«CHARITABLE GRANTS»

RESULTS OF THE NATIONAL PARKS FUND FOURTH ANNUAL GRANT CONTEST

Dear Friends!

We would like to thank everyone who took part in this year’s contest, our fourth! For this competition, the special topic Cooperation with Volunteers was announced. We received 81 grant applications, of these 77 projects were entered in the contest. The judges gave the highest score to 7 projects and recommended them for financing.

In the Ecological Education category, the winning projects are:

1. Friends of Losiny Ostrov (Losiny Ostrov National Park)
2. Carst: the Pearl of Pinezhye (Pinezhsky Nature Reserve)
3. Clean Forests and Lakes for Sebezhsky National Parks (Sebezhsky National Park)
4. Creating a Reserve’s Friends Club at Biryulskaya Secondary School (Baikalo-Lensky Nature Reserve)

In the Natural Areas Protection category, the winning projects are:

1. Conservation of hibernation places of birds inhabiting underground shelters of Samarkaya Luka in cooperation with local people and volunteers (Zhigulevsky Nature Reserve)
2. Cooperation with volunteers and local people to protect the Kozhim River Basin (Yugyd Va National Park)
3. Complex monitoring of kalan (Enhydra lutris gracilis Bechstein) populations and insular seals of on Bering and Medny (Commander Islands) — research, protection, liaison with local population (Komandorsky Nature Reserve)

Our congratulations to the winners!

We would like to reassure those participants who have not yet received support from the Fund. We will do our best to find the means and to assist in their implementation. Last year the National Parks Fund gave over $30,000 (total) to 5 projects that did not win in any of the Contest categories.

This year, prompted by recommendations from experts, the Fund has introduced amendments (in coordination with the PNAs) to the budgets of proposed projects. This had to be done to make up for the negligence in drafting projects and project budgets. Therefore, the main recommendation of the experts and directors of the Fund to future contest participants of is: Make sure you keep to the terms of the Contest!

Good luck! See you at next year’s Contest!

Elena Zubova,
Acting Director
National Parks Fund

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