Sacred Grounds TM is a Garden for Wildlife program of the National Wildlife Federation which encourages faith communities to create wildlife habitat on their properties and educate themselves and their communities about the ecological good that landscaping with native plants can provide.  The Toledo-Lucas County Rain Garden Initiative is pleased to champion natural stormwater management as part of Sacred Grounds Toledo, a local partnership which has worked to pilot Sacred Grounds TM in the Great Lakes and build a network of faith communities willing to serve as educational hubs across the Toledo area. Click here for a new factsheet about the  Sacred Grounds Toledo team!

An interactive map of participating faith communities which includes summaries of their Sacred Grounds projects is available below. Clicking on the box with the arrow at the top of the map will display which watershed each faith community is in. Clicking on the circle icons will display a summary of information for each participating faith community. ​

Register your Faith Community for Sacred Grounds Toledo!


Is your faith community interested in joining the Sacred Grounds Toledo network, providing native plant habitat on your property and educating yourselves and others about the importance of native plants in your landscape?  Please register with us to share your contact information, plans and needs. 
Sacred Grounds Events and Workshops 
 
Those wishing to join, please RSVP by visiting bit.ly/bnhw2024 or call 419-936-3954 or email [email protected] .
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Toledo Mini-Grants Funding Opportunity ​

There are currently no mini-grants available for Sacred Grounds projects. However, the Sacred Grounds Toledo team is available to offer technical expertise and resources to interested faith communities. Click here  for a fact sheet about the Sacred Grounds Toledo team! To learn more the National Wildlife Federation Sacred Grounds program, click here.

Information on Sacred Grounds Toledo Mini-Grants from any subsequent funding will be posted as available. Please note: You may register and certify your faith community as a Sacred Grounds without applying for a mini-grant.
There are currently no mini-grants available for Sacred Grounds projects.
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Additional Resources

​Please find below additional resources to assist faith communities and residents in pursuing Sacred Grounds certification or installing a native plant garden at home.

Sacred Grounds in the News

Toledo Free Press: Caring for sacred creation – Laurie Bertke (August 2024)

The Blade: God’s little acres: Area faith communities embrace the ethos of Sacred Grounds – Sarah Readdean (August 2023)
  
Growing in Faith: Congregation B’nai Israel’s new garden is latest in environmental stewardship program                      (June 15th, 2021)
 
Congregation B’nai Israel celebrates new garden, library (August 22nd, 2021)

National Wildlife Federation: Faith, Flora and Friendship (November 10th, 2020)

Toledo Blade: Churches Bless Neighborhoods with Nature's Gifts (October 10th, 2020)

​National Wildlife Federation April-May 2020 Issue: How places of worship are gardening to benefit wildlife (April 1, 2020)

Greater Toledo Community Foundation- Foundation Matters: Sacred Grounds Promotes Community Health (Winter 2020)

NWF Great Lakes Regional Center: Sacred Grounds Promotes Community, Faith and Wildlife in Toledo (September 20, 2018)

Toledo Blade: Faith communities create eco-friendly projects (July 17, 2018)

July 2019 News Letter – Wild Ones – Oak Openings Region Chapter
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Great Lakes Now: Growing Gardens: Churches and mosques create native plant gardens to help with water quality, wildlife and community building (August 6, 2019)