Now in its 14th year, Fiskars Project Orange Thumb^® awards cash and garden tools to community groups across North America and Canada. I am honored to be on their editorial board for the second consecutive year where I helped select 30 grant recipients from the 50 finalists.

Out of more than 400 applications submitted, 30 recipients will each receive $3,500 in cash and tools to support their own community gardens.

Fiskars’ Project Orange Thumb has provided over $1.6 million to more than 180 community groups in the 14 years since the program was started. With the goal of strengthening community ties, growing healthy food and beautifying community gardens across North America, Fiskars is proud to offer grants and tools to support local, hand-grown food sources.

2016 Grant Recipients

• Takshanuk Watershed Council, Haines, Alaska
• Western Sierra YouthBuild, Grass Valley, California
• Malama Kaua’i, Kilauea, Hawaii
• Thornton Township High School, Harvey, Illinois
• Springfield YMCA, Springfield, Illinois
• Table to Table, Iowa City, Iowa
• St. Mary’s Nutrition Center, Lewiston, Maine
• Boys & Girls Club of Harford County, Aberdeen, Maryland
• Benjamin’s Hope, Holland, Michigan
• West Main Hill Neighborhood Association, Kalamazoo, Michigan
• Loaves and Fishes, Minneapolis,Minnesota
• The Family Place, St. Paul, Minnesota
• Yoknapatawpha Arts Council, Oxford, Mississippi
• Little Big Horn College Extension, Crow Agency, Montana
• Edison Township School District, Edison, New Jersey
• Harlem Grown, New York, New York
• Northwood Group of Companies, Bedford, Nova Scotia
• Partners for Care, Halifax, Nova Scotia
• Working in Neighborhoods, Cincinnati, Ohio
• Mansfield Memorial Homes, Mansfield, Ohio
• Chahta Foundation, Durant, Oklahoma
• Boy Scouts of America – Northeast OK Veterans, Jay, Oklahoma
• Free Spirit Gardens, Collingwood, Ontario
• Roots to Harvest, Thunder Bay, Ontario
• Joan Austin Elementary School, Newberg, Oregon
• Plum Borough School District, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania
• Saskatoon Food Bank and Learning Centre, Saskatoon, Saskatchewan
• Belle W. Baruch Foundation, Georgetown, South Carolina
• Seattle Tilth, Seattle, Washington

Congratulations to this year’s grant recipients and I look forward to seeing what’s accomplished in the coming year!

Head over to Fiskars to read a brief description of each organization and the community garden projects they will be creating.

Interested in community gardening?
Feel free to embed the infographic below on your website:

<a href=’http://www2.fiskars.com/Community/Project-Orange-Thumb/Fiskars-Community-Garden-Infographic’><img src=’http://www2.fiskars.com/var/fiskars_amer/storage/images/media/images/project-orange-thumb-images/fiskars-project-orange-thumb-infographic/959454-1-eng-US/Fiskars-Project-Orange-Thumb-Infographic.jpg’ alt=’Plant a Community Garden’ width=’1000px’ border=’0′ /></a></p>

Disclosure: My participation on the 2016 Fiskars editorial board is a paid position.
Read our Sponsorhip Disclosure Policy.