Grants support field trips for Illinois students

Linda Cook
·2 min read

More than 6,600 students will visit Illinois state parks, natural areas, museums, and other natural resources sites this year to learn about nature and conservation thanks to funding through the Illinois Biodiversity Field Trip Grant Program, according to a news release. The program is administered by the Illinois Department of Natural Resources (IDNR) and the Illinois Conservation Foundation (ICF).

2024 Biodiversity Field Trip Grant recipients

Jo Daviess County – Stockton Elementary School, Stockton, fifth grade, Lorado Taft Field Campus, Oregon – $1,500

Knox County – Immaculate Conception School Monmouth, Galesburg, sixth through eighth grades, Shedd Aquarium, Chicago – $1,085.80

More than $99,600 in donated funds for 107 field trip grants were awarded for 2024. The grant recipients represent 30 Illinois counties.

“This program allows students to visit areas throughout Illinois to see firsthand what they’ve been learning about the great outdoors in the classroom,” said IDNR Director Natalie Phelps Finnie. “Our future conservation leaders need the opportunity to experience Illinois’ natural resources in person. We’re pleased to be able to support learning outside the classroom with these grants.”

Funding for the 2024 grants was made possible by private donations from the Daniel F. and Ada L. Rice Foundation of Skokie and the D.F. and M.T. Grohne Family Foundation of Wilmington. The donations and grant funding are coordinated by the ICF.

Since its inception in 2001, the Biodiversity Field Trip Grant Program has distributed more than $1.5 million, and more than 128,000 students have been provided the opportunity to take part in a field trip. Grant recipients are located throughout Illinois and represent students from pre-kindergarten through high school.

The competitive grant program allows Illinois teachers to apply for funds to take students on a field trip to study Illinois’ natural resources. Learning activities must directly relate to the school’s curriculum. Funding covers expenses such as transportation and substitute teachers.

For more information about the program, visit the IDNR Division of Education here.

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