The grant application period has now closed.   Thank you to everyone who sent in submissions.

The purpose of the Community Environmental Sustainability Project Grant is to support small and creative environmental projects not already covered by existing City of Nanaimo grants - including the Community Watershed Restoration Grant. Program funding will be used to support community based projects intended to support the Green Nanaimo policies and outcomes outlined in City Plan: Nanaimo ReImagined. Funding will be available annually to community organizations, environmental non-profits, participants in the Acting Together for Climate Change program, and groups that have established or plan to establish a program or project to tackle critical environmental and climate issues locally and help raise awareness of those issues in the community. 

Frequently Asked Questions

Applicants will be required to submit a report within one year of being awarded the grant funding.  While the project itself doesn’t have to be completed in this timeframe all grant funding must be spent within the year.

Past Projects

Project Name: Learning in Place- Wardropper Park Restoration Project

By: Departure Bay Elementary School

Description:  Staff and students from the Departure Bay Elementary School worked with volunteers from the Departure Bay Neighbourhood Association to remove invasive plants from Wardropper Park.   The students then worked with Kelsey Cramer (Kinglet Consulting Landscape Design), City Staff, the Snuneymuxw First Nation and the Vancouver Island University horticulture program to create a plan for a restored natural outdoor classroom space.  Students and project partners planted approximately 105 new trees and 60 shrubs in the area; restoring the natural area and creating a place for nature based learning.  

Final Report

Project Name: Community Engagement Project

By: Nanaimo Community Gardens Society

Description: The Nanaimo Community Gardens Society (NCGS) utilized the Community Environmental Sustainability Grant to implement the Community Engagement Project. This initiative focused on providing diverse opportunities for public engagement, fostering environmental education, and encouraging community involvement in activities that promote environmental health.  Activities included hosting urban garden work parties and skill sessions, designing a native plant garden, expanding their gleaming program to include food preservation equipment, hosting a 'share, car, and repair event', adding education signage, hosting field trips for school groups and community organizations, and more.

Final Report

Project Name: Greening Rocky Point Initiative

By: Rocky Point Neighbourhood Association

Description: The City of Nanaimo's 2023 Community Environmental Sustainability Project Grant supported the Greening Rocky Point Initiative, aimed at engaging the Rocky Point community in tree planting and climate action. The project included a climate action workshop featuring expert speakers, a neighbourhood planting weekend and tree planting in public parks. 

Final Report

Project Name:  Love Tooth Nest

By: Art Action Earwig

Description: Between February and April 2024, Art Action Earwig produced Love Tooth Nest, an eco-art project that facilitated active and creative ecological restoration with Nanaimo community members.  Community members visiting Colliery Dam Park were invited to harvest English Ivy, a dominant invasive species at the park. During these “pulling parties” the pulled ivy was gathered and shaped into a prepared “nest.”  Love Tooth Nest was shared with the public at the Earth Day celebration Pulling To Gather, taking place in Colliery Dam Park on April 27. A tooth shaped wire sculpture (Love Tooth) was suspended in the middle of the nest, with prepared tooth shaped “seed bombs” made with indigenous plant seeds clipped to the wire sculpture.  Instructions were prepared on sandwich boards, prompting visitors to gather English Ivy  from the surrounding environment, add it to the nest, and take a native seed bomb as a  gift of gratitude, to plant in place of the ivy or to plant in a place of their choosing.

Final Report 

Project Name: The Thermal Imaging and Home Energy Reduction (TICHER)

Project By: The Nanaimo Old City Association (NOCA) and the Rock City Neighbourhood Association (RCNA)

Description: The Community Environmental Sustainability Project grant brought together residents from the Old City (NOCA) and Rock City (RCNA) neighbourhoods respectively to learn about residential energy efficiency and visual heat loss through the use of a thermal camera.

Final Report

Project Name: Library of Things (originally called the Toolshare Project)

By: South End Eco-Development (SEED)

Description: To help encourage neighbours to "buy less and share more", the South End Eco-Development (SEED) created a library of things (LOT).  The LOT includes a shed centrally located in the shed neighbourhood, as well as other items stored in members homes, available for sharing.   LOT eliminates waste but reducing the need for members to buy new products, while also promoting neighbourhood resiliency through tool and skill sharing.

Final Report

Further Questions?