Attorney General James Awards $505,000 to Support Pollinator Conservation in Historically Underserved Communities
NEW YORK – New York Attorney General Letitia James and The New York Community Trust (The Trust) today announced $505,000 in grant funding for 28 community organizations to support pollinator conservation projects in historically underserved communities across New York. The grants are the second and final round of awards from the New York Pollinator Conservation Fund, a $3.45 million initiative created by the Office of the Attorney General (OAG) using proceeds from a 2023 settlement with Bayer CropScience and Monsanto over misleading claims about the safety of certain Roundup consumer weedkillers, which can be toxic to pollinator species. Of the total award, $419,000 was funded by OAG’s settlement and $86,000 was contributed by the Trust, a community foundation that supports charitable work across New York and the fund’s administrator. This final round targets communities identified as disadvantaged under New York’s Climate Leadership and Community Protection Act, ensuring that the fund's benefits reach communities historically underrepresented in government funding programs.
“Every New Yorker deserves to live in a community with clean air and green space, no matter their zip code,” said Attorney General James. “These grants will bring pollinator gardens, workforce development, environmental education, and other benefits directly to communities that have too often been left out of conservation efforts. I am proud to close out this fund by investing in the New Yorkers and neighborhoods that need it most.”
“Pollinator decline is a pressing concern in New York State and across the nation,” said Arturo Garcia-Costas, The Trust’s program director for the local, national & international environment. “It was a real privilege working with the Attorney General’s office to support and lift up this diverse set of practical, community-focused projects that will benefit pollinators from Lake Huron to Mastic Beach in a host of ways.”
Pollinators such as bees, butterflies, birds, and bats are essential to New York’s agriculture and ecosystems, supporting the production of more than a third of the state’s crops. According to the Empire State Native Pollinator Survey, at least 40 percent of New York’s native pollinator species are at risk of disappearing from the state.
The 28 grantees will use one-year grants ranging from $5,000 to $20,000 to fund habitat creation and restoration. The selected recipients reflect the breadth of New York’s community-based environmental work, from land trusts and community gardens to museums to tenant associations, food justice groups, and reentry organizations.
- In Brooklyn, the Walt Whitman Tenants Association will restore green space at a New York City Housing Authority (NYCHA) complex, and Cypress Hills Local Development Corporation will build a pollinator sanctuary at the East New York Youth Farm.
- In the Bronx, Bronx is Blooming and the Bronx River Alliance will create pollinator habitats along the Bronx River and provide employment opportunities for local youth.
- On Staten Island, H.E.A.L.T.H for Youths will expand pollinator habitat through native plantings, tree-bed improvements, and youth engagement.
- In Westchester, the Sing Sing Prison Museum will bring pollinator gardening and horticultural training into three correctional facilities to support rehabilitation and workforce development.
- On Long Island, Mastic Beach Conservancy will install native coastal plantings in partnership with the Town of Brookhaven, and the Sisters of Saint Joseph will replace invasive vegetation with native plants on a wastewater treatment site in Brentwood.
- In the Hudson Valley, Kingston Land Trust will create six new pollinator gardens within its Pollinator Sanctuary to serve as outdoor classrooms for community education, while Kites Nest, Inc. in Hudson will expand a youth-led urban pollinator habitat through ecological restoration and youth employment.
- In Syracuse, the Syracuse-Onondaga Food Systems Alliance will connect pollinator conservation and food justice by expanding food-bearing pollinator habitat in the Onondaga Creek Watershed.
- In Rochester, the M.K. Gandhi Institute for Nonviolence will create wild bee habitat and engage community members through native plantings and environmental education.
- In Buffalo, the Michigan Street African American Heritage Corridor Commission will weave pollinator habitats into its Griot Stroll cultural programming, while Grassroots Gardens of Western New York will convert vacant lots into pollinator habitats citywide.
Across the state, the funded projects fall into several broad categories: habitat creation and restoration, including new pollinator gardens, meadows, and native plantings on vacant lots, parkland, brownfields, and public housing sites; procurement and installation of native plants and sustainable horticultural practices, including invasive species removal and pollution control; workforce development, with several grantees hiring and training local youth and reentry populations to lead conservation work; and public education, including community workshops and programming for schools. Many grantees will also use the funding to formalize long-term stewardship structures, such as volunteer corps and community “pollinator pathways,” to sustain the habitats long-term.
A full list of awardees is below.
| Organization | Location | Grant Amount | Project Description |
|---|---|---|---|
| Buffalo Niagara River Land Trust | Buffalo | $20,000 | Expand a pollinator garden on a remediated Buffalo brownfield site to increase habitat connectivity and volunteer stewardship. |
| Grassroots Gardens of Western New York | Buffalo | $20,000 | Transform vacant lots into pollinator habitat through native plantings, community partnerships, and public education. |
| Michigan Street African American Heritage Corridor Commission | Buffalo | $20,000 | Integrate pollinator education and native plantings into the Griot Stroll programming through culturally grounded environmental education. |
| M.K. Gandhi Institute for Nonviolence | Rochester | $20,000 | Create a wild bee habitat and engage community members through native plantings and environmental education. |
| Downtown Schenectady Improvement Corporation | Schenectady | $20,000 | Revitalize the garden surrounding the Harriet Tubman statue with native pollinator-friendly plantings. |
| Roberson Museum and Science Center | Binghamton | $20,000 | Establish native pollinator habitat on its Binghamton campus with educational opportunities for visitors. |
| Syracuse-Onondaga Food Systems Alliance | Syracuse | $20,000 | Connect pollinator conservation and food justice by expanding food-bearing pollinator habitat in the Onondaga Creek Watershed. |
| Eden Share, Inc. | Poughquag | $9,000 | Expand pollinator borders at Poughkeepsie community gardens and increase public education on pollinator-friendly gardening. |
| Kingston Land Trust | Kingston | $20,000 | Create six new pollinator gardens within its Pollinator Sanctuary as outdoor classrooms for community education. |
| Kites Nest, Inc. | Hudson | $20,000 | Expand and steward a youth-led urban pollinator habitat through ecological restoration and youth employment. |
| Nyack Pollinator Pathway | Nyack | $15,000 | Transform an underutilized downtown green space into a native pollinator garden. |
| Safe Harbors of the Hudson | Newburgh | $17,000 | Expand a pollinator garden at Safe Harbors Green and establish a diverse corps of stewards. |
| Sing Sing Prison Museum | Ossining | $19,000 | Expand pollinator-friendly gardening and environmental education across three Westchester County correctional facilities. |
| Long Island Progressive Coalition Education Project | Brookhaven | $20,000 | Partner with local groups to create new pollinator gardens and maintain existing habitat in disadvantaged communities. |
| Mastic Beach Conservancy | Mastic Beach | $20,000 | Partner with the Town of Brookhaven to install native coastal plantings at Bayview Park. |
| Rewild Long Island Incorporated | Port Washington | $20,000 | Expand the Valley Stream ReWild Community Garden with community science-oriented programming. |
| Sisters of Saint Joseph | Brentwood | $20,000 | Replace invasive vegetation with native pollinator plants on a 2-acre leaching field. |
| 34th Avenue Open Streets Coalition | Jackson Heights | $10,000 | Create a network of pollinator habitats across public spaces in Queens while engaging residents and youth. |
| Bronx is Blooming | Bronx | $20,000 | Create pollinator habitat in parks along the Bronx River through youth workforce development and community science. |
| Bronx River Alliance, Inc. | Bronx | $20,000 | Create and maintain a native pollinator garden along the Bronx River Greenway. |
| Cypress Hills Local Development Corporation | Brooklyn | $20,000 | Create a pollinator sanctuary at the East New York Youth Farm using native plantings and community education. |
| Gowanus Canal Conservancy, Inc. | Brooklyn | $20,000 | Expand pollinator habitat across community gardens, rain gardens, and street tree beds. |
| H.E.A.L.T.H for Youths | Staten Island | $20,000 | Expand pollinator habitat on Staten Island through native plantings and youth engagement. |
| Horticultural Society of New York | New York | $20,000 | Install native bee habitat boxes in disadvantaged communities and provide pollinator education. |
| Jacob A. Riis Neighborhood Settlement | Long Island City | $5,000 | Expand the Queensbridge Pollinator Project through resident stewardship and intergenerational education. |
| Pineapple Ride Inc. | Brooklyn | $10,000 | Expand a Bensonhurst Park pollinator corridor through native plantings and community engagement. |
| Riverside Park Conservancy, Inc. | New York | $20,000 | Enhance and expand the 119th Street Pollinator Meadow. |
| Walt Whitman Tenants Association, Inc. | Brooklyn | $20,000 | Restore public housing green space with native pollinator plantings and resident stewardship. |
With this final round, the New York Pollinator Conservation Fund is now fully allocated. In the first round, announced in June 2025, Attorney General James awarded $3.3 million to 34 organizations statewide (an additional $600,000 was provided by The Trust). Grantees included community land trusts, urban environmental coalitions, Indigenous communities, and grassroots education groups. The projects and initiatives funded ranged from restoring butterfly populations in urban grasslands to transforming parks, campuses, and underused lands into thriving pollinator hubs. Several projects emphasized hands-on learning and public education, and many involved partnerships with local farmers, municipal agencies, and conservation experts to reduce pesticide use, improve land management practices, and produce pollinator-friendly landscapes.
This matter is being handled by Policy Advisor Peter C. Washburn of the Environmental Protection Bureau under the supervision of Bureau Chief Lemuel M. Srolovic. The Environmental Protection Bureau is part of the Division for Social Justice, which is led by Chief Deputy Attorney General Meghan Faux and overseen by First Deputy Attorney General Jennifer Levy.
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