Jack Leslie Youth Environmental Grant
Get up to $1,000 of funding for your youth environmental project!
The Jack Leslie Youth Environmental Grant honours the positive impact former Mayor Jack Leslie had on the city and the environment. It is awarded to youth in Calgary who continue his efforts. The City of Calgary, The Parks Foundation, and Youth Central annually fund and administer the grant. Each year, we proudly award passionate Calgary youth who uphold Jack’s vision for a beautiful environment.
Applications for 2025
Applications for the 2025 Jack Leslie Youth Environmental Grant are now open!
Applications are now open and will be accepted until 9 p.m. on Jan. 10, 2025. Recipients will be selected by Jan. 27, and grants will be awarded early Feb., 2025.
Projects must:
- Be located in Calgary
- Directly benefit the environment in Calgary
- Be planned and implemented by youth
Email expo@calgary.ca for a Microsoft Word version of the application.
Download the Grant poster.
The Jack Leslie Youth Environmental Grant is supported by the Leslie family, The Parks Foundation, The City of Calgary, and Youth Central.
-
Get information and alerts about the Grant.
Congratulations to the recipients of the 2024 Grant
North Trail High School
Project:
Living Wall
This exciting project involves creating a hanging garden on a central wall at North Trail High School. The garden will feature a variety of plants, each bringing assorted benefits to the school. The Environmental Club and the whole school community will work together to build and care for this living wall over time. This project will help the environment and create a welcoming space for everyone to enjoy.
Western Canada High School
Project: Truth and Reconciliation Garden
This project will turn an unused courtyard at the school into a place where students can connect with nature and learn about Indigenous cultures. The garden will feature plants that hold cultural significance to the Blackfoot Confederacy, aligned with the cardinal directions. There will also be signs explaining why each plant is significant. This project will help both the school and the community by promoting understanding and reconciliation.
Queen Elizabeth High School
Project: Aryan Sharma’s MicroGuard Microplastic Collector
Aryan’s project tackles a serious environmental problem: microplastic pollution. With a strong sense of urgency and creativity, he plans to build an affordable, DIY robot to collect microplastics. His innovative approach aims to make a real impact on reducing microplastic contamination in Calgary’s water bodies. Aryan also shared a powerful call to action, stressing the project’s importance locally and encouraging community involvement.
Previous Grant recipients
2023
Career and Technology Centre, Urban Agriculture Learning Lab
Students at Central Memorial High School are working on a project to improve local food systems. They are creating a lab in their Natural Sciences classroom where they will grow different plants like fruits, vegetables, and mushrooms, both indoors and outdoors. The students will use electronics and coding to make controllers for the growing systems. They will also collect and study data from their experiments to learn better ways to grow plants. The goal of this project is to show how traditional farming affects the environment and to promote urban farming as a better solution. Students will learn more about how food is grown and why it’s important to do it sustainably.
Renert School, Pollinator Hotel
Students at Renert School are making a special place for native insect pollinators to live and rest during the winter near their pond and green space. They are building a “pollinator hotel” to help insects like bees, butterflies, and beetles. The goals of this project are to provide more homes for these insects, get students involved in the green space, and teach everyone about the importance of pollinators. They will also learn how climate change and city growth affect these insects and why they are important for our wetlands.
2022
Briar Hill School Rain Garden
The students’ project is to create a rain garden to help protect the Bow River watershed. The garden will collect rainwater or melted snow from hard surfaces like the school roof and let it soak into the soil instead of going into the storm water system. Another goal is to teach students about taking care of the environment, showing them how to protect our water sources and find ways to reduce climate change. This project is linked to the grade 5/6 science units on Trees and Forests and Wetlands Ecosystems. In these units, students learn how actions like making rain gardens can help preserve and improve wetland and tree habitats downstream. They will also see how all life is connected and understand the importance of protecting our water from pollution, drought, and waste.
The Infinity Garden
The John G. Diefenbaker (JGD) High School environmental club, the Green Chiefs, and Sir John A. Macdonald (SJAM) Junior High are working together on a project called the Infinity Garden. They have finished the first part of the garden and are now starting the second part, which includes planting up to 12 trees, various bushes, and plants important to First Nations culture. They will also add some seating stones. The goal of this garden is to teach young people in the community about conservation and to connect them with Indigenous teachings. By acknowledging the land, we can better understand the past and show respect for Indigenous Peoples. The garden will be a living tribute to the land, offering a place for learning about First Nations culture and hosting community activities like concerts, meetings with local elders, and drum ceremonies.
2021
Mount Royal School Naturalization Project
Many students at Mount Royal Junior High School live in multifamily complexes and want to create more natural areas around their school. With many students learning English, they will benefit from hands-on gardening. It gives them practical knowledge and helps immigrant families connect with the community.
By building an edible garden and natural area, students will get the tools and knowledge to grow their own food, helping them connect with what they eat. This will also teach them to care for the land. The grant will help them explore permaculture and create outdoor learning spaces. A local expert is working with the students to add native plants to the green spaces.
Legacy Tree Project at Robert Thirsk
The Legacy Project will help reduce carbon emissions by planting trees. For each graduating student at Robert Thirsk High School, a tree is planted in their honour. This helps offset 0.6% of their car emissions annually once the tree is fully grown.
After planting 540 trees for the 2020 graduates, there are plans to expand the project. The goal is to find land to plant trees for future graduating classes, creating a forest for students to visit outside Calgary. This will help more trees survive and give students a place to connect with nature. Until the land is found, students will plant the trees on private property.
Trees will also be given to people in nearby communities to raise awareness about climate change. The project will involve high school students working with an elementary school to create a garden on school grounds. A bench will be placed in the courtyard to remind students of the project’s goals.
Fireweed Plant Restoration Project
This project aims to bring back native plants in Calgary, starting with Fireweed, which is attractive to pollinators like bees and butterflies. Youth volunteers will order Fireweed seeds and start growing them. In the spring, they will plant the seedlings around a lake in the Taralake community. Once the city approves, they will plant in more areas. The goal is to increase the number of plants in Calgary, which will help lower carbon levels, restore native species, and supply people free Fireweed for making tea.
2020
The Crescent Heights Baptist Church Youth for ‘Fresh Food Gardens’
Many people in the community need help getting fresh food. The youth group will build a garden bed on the south side of the church. They will grow fresh vegetables and fruits for those in the community who need them.
The William Aberhart High School Eco Club (WAHS) for ‘School Composting’
In September, the William Aberhart High School Eco Club (WAHS) will start a composting program at their school. Students will help collect the compost and take it to the janitors, who will put it in the school’s compost site. The goal is to make this program successful by getting students involved.
2019
Earth Guardians YYC environmental group for the 'Flower of Waste' project
Their goal is to make a big, beautiful wild rose structure using garbage, recycling, pipes, and wires. They plan to show their project at elementary schools, create a game show, and have a “trashion” show. They will collect garbage from parks, schoolyards, and roads to get the materials they need.
St. Mary's High School
St. Mary’s High School Environmental Action Team (E.A.T) worked on the “Mary’s compost and recycling” project. Their goal is to replace individual trash bins with bins which have options for trash, recycling, and compost. This will give St. Mary students more choices for disposing of their waste.
The Infinity Garden, a 2022 Grant recipient
The John G. Diefenbaker (JGD) High School environmental club, the Green Chiefs, and Sir John A. Macdonald (SJAM) Junior High are working together on a project called the Infinity Garden.
The Infinity Garden, a 2022 Grant recipient
The John G. Diefenbaker (JGD) High School environmental club, the Green Chiefs, and Sir John A. Macdonald (SJAM) Junior High are working together on a project called the Infinity Garden.