Grants and Donations1

We donated daffodil bulbs to local schools and Rye Town Park

The LGCR has reached out to local Grammar schools and two private schools to do a big daffodil planting in Rye.

In addition, the club helped with the planting of bulbs in Rye Town Park at the entrance to the park.

Club members gave a demonstration of planting techniques and donated the daffodil bulbs to each of the sites. The local public grammar schools did a bulb pick up and planted them at their homes.

We have lots of excited children waiting for the spring bulbs to bloom.

We applied for and received the prestigious Founders Fund Award of $40,000 for the Marshlands Conservancy.

The Little Garden Club of Rye plans to use the Founders Fund grant to help restore the native habitat in the meadow at Marshlands Conservatory; the oldest known continuously-managed meadow in New York State. An additional element of this program is the study and documentation of the meadow flora. The result of this project will be two-fold: 1) identifying native species that stand up to invasives; 2) cataloging those species for the benefit of educating the local region.

We received a $40,000 Founders Fund Award for the Jay Heritage Center to replant indigenous and historic northeastern species to create an edible plant learning Center at the Jay Estate

It will support the study of native vegetation in this dedicated outdoor classroom for thousands of visitors throughout the NY/NJ/CT area. A companion curriculum delivered by Jay Estate’s Horticultural Director, Lucia Maestro, will focus on the pivotal role that native plants have played in healthy and sustainable human and wildlife communities.

We applied for the GCA Hull Award, recognizing those local champions who impart to children a love and concern for the natural environment. Recipient are awarded $1,000.

We honored:

Dr Ashley Marks - Through engaging teaching methods, she helps students develop deeper understanding of biodiversity, conservation, and sustainability. Her dedication to environmental education extends beyond traditional classroom settings, incorporating outdoor exploration and hands-on activities that make learning memorable.

Katherine Jamer, environmental educator at the Rye Nature Center, where her contagious excitement and energy have transformed environmental education programs, making complex ecological concepts accessible and engaging for young learners.

Debbie Davis-Galliard =She supported her middle-school students’ effort to test re-populating oysters in Rye Harbor. When a storm destroyed their research station, Debra led her students in starting over from scratch. Debra instills in her students a responsibility to be gatekeepers for their environment.

Henry Myers, the Rye Nature Center Environmental Educator. His wide-eyed enthusiasm for the natural world is contagious and he completely engages the children, asking questions, challenging their answers, encouraging them to explore further and learn deeper.

In 2023, we applied for a $25,000 Restoration Initiative Grant for the Rye Nature Center, after Hurricane Ida's devastation of our local community. The Blind Brook carried tons of debris through the town and the Nature Center, damaging the banks of the Brook and several habitats.

The funds from the Restoration Grant were used for debris removal, clearing the pathways around the pond and restoring the wetland buffer. This included stabilizing the area in the perimeter of the pond by replanting the area with native plants, shrubs and trees. Native wildflowers were also planted.

Labor and materials to rebuild the Education Platform for studying the pond, and information signage about pond ecology were also included.

We applied for a Partners for Plant Award for the Marshlands Conservancy Understory Restoration.

This award is focused on restoring native habitat on federal, state and local public lands throughout the United States.

The Marshlands Conservancy Understory Restoration Project will explore and assess which native plants best support the preservation and maintenance of the wildlife habitat, historic character, air and water quality, and restorative nature of the Marshlands Conservancy. Club members, local residents, campers, higher education students and interns earning degrees in ecology, botany and conservation will be engaged to collect and assess data, the results of which will be shared with other affected properties.

Grants and Donations

The Little Garden Club of Rye provides grants and donations to organizations in our community that share our purpose.

The Rye Nature Center
Nature Station

Daffodils

Annual Donations

GRA Grants to Local Organizations

Daffodils - Bittern

Owls courtesy of Betsey Albert

Nature station at work

Nature Station at the Rye Nature Center