Falk Announces Grant Recipients of Graham-Martin Prairie Foundation Gift

July 29, 2005
Lesley Sillaman, 267-8823 or 669-5606
County Executive

Dane County Executive Kathleen Falk today announced individual and organization grant recipients of native plants and seeds from the Graham-Martin Prairie Foundation worth more than $130,000 total. The grants are part of the Plant Dane! Grant Program, that is a portion of a larger $200,000 gift to the County that includes native plants and seeds for the County to use for prairie restoration and other projects. The Plant Dane! Grant Program encourages homeowners, as well as schools, municipalities and nonprofit groups to plant rain gardens and native landscapes. Rain gardens help water soak into the ground and prevent pollutants from running off into lakes and streams. “Because of Bill Graham and Sandy Martin’s generosity, many homeowners and groups are able to do their parts to improve the landscape of our community, and help keep our lakes free from pollution,” said Falk. “Thank you to the Graham-Martin Prairie Foundation and to all the applicants for their fabulous work.” At a press conference held at the Benedictine Life Foundation in Middleton, Falk announced a grant of plants and seeds worth $5,000 for the Sisters of St. Benedict to restore their landscape. Falk also highlighted several other grant recipients, including a grant to Friends of Parks of Perry Township for their prairie restoration work by the Hauge Church, the St. Francis of Xavier Church and School for rain gardens to mitigate stormwater runoff that will involve the school children in the project for an educational opportunity and the Woodcreek Village Condominiums to address storm water runoff into the Pheasant Branch Conservancy and Lake Mendota. The grant program funded over 100 homeowner or “individual” applications and almost 40 school, municipal or nonprofit group applications. Individual awards did not exceed $200 worth of plants and seeds and group awards were not larger than $5,000 worth of plants and seeds. ###