***JACKPOT!!!***

 HOLY SMOKES Y'ALL I CANNOT BELIEVE I AM SAYING THIS!!!

We won the jackpot.

And yes all of those cliches are correct: persistence and hardwork pays off, shoot for the moon, etc. What does this mean? This means good news for Pendleton King Park and its flora and fauna: really good news. 

Back in February, the Pendleton King Park Foundation submitted a grant application for the National Fish and Wildlife Foundation (NFWF)'s Five Star and Urban Waters Restoration Grant Program (special shoutout to Peter Stangel for planting the seed). It was an involved undertaking that necessitated the development of a plan, budget, and partnerships. Pendleton has been the beneficiary of this exact grant in the past through the Phinizy Center for Water Sciences. But this time is different-there is no intermediary, and the Pendleton King Park Restoration Initiative is calling the shots in conjunction with our partners: the Georgia Native Plant Society, Augusta Council of Garden Clubs, Walton Options for Independent Living, Alpha Kappa Alpha, Birds Georgia, the Augusta-Aiken Audubon Society, and the Georgia Rehabilitation Institute. 

This month we received official word that our proposal was approved: NFWF will supply $54,300, which along with the match from our partners and us ($40,900) leads to a total project amount of $95,200.

There's no way around it-that's a ridiculous and jaw-dropping amount that is going to lead to a lot of tangible habitat improvements. We're talking new trees, signage, wildlife habitat, the list goes on...

Check out the public announcement and look under Georgia:

https://www.nfwf.org/sites/default/files/2024-08/nfwf-five-star-20220823-gs.pdf

LET'S GOOOOOOOOO