SER Midwest Great Lakes Receives SER Partnership Fund Grant

The SER Midwest-Great Lakes chapter in November 2020 received a Society for Ecological Restoration Partnership grant for activities focused on establishing greater connections to Midwestern-Great Lakes Native American tribes (Ojibwe, Dakota, Ho-Chunk, Chippewa, Menominee as examples) and individuals working in restoration, raising awareness of Native American-led restoration projects and Traditional Ecological Knowledge (TEK) in the region, and increasing entry into the field of restoration and SER by Native American individuals. 

The SER MWGL Chapter is among the first to receive the SER Partnership Grants.  Other grant recipients in this first round are SER New England, SER Texas, and SER Western Canada.

The chapter will use grant funds to perform outreach to local tribes, plan and host a series of online forums focused on Indigenous restoration activities, develop online outreach and training materials, establish a list-serve for Native American K-12 educators to connect them to tribal mentors and elders with restoration knowledge, and develop a land acknowledgement for chapter meetings. The chapter will also use grant funds to provide SER membership to Native American students and professionals in their region, and to support a Native American guest speaker at their next regional chapter meeting.
SER’S Partnership Fund Makes First Grants to Diversify Membership and Support Emerging Professionals

The SER Partnership Fund was established in the October 2018 Strategic Plan for Membership. It is funded by a portion of membership dues across most member categories. The annual competitive grants program offers awards to chapters and sections for member-driven programs that build capacity to advance SER’s mission, including, but not limited to awards and scholarships, communications, outreach, and advocacy. All active SER Chapters and Sections in good standing may submit a proposal for peer-review. SER received eight grant proposals for the 2020 cycle, and we were able to fund half of them (see below). SER is thrilled to offer this new Partnership Fund program in collaboration with the Chapters and Sections, and of course, our members, who make this program possible!

It is anticipated that the SER MWGL forums will be held between June and November 2021.  A special committee of the Board of Directors has begun planning this winter and is exploring possible forum topics and potential speakers.  Stay tuned to this site for more details.