Six School Gardens Receive 2026 Native Plant Grants

This year's B.W. Wells grants will help students across the state turn bare schoolyards into living classrooms of North Carolina natives.

We are delighted to announce the recipients of the 2026 native plant grants. Six schools — from a mountain elementary in Watauga County to a coastal middle school in New Hanover — will receive funding and plant lists to establish native gardens this fall.

Living classrooms

Each grant supports a teacher-led project that pairs habitat creation with hands-on learning. Students will propagate milkweed for monarchs, monitor pollinators through the seasons, and watch a patch of mowed turf become a meadow.

“A native garden is a science curriculum you can walk through,” said one of this year’s committee reviewers. “It teaches ecology, stewardship, and patience all at once.”

Supporting the next generation

These grants are funded entirely by member dues and donations. If you would like to help us grow the program — and reach more schools next year — consider giving or upgrading your membership.

Applications for the 2027 cycle will open in January. Watch this space, and tell the educators in your life.