Environmental Stewardship
Preserving Natural Resources
Strengthening environmental science opportunities for students.
The College Fund invests in the TCUs that are engaged in strengthening their environmental science opportunities for students. It provides support for TCUs that are working with Native communities to develop and implement research initiatives and innovative collaborations. The goal is to help students learn to preserve natural resources, address environmental and climate issues, and strategically steward their resources to align with cultural and tribal connections to land, water, animals, and air.
Environmental Stewardship Programs
Learn more about our grant programs to strengthen environmental science opportunities for students.
Obdaya Opta Tate Kin Kah’boke (Winds Blowing Across the Prairie)
Active Program Dates: 2020-2023
Through the integration of place-based and intergenerational knowledge into environmental and natural science programming, TCUs will implement projects that address the specific needs of the Northern Great Plains (NGP) region.
Scholarly Emergence for Environmental Design and Stewardship (SEEDS)
Active Program Dates: 2017-2020
The Scholarly Emergence for Environmental Design and Stewardship (SEEDS) program will build program, faculty, and institutional capacity at tribal colleges and universities to strengthen and expand curriculum, faculty development, degree programs, and student success in the field of environmental sciences and related fields.
Building Sustainability Pathways
Active Program Dates: 2014-2017
In 2013, the College Fund conducted listening sessions with twelve tribal colleges and universities (TCUs) in the upper Midwest region (Minnesota, North Dakota, South Dakota, and Wisconsin). The purpose of the sessions was to determine areas of interest and need related to institutional, faculty, and student development in the environmental and sustainability fields at the TCUs.
Environmental Stewardship Blogs
Read important Program News from the team at College Fund.
Caldwell: A Lifelong Capstone Course on Sustainability
Since graduating from high school my educational development has focused on forestry and natural resources, and my career in various technical and professional positions has been intertwined with my educational focus. I approach my education and career as complementary activities, because my jobs are opportunities to learn and learning is my job.
Honoring the Sacred
During this month dedicated to women, I want to acknowledge the importance of Native women who work in environmental spaces. It was primarily women who encouraged me to believe in my relationship with the earth and who acknowledge me as I am, which is to say a mixed-race queer.
College Fund Announces Environmental Program Awardees to Restore Native Knowledge for Healthy Earth
Groundwater contamination, erosion, lack of access to healthy foods, and poor air quality are just some of the environmental concerns facing American Indian communities across the United States. Yet indigenous people have long held specialized knowledge that can lead to unique solutions to these challenges.
Other Programs
Select another program to learn more.
