Waterwise Garden Grant
Hunter Industries and KidsGardening are working together to offer the Waterwise Garden Grant to support public and charter schools in San Diego County planning to teach about water conservation, water stewardship, and responsible water management through gardening. In 2025, five elementary schools in San Diego County will be awarded $1,000 in funding and an irrigation supply kit valued at $500.
This grant is now closed. Meet the 2025 winners!
The Waterwise Garden Grant will be expanding nationwide and making awards again later in 2025! You can make sure you don't miss any announcements on this or any other grant by signing up for our newsletter list.
Waterwise Garden Grant
Hunter Industries and KidsGardening are working together to offer the Water Wise Garden Grant to support public and charter schools planning to teach about water conservation, water stewardship, and responsible water management through gardening.
In 2025, five elementary schools in San Diego County will be awarded $1,000 in funding and an irrigation supply kit valued at $500.
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Eligibility
Any public or charter elementary school located in San Diego County serving at least 15 youth is eligible to apply. Applicants must be planning to use the funds to install new or improve an existing youth garden.
Organizations:
- Support, work with, or serve communities with a majority of individuals that are under-resourced (systematically denied resources and opportunities based on race, gender, ethnicity, income level, abilities, geographic location, etc., or currently experiencing hardship such as a natural disaster, etc.)
- Have fifteen or more youth participate in the garden program.
Funding Priorities
The selection of winners is based on demonstrated need and program impact. KidsGardening considers a variety of factors when determining needs, including:
Socioeconomic & Sociodemographic Factors: How does the program exist within or engage a community that has been systematically denied resources, whether physical assets and money or representative leadership and community services? Organizations affected by multiple socioeconomic and sociodemographic factors are given priority.
Program Funding and Support: Does an organization have access to consistent, substantial monetary support or prior grant funding? Or are pre-existing resources (financial or otherwise) limited? Organizations experiencing the latter are given priority.
Impact: Will grant funding dramatically expand learning opportunities for program participants? Does the intended impact reflect the needs of the community? Organizations working with greater than 50 youth will be given priority.
Award Packages
In 2025, five elementary schools in San Diego County will be awarded $1,000 in funding and an irrigation supply kit valued at $500.
The irrigation supply kit provides materials for two or three 4’ X 8’-raised beds. It includes a timer, pressure regulator adapter, pressure regulator, 100-foot roll of irrigation tubing, 100-foot roll of emitter irrigation tubing, elbows/tees/couplers, end caps, and a tube cutting knife. Descriptions of each component are listed below.
If this collection of supplies is not a good fit for your garden’s needs, a custom kit of equal value can be developed with the assistance of a professional irrigation contractor.
Hunter Garden Box Drip Kit
- Timer – Connects to the spigot/hose bib to allow you to control the frequency and duration of irrigation. It can also be used to turn the system on manually. This device can be controlled from a smartphone using a free Hunter app. Includes a screen to filter out particles that can clog the system.
- Adapter – An adapter to connect the 17mm drip tubing to your pressure regulator. This will convert from ¾” garden hose thread to 17mm irrigation tubing
- Pressure Regulator – Standard drip systems should be reduced to between 20 to 40 psi, which can occur at the spigot (after the timer). Connects to ¾” garden hose thread.
- A 100-foot roll of standard 17mm blank irrigation tubing – This will be used to create the main header line that the drip lines will attach to. It can also be used as the water supply line.
- A 100-foot roll of standard 17mm in-line emitter irrigation tubing – This will be used to create the runs in the planting beds that deliver water to the plants.
- Elbows, tees, and couplers – The fittings connect to two or three pieces of tubing. They allow you to change direction at a 90º angle and add a piece of tubing to the side using a tee. Couplers let you join two pieces of tubing. The fittings have barbed ends, allowing you to easily push the tubing onto them to create a tight fit.
- End caps – These are used at the end of tubing runs and the end of each line of drip line.
- Hunter HEMT Tool – Blue folding knife to cut tubing.
How to apply
The deadline for application submission is Friday, September 13, 2024, at 11:59 pm PT.
All applications must be submitted online.
You can download a copy of the questions below.
English: Word document or PDF file.
Español: Documento de Word o archivo PDF.
We strongly advise saving the questions and then pasting the answers into the online application rather than composing your answers directly into the online form. Many browsers timeout after 30 minutes of inactivity (or sometimes sooner), so you may lose your work if it takes longer than your browser's setting to complete or save your entry.
Award Notification and Fulfillment
Winners will be announced and contacted by email by October 18, 2024. A list of winners will also be posted on KidsGardening.org on that date. Awards will be distributed in November 2024.
Grant Recipient Requirements
Grant awardees are required to complete a grant-end report by June 15, 2025. These brief reports help KidsGardening and Hunter Industries determine the overall impact of the grant program. Winners will be provided with a link in May 2025 to the 10-question online form to complete.
Grant-end reporting requirements include:
- 5-10 digital images or videos of the garden program
- Parental release forms to accompany images of children
- A short narrative about the impact of the garden program
If you do not feel that you will be able to comply with these reporting requirements, please do not apply.
Frequently Asked Questions
What makes a quality application?
The Water Wise Garden Grant is designed to support public and charter schools looking to teach about water conservation, water stewardship, and responsible water management. As such, a competitive application will demonstrate how the new or existing youth garden will teach about the above topics.
We also encourage you to explore our Grant Application Support page for advice on how to craft a standout grant application.
What are my chances of winning the grant?
This is a competitive grant opportunity and we receive more applications than funding available. In 2024, depending on the grant program, KidsGardening funded 13% of the applications submitted.
My program has previously been awarded a grant from KidsGardening, am I eligible to apply for and receive a Water Wise Garden Grant?
Yes, as this is the first year of the grant, previous grantees are eligible to receive the grant.
What can we use the $1,000 funding on?
You may spend the grant funds on gardening materials such as raised bed materials, soil, plants, seeds, compost materials, tools, fencing, greenhouse or hydro/aquaponic materials, curriculum, watering supplies, observation tools, garden decor, cooking supplies, and programming. This is not an exhaustive list but merely an example of how the funds can be used.
A maximum of $500 can be budgeted to cover salaries or stipends for garden staff.
How do I know if I’ve successfully submitted my application?
You will receive a confirmation email from JotForm following the submission of your application. Occasionally these emails end up flagged as Spam, so we recommend checking your Spam box.
What if I have started my application but still need to finish it? Will it be reviewed?
No, applications that are started but not submitted will not be considered for the award.
What if I submit more than one application for the same organization?
The last application submitted will be evaluated.
What if I need to update my submitted application?
Our platform does not allow for updates to a submitted application, as such, please complete a new application. We only review the last application submitted by an organization.
How do you select grant winners?
We have a team of grant readers who evaluate applications and supporting materials. A single application typically goes through three rounds of evaluation before being selected as a winner. This takes approximately one month.
In the initial round, a single reader will review an application, using a standardized scoring rubric, judging it on assorted criteria including, but not limited to, demonstrated need, program sustainability and impact, and clear fit with grant objectives. High-quality applicants are then selected to undergo a second round of evaluations. In this phase of the review process, each member of the grant selection committee reads all second-round applications before meeting to engage in group deliberation and finalist selection.
I didn't receive an email on Friday, October 18, 2024, the day of the winner announcement. Does this mean my organization wasn’t awarded a grant?
We send a notification email about winner selection to the primary contact listed on your application. Emails are sent to both the grantees and those that were not selected for this year's grant. Because these emails are sent out en masse, this communication is frequently flagged in the primary contact’s Spam box. If you have unsubscribed from our newsletter list, there may be a delay in receiving grant communication. We encourage you to check your Spam box if you do not receive a notification email on the announcement day or to visit the KidsGardening website to view a list of Grant Winners.
Grant Application Technical Support
If you have any questions that were not addressed in the above Frequently Asked Questions section, please contact KidsGardening Program Director Sarah Lane at [email protected].
About the Grant Sponsor
Developing innovative irrigation solutions that save water and energy is a driving force at Hunter Industries. We offer a complete spectrum of water- and energy-efficient solutions for residential, commercial, golf course, and agricultural irrigation systems in over 120 countries. To promote sustainability, we’re proud to partner with organizations like KidsGardening that encourage the growth of green spaces while seeking ways to responsibly support the environment.
Waterwise Garden Grant
This grant is now closed.
Award Announcement: October 18, 2024
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