A grants program directed by the Department of Natural Resources that has connected thousands of young Minnesotans to the outdoors through dozens of projects has money for another round of big ideas.

The No Child Left Inside (NCLI) grants program was created by 2019 legislation that seeded the program with $1.2 million. DNR managers quickly received hundreds of requests for the first phase of grants — mini-grants up to $5,000. Nearly $234,000 was awarded to almost 60 projects across the state, from outdoors learning programs in Bertha-Hewitt public schools to maple syruping instruction in Milaca, to money for the Minnesota Youth Ski League in Minneapolis. Two more rounds of grants followed. Most recently, phase three saw $200,000 awarded to about 50 projects last December.

Now, the DNR has $250,000 to award in phase four and money for awards into 2023 after the Legislature last year appropriated an additional $900,000 to continue the NCLI program. The deadline for phase four grant-seekers is March 10. Those awarded will be notified in May.

The mini-grants were followed in phase two with more substantial funding. Some projects received more than $40,000 in phase two. The alternating approach is by design to deal with intense interest and to reach as many young people as possible, said Jeff Ledermann, a DNR education and skills supervisor who manages the grants program.

"We are trying to find the right balance," Ledermann said.

The DNR tightened the eligibility standards beginning in phase three to focus the dollars on children who might miss out on opportunities outdoors. The agency tracks Department of Education data for free and reduced-price school lunches in Minnesota communities. Grant applicants from school districts, environmental learning centers, and other organizations must draw from a population with at least 40% who qualify for the subsidy.

There are other guidelines for grant applicants. They must spell out the expectations of their projects and self-report their accomplishments to the DNR. Ledermann said the agency balances its expectations based on the size of the grant. He said phase one had about 12,000 participants among its 50-plus projects even though implementation was affected some by COVID-19. The pandemic, though, hasn't dampened fervor for the grants. More than 100 applications were received for the larger grants in phase two. Fishing-related projects in Ham Lake and West St. Paul, for example, each received more than $45,000.

"It's been awesome"

Prodded by persistent and interested students, Jed Helwig worked on creating a fishing club at North High School in North St. Paul, where he is activities director. He applied for and won a phase two NCLI grant of $6,900 and now is the club adviser, too.

Helwig promptly bought rods, reels, and related gear to get the club afloat. He also spent money to reserve pontoon boats to get club members to the fish. Their first outing last year was on White Bear Lake, and regular Saturday morning outings of several hours followed through the end of the school year.

What started with the use of one school van (and some free lunches) blossomed into a need for two vehicles to accommodate the growing North Anglers Club. Now it has 15 to 20 active members and has a reach beyond the school, Helwig said. Family members began showing up with their own boats at other outings at places like Forest and Bald Eagle lakes.

Helwig said inclusivity always has been a goal.

"What is great is we have freshman kids involved with seniors," he said.

"I give them the platform to teach each other," Helwig said. "It has evolved. It has been awesome."

Now, he has graduates who want to come back to take anglers out and see the club grow.

Nelson Marine in White Bear Lake has provided fishing jerseys for the club, while Helwig loaded up on gear and tournament prizes at Cabela's in Woodbury for the friendly competitions that ensue.

"You know the fishing community," he said. "You help each other out."

Chisago County was one of the first grant recipients, in phase one. It partnered with the then-St. Croix River Association and received $3,500 toward invasive species curriculum. The county and the nonprofit, which has since changed its name to Wild Rivers Conservancy, met its benchmark of educating 500 schoolchildren about the threat of invasive species to the St. Croix National Scenic Riverway and its watershed — despite the pandemic forcing a change in teaching approach.

Plans for field trips by boat on the St. Croix to complement classroom presentations at five county schools were scuttled, but Wild Rivers adapted by creating Into the Weeds, a series of four field videos, to fill the void and supplement its Rivers Are Alive curriculum. The videos include inquiries in the field and on the water about how to find and identify invasive species, including aquatic invasives like Asian carp, rusty crayfish and curlyleaf pondweed.

The videos helped Chisago County when it had to adapt its own Water Festival, a longtime annual event for fifth-graders that relies on educational stations and hands-off activities on the value of the St. Croix watershed. The festival had to go virtual and was moved from the fall to May 2021, said Susanna Wilson Witkowski, the county's water resource manager who worked with Wild Rivers on pursuing an NCLI grant in 2019.

Wilson Witkowski said the invasive species curriculum will have a lasting impact, while the county and conservancy will continue to collaborate to connect young people to the watershed and how they can engage it with a new mind-set.

"We still brought a sense of nature and connection to natural resources," said Katie Sickmann, Wild Rivers Conservancy invasive species coordinator.