. The world is your oyster! The idea is to find pathways to engage the under-served members of the community in native plant education in ways that are creative, effective, resource efficient, and provide the greatest impact to the  community. Some of the programming we have hosted to date include school field trips, a garden bioblitz, scavenger hunts, gardening activities, and our Climate Champs digital learning platform.

The deadline for submission is December 8 at 5pm. Apply here!

Questions? reach out to Asha.Bertsch@theunderline.org