Green Bay parks to accept $3,850 grant for 100 free native-plant kits

The Green Bay Park and Recreation Department voted to accept a $3,850 grant to create about 100 native-plant kits and give them away to residents at no cost.

Director (name not specified) told the committee the conservation corps applied for and received the grant to assemble kits of 15 priority prairie plants each. "100 kits consisting of 15 priority plants," the director said, adding that the kits are intended as a small demonstration garden to reduce lawn area and support pollinators. The department plans to distribute the kits via a random lottery if interest exceeds supply.

The director described the funding and schedule: the grant itself carries no cash match but the department will provide an in-kind match to cover staffing for propagation, repotting and kit assembly (the transcript records the match valued at "$17.50" in-kind). Staff outlined a timeline to prepare in January, begin promotion in February, select recipients in March and distribute the kits in May.

Board members expressed support for the initiative as a continuity of the city's recent "no mow" outreach. One member said, "I think this will fill that void a little bit," and suggested donating some kits to neighborhood associations.

A motion to accept the grant was made and seconded and carried on a voice vote; the meeting record shows the motion passed but does not list a roll-call tally. If implemented, the project would be promotional and small in scale, focused on public education and pollinator habitat rather than large-scale landscape change.

Next steps: staff will finalize grant acceptance paperwork and begin the outreach schedule described by the director.