11th Hour Racing, a non-profit organization dedicated to promoting ocean literacy and stewardship, has announced eight new grants, funded by The Schmidt Family Foundation, to nonprofit organizations in the U.S. and Puerto Rico. In total, the organization has awarded nearly $4 million in grants to nonprofit organizations this year. These grants support initiatives that advance ocean literacy and stewardship, clean technologies and best practices, and ecosystem restoration.
“11th Hour Racing’s grant program is a catalyst for implementing nature-based solutions in response to climate change,” said Michelle Carnevale, Vice President of Programming at 11th Hour Racing. “That is why we support coastal resilience in communities where local economies and residents depend upon healthy ecosystems like reefs, mangroves, and natural buffers to protect the coastline from storm surges and sea-level rise.”
The new grants will go to a variety of organizations working on projects such as creating a living shoreline with “Reef Balls” made of pH-balanced concrete in Connecticut, restoring plants in Hawaii that play a crucial role in ocean ecosystems, leading a shell recycling program to restore Cape Cod’s local oyster population in Massachusetts, installing mussels to filter nutrient pollution in the Potomac River in Maryland, restoring mangroves in Puerto Rico, implementing a new eelgrass restoration technique in Connecticut, restoring a portion of New England’s Great Marsh in Massachusetts, and rewilding the Chicago River by introducing new mussels and installing floating wetlands in Illinois.
The current round of new grants includes the following organizations:
- Connecticut College (Conn., U.S.) is deploying 80 “Reef Balls” made of pH-balanced concrete to create a living shoreline that will help restore Connecticut’s tidal marshes.
- Hawaii Institute of Pacific Agriculture (Hawaii, U.S.) is restoring plants that play a crucial role in ocean ecosystems by improving water quality and coastal habitat and providing food for fisheries along rivers and bays.
- Massachusetts Oyster Project (Mass., U.S.) leads a shell recycling program to divert oyster shells from landfills and restore Cape Cod’s local oyster population.
- Potomac Riverkeeper Network (Md., U.S.) is installing 50 million mussels to filter nutrient pollution in the Potomac River before it reaches the broader Chesapeake Bay area.
- Protectores de Cuencas (Puerto Rico) is restoring up to 30 acres of mangroves in Cabo Rojo, a region impacted by hurricanes and earthquakes and threatened by sea-level rise.
- Save the Sound (Conn., U.S.) is implementing a new eelgrass restoration technique to improve water quality, store carbon, and protect the shoreline from storms in Long Island Sound.
- The Trustees of Reservations (Mass., U.S.) is restoring a portion of New England’s Great Marsh to build resilience to sea-level rise and analyzing the potential carbon sequestration of the salt marsh to develop carbon credits.
- Urban Rivers (Ill., U.S.) is rewilding the Chicago River by introducing new mussels and installing floating wetlands to improve water quality and create experiential learning opportunities.
11th Hour Racing will accept new grant applications from January 1 to March 31, 2023. Grants are awarded in the U.S. and globally, with a focus on the East Coast of the United States, Puerto Rico, Hawaii, and the Caribbean.
