NEEF's Restoration and Resilience Fund

The COVID-19 pandemic has fundamentally changed many Americans’ relationships with the outdoors. Due to social distancing regulations, people have flocked to public lands in record numbers for recreation and rejuvenation, putting a strain on local parks, preserves, and other outdoor spaces.

As one of the nation’s leading supporters of public lands engagement, the National Environmental Education Foundation (NEEF) is dedicated to helping America’s public lands recover from the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic. With this in mind, we recently partnered with  Toyota Motor North America ,  International Paper , and the  Hilton Effect Foundation  to establish the Restoration & Resilience COVID Recovery Fund—a special fund which will help restore these special places.

The interactive Story Map below highlights all current recipients of the COVID Recovery Fund, divided into four project types: Conservation, Accessibility, Maintenance, and Cultural and Historical Preservation projects. You can click on an entry to learn more about each project and the public land it serves.

For more information about the Restoration & Resilience COVID Recovery Fund, visit the  Grants section  of our website.

To learn more about a specific conservation project, click its image below

"Among the many reasons to make sure these animals stay wild and the trails stay open are our children...We want to make sure all our children have access to wild places. From growing up wild to getting away for a day to reconnect with nature after a day at the office or in the mill, everyone deserves a chance to have wild and natural places to roam." -Friends of Scotchman Peaks Wilderness

To learn more about a specific accessibility project, click its image below

To learn more about a specific maintenance project, click its image below

To learn more about a specific cultural and historical preservation project, click its image below

"Carmody County Park has one of the busiest boat launches in Door County. Gliding into that mix – and sometimes rolling into the drink – has been an increasing number of kayakers." -- Door County Pulse

The National Environmental Education Foundation (NEEF) is the nation’s leading organization in lifelong environmental learning, connecting people to knowledge they use to improve the quality of their lives and the health of the planet. Congressionally chartered in 1990 as a 501c3 nonprofit to complement the work of the US Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), NEEF is a non-partisan, non-advocacy organization working to make the environment more accessible, relatable, relevant, and connected to people’s daily lives.