Connie Saylor Johnson Wilderness Education Fund Grant Application

The Selway Bitterroot Frank Church Foundation is a community of wilderness-minded and hardworking individuals dedicated to bringing citizens and youth to the wilderness to work and play. Formed in 2005, SBFC helps steward the combined 3.7-million-acre Selway-Bitterroot and Frank Church-River of No Return wilderness areas, across Idaho and Montana.

The Foundation assists the Forest Service in providing stewardship for the Selway-Bitterroot and Frank Church-River of No Return wildernesses and surrounding wildlands through boots-on-the-ground work, public education, and partnerships.

SBFC has been accomplishing its mission each year through the Wilderness Ranger Fellowship program, volunteer projects, and trail clearing and maintenance work. We ensure recreational use by opening trails and maintaining trail connectivity. We also protect the natural conditions of wilderness ecosystems through wilderness use and water quality monitoring, campsite restoration, invasive weed removal, and erosion mitigation.

In 2019, SBFC established an endowment fund for wilderness education to honor the memory and service of Connie Saylor Johnson (1941-2018) and her career devoted to involving youth and teachers in wilderness stewardship.

Connie was the first field staff member of SBFC, joined the board in 2009 and remained on the board until her passing in 2018. She worked tirelessly to provide hands-on experiences for school children, college students, and adults from across the United States to learn about wilderness and contribute to caring for her beloved Selway-Bitterroot and Frank Church-River of No Return wilderness areas in Montana and Idaho.

Before Connie worked in the wilderness, she was a teacher. The first people she took to the wilderness were teachers. She saw teachers as the gateway to educating groups of children, even those who might not ever visit the wilderness but could still love and value it.

SBFC is furthering the work of Connie Saylor Johnson to support wilderness education programs by providing teachers and educational organizations with incentive grants to incorporate the stewardship of wilderness into classroom and/or outdoor curriculum.

By “Wilderness” we mean federally-designated Wilderness.  Local examples would be the Selway-Bitterroot Wilderness, Frank Church-River of No Return Wilderness, or the Bob Marshall Wilderness. These areas are not the same as parks, wildlife viewing areas or outdoor recreation areas.  When Connie taught in Idaho, she saw for herself that although students in small rural communities adjacent to large wilderness areas were likely to have hunted, fished, hiked, or camped in these areas, they were not clear on what Wilderness is.  In Iowa, a state with no designated wilderness areas, her students were not aware of our National Wilderness Preservation System.  In both states she taught about Wilderness in her classrooms and in the Selway-Bitterroot “Wilderness Classroom.” We want to continue where she left off.  Educators can find existing curricula for all ages in all settings; a helpful place to start is “Wilderness Investigations."

Any non-profit organization, institution, individual or ad hoc group based or operating in Idaho, Montana, or Iowa may receive a grant. Examples of eligible applicants include, but are not limited to:

• Elementary and secondary teachers and schools
• Museums
• Historical societies
• Public libraries
• Arts organizations
• Colleges and universities
• Tribal government or affiliated cultural agency
• Indigenous NGO
• Local or county government

Informal groups organized solely to submit a grant may also apply for funding. Applicants need not be incorporated as a non-profit organization or have official tax-exempt status, but they must be able to demonstrate that they are “not for profit” and that they can manage all aspects of the project adequately.

Prior awardees may reapply for future grants, but must have turned in a completed grant report in order to be eligible.

• The grant application process opens April 1st and closes October 31st each year;
• Grants are awarded and funded in February each year;
• Final grant reports from recipients and a summary for the SBFC newsletter are due 30 days after completion of the grant project.

Applicants need to be aware that their enthusiasm for and understanding of project ideas are conveyed to SBFC chiefly through carefully written applications in which the thinking behind the project and its connection to federally designated Wilderness becomes evident. In reviewing applications, SBFC board and advisory committee members examine the following guidelines:

• The project creates, implements, supports or enhances existing curricula or programs that educate students and adults about Wilderness values and stewardship;
• The project supports educational opportunities and continuing education for teaching professionals to expand their knowledge of Wilderness education and stewardship activities;
• The project contributes to participants growth in Wilderness knowledge and appreciation;
• The objective/need is clear, and objectives clearly defined;
• The budget is defined;
• The project/need helps to achieve the mission of SBFC.
• The project clearly relates to federally-designated Wilderness areas (not parks or outdoor centers).

*Please reference this Wilderness fact sheet for more explanation about federally designated Wilderness.

Examples of projects considered acceptable (but not limited to) are:

• Write curriculum to integrate Wilderness history, science, philosophy and/or culture into existing school programs.
• Attend or create workshops or trainings to learn/teach about educational values of Wilderness.
• Bring guest speakers to classrooms and community events.
• Create field experiences for elementary and secondary students or community members, such as hands-on training for Leave No Trace camping, backcountry skills, campsite and trail restoration or other skills that contribute to stewardship and thoughtful use of Wilderness.
• Pick a Wilderness area in the US or Puerto Rico and research it.  Determine why it earned the designation and what is special about it.  Make a presentation about the Wilderness comparing and contrasting it to parks and natural areas around them. 

If necessary, SBFC staff will make special arrangements to provide the guidelines in other formats or to meet with applicants with disabilities at locations other than SBFC offices. Should you have further questions regarding the SBFC grant program or application, please do not hesitate to contact us at: csj@selwaybitterroot.org

The Selway Bitterroot Frank Church Wilderness Foundation (SBFC) is accepting applications for projects that fall within the grant guidelines and meet the criteria as described in the Grant Guidelines attached.

Wilderness is a natural place designated according to the Wilderness Act of 1964, where the earth and its communities of life are left unchanged by people, where the primary forces of nature are in control, and where people themselves are visitors who do not remain. Wilderness designation preserves these areas in a natural state by prohibiting development and human manipulation, and providing for non-motorized and non-mechanized use only.

Projects must clearly meet the intent of this grant program:

1. Create, implement, support or enhance existing curricula or programs that educate students and adults about Wilderness values and stewardship.

2. Support educational opportunities and continuing education for teaching professionals to expand their knowledge of Wilderness education and stewardship activities.

3. Contribute to participants growth in Wilderness knowledge and appreciation.

4. Applicants should understand what sets federally-designated Wilderness apart from outdoor nature areas or parks.

How to apply: Applications are available online at selwaybitterroot.org/csjwef-grant. You must answer all questions on the application form and include a detailed budget. Grant requests may not exceed $2,000. Applications must be received on or before October 31st each year.

Grant recipients will be selected and notified by January 31st each year.

Funds will be available as agreed upon between SBFC and recipient. All grant funds must be expended within 12 months of receipt (grant cycle Variances in expenditures from the original proposal may be granted, but the grant recipient must inform SBFC prior to proceeding with the variance. SBFC reserves the right to reject the variance request. Use of excess funds from cost savings must have SBFC approval prior to expenditure. Any unused funds at the end of the grant cycle must be returned to SBFC.

Grantees will be required to sign a grant acceptance agreement consenting to the grant award provisions before funds are distributed. These provisions include requirements to give credit to SBFC in all external communications about grantee projects. A final grant report, including a summary for the SBFC newsletter, will be required. Grant recipients will summarize how the funds were spent and provide proof of expenditures. The final grant report must be received 30 days after completion of the grant cycle. Grant recipients must have submitted a final grant report in order to be eligible for future grants.

If you have any questions regarding the SBFC grant program or the application, please contact us at: csj@selwaybitterroot.org

1. Eligibility (any non-profit organization, institution, individual, or ad-hoc group) – please select one below:

Projects must clearly meet the intent of this grant program:

1. Create, implement, support, or enhance existing curriculua or programs that educate students and adults about Wilderness values and stewardship.

2. Support educational opportunities and continuing education for teaching professionals to expand their knowledge of Wilderness education and stewardship activities.

3. Contribute to participants' growth in Wilderness knowledge and appreciation.

4. Applicants should understand what sets federally designated Wilderness apart from outdoor nature areas or parks.

*Please reference this Wilderness fact sheet for more explanation about federally designated Wilderness.