MERRILLVILLE — Northern Indiana Public Service Company LLC (NIPSCO) and the NiSource Charitable Foundation announced the winners of its 2025 Environmental Action Grant.
The annual grant program awarded 23 local nonprofit organizations to help fund environmental projects and programming across NIPSCO’s service area.
Now in its 10th year, the grant program has provided about $700,000 in funding support for nearly 170 projects with an emphasis on environmental education and restoration across northern Indiana, according to a news release from NIPSCO. This year’s recipient organizations, selected by a review committee, will each receive a grant between $500 and $5,000 to further their missions.
In addition, an expanded grant for Monarch Joint Venture will support expansion and enhancement of pollinator habitats across multiple public lands and publicly accessible areas in NIPSCO’s northern Indiana territory. In conjunction with funding, volunteer efforts will include monarch tagging and planting approximately 150-200 native plant and milkweed plugs at Pisgah Marsh. Other monarch tagging events are planned for Hoosier Prairie Nature Preserve in Lake County, Reynolds Creek Gamebird Habitat Area and Willow Slough Fish & Wildlife Area.
This year’s grant recipients include:
• Monarch Joint Venture, Monarch Pollinator Projects across Northern Indiana
ο Reynolds Creek Gamebird Habitat in Porter County
ο Pisgah Marsh Wildlife Management Area in Kosciusko County
ο Willow Slough Fish and Wildlife Area in Newton County
ο Hammond Right-of-Ways in Lake County from Wolf Lake to Roxana Marsh
• Blue Heron Ministries, Demonstration Beds at Gene Stratton-Porter State Historic Site
• Boy Scouts of America Anthony Wayne Area Council, Montessori Environmental Stewardship Curriculum in Pleasant Lake
• Clear Lake Township Land Conservancy, Borton Wetlands Habitat Restoration
• Delta Institute, Urban Forestry and Community Engagement in Hammond
• Field Station Cooperative, Nature Pre-school at Indiana Dunes National Park
• Girl Scouts of Northern Indiana Michiana, Pollinator Project at Camp McMillen
• Indiana Dunes Environmental Learning Center, High School Outdoor Career Pathways
• Indiana University Foundation, The Pollinator Orchard at IU Kokomo
• International Friendship Gardens, Environmental Survey
• LaGrange County Department of Parks and Recreation, Nature Day Camps
• LaPorte County Soil and Water Conservation District, Kankakee River Days
• Legacy Foundation, Stewart Mattix Prairie Restoration
• Little River Wetlands, Native Habitat Restoration
• MLK Montessori School, STEAM Summer Camp
• Michigan City Parks Department, 2025 Trail Creek Week
• Mongo Community Development Association, Pollinator Garden Expansion
• Morning Bishop Theatre Playhouse, We Are Our Nature’s Keepers
• Niches Land Trust, Summer Adventure Camp
• Northwest Indiana Paddling Association, River Clearing East Branch Little Calumet River
• Oak Farm Montessori School, Forest Path Improvement Project
• PFW Foundation, Conservation Conversation
• Shirley Heinze Land Trust, Public Access Improvements to J. Timothy Ritchie Nature Preserve
To learn more, visit NIPSCO.com/environmental-action-grant.