The Alice Zawadzki Land Conservation Fund is named in honor of Alice Zawadzki, who throughout her life held a deep appreciation for North Carolina’s richly diverse natural habitats. Upon retiring as a high school chemistry teacher, she devoted her time and passion to organizations working to conserve native and rare plants. The North Carolina Native Plant Society benefited from her dedication to conservation and boundless enthusiasm for native plants. She served as president from 2002 – 2006 and generously remembered the society in her estate planning. After her death in 2015, NCNPS established the Alice Zawadzki Land Conservation Fund in her memory to continue supporting land conservation work.
About the Alice Zawadzki Land Conservation Fund
Each year NCNPS typically funds two to three Alice Zawadzki Land Conservation grants up to $3,000 each for land purchases that conserve natural plant habitats and communities. Land conservancies, non-profit groups, and agencies involved in conservation of native plant habitat are invited to apply for grants using the online application form.
Review of grants occurs once a year. The deadline for submission is June 1 of each year.
Land conservation projects may include, but are not limited to:
• land purchase, particularly where a matching funding source is available
• boundary surveys and legal fees
• floristic inventories in relation to land purchase or conservation easements
Grant recipients agree to the following obligations as part of their acceptance of funds:
• Acknowledge the Alice Zawadzki Land Conservation Fund of the North Carolina Native Plant Society in printed materials, social media, and signage, as practicable
• Submit a short description of the project and photo(s) to be published in Native Plant News, the newsletter of the NCNPS, and on the NCNPS website
• Report any significant changes to project start/end date to the Grants and Scholarship Committee Chair
Recipients are encouraged to offer a field trip or present their work at a local chapter of NCNPS, if appropriate. Local Chapters are listed on the NCNPS website.