Together for Birds Seed Grants is a grant from American Bird Conservancy that funds community-based projects advancing bird conservation, habitat protection, and public engagement around wild bird species in North America and beyond. The program supports innovative approaches to connecting communities with bird conservation, including arts integration, community education, and participatory science.

The application deadline is September 30, 2026. Eligible applicants must be individuals aged 18 or older; organizations and groups may also apply. Award amounts vary by project scope.

Weaving Together: Together for Birds 2026 - American Bird Conservancy Weaving Together: Together for Birds 2026 - American Bird Conservancy A Critically Endangered 'Akikiki perched on a lei. Painting by 2024 Resident Artist Jon Ching. In 2026, we are finding inspiration and strength in weaving the strands of our work together in innovative ways.

We welcome new perspectives, deeper understandings, and more connections across communities. A bird’s nest is as much a work of art as it is a means of survival. Instinct motivates birds to build nests strong enough to shelter their babies, but individual birds refine their nests as they gain experience from season to season.

Over time, they create nests that are both stronger and more beautiful. A female Wood Thrush carefully weaves elements of the world around her into a nest: leaves, dead grasses, the stems of plants, and even paper and plastic are intertwined for strength. She lines her nest with mud before laying a lining of rootlets for comfort.

Similarly, male and female ʻAkikikis weave nests out of the mosses and lichens they find in their rainforest habitats on the island of Kauaʻi. Severe threats such as avian malaria, non-native predators, and shrinking habitat mean there are fewer than 500 individuals left — each new nest is a cause for celebration. Nests vary widely from place to place, and we find this variety both beautiful and inspiring.

Baltimore Orioles generally build flexible hanging nests that sway like crocheted purses in the forest canopy. Closely related Orchard Orioles tend to build more rigid, cup-shaped nests in open woods and shrublands. Warbling Vireo nests are hanging cups that may include cobwebs, horsehair, dry grass, cocoons, birch bark, cotton thread, and paper.

In 2026, inspired by such acts of artistry and innovation, we are focusing on Weaving Together the work that ABC staff, fellows, partners, and seed grant recipients have envisioned and implemented over the past six years. We have used research, art, education, and outreach to expand how we envision and understand bird conservation.

We celebrate ethical and creative approaches to conservation and recognize the importance of supporting the individuals pursuing such work.

This work currently comprises ten strands: Wellbeing and the Wild (mindfulness, navigating burnout, inclusive birding) Understanding Loss (extinction, ecological grief, and sustaining hope) Mutual Flourishing (Indigenous lifeways, interconnectedness, reciprocity) Sankofa (the Afrofuturism Collective) A Charm of Cognition (neurodiversity) Beyond Binaries (queer ecologies, questioning, curiosity) Our Relatives (multispecies kinship) Stewardship and the Sacred (honoring place, acknowledging change) La Frontera (migration stories, wayfinding) Wonder and Joy (the arts and environmental education) Seeds that, When Planted, Will Grow Together for Birds Seed Grants are small awards, most often of $1,000, for projects that can be completed within six months.

We think of these grants as seeds that, when planted, will grow more expansive and ethical ways of caring for birds and people. We seek research, stories, collaborations, curricula, and art rooted in varied methodologies, traditions, and perspectives. Apply for a Seed Grant Nominate Someone for a Seed Grant We began awarding seed grants in 2023.

This year’s Seed Grants will align with our newly articulated strands of work and our 2026 theme of Weaving Together, considering how we might weave together different concepts and approaches in exploring dimensions of bird conservation: Past Together for Birds Seed Grant recipients are exploring how community quilting could strengthen and bring attention to bird conservation on a patchwork of private lands, considering how birds and Appalachian wilds illuminate the concept of queer ecologies, and understanding ecological grief and bird extinction in Hawaiʻi through interviews, illustration, and writing.

We invite you to apply or nominate someone you know for a Together for Birds Seed Grant to support independent projects that expand and enrich bird conservation, from conducting research to producing works of art. We will review applications and nominations on a rolling basis through September 30, 2026 and will announce several rounds of awards before the end of the year. Grants are open to anyone over the age of 18.

Please reach out to Naamal De Silva , Vice President of Together for Birds, with questions about the Seed Grants program.

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Together for Birds is American Bird Conservancy’s approach to bringing equity, justice, inclusion, and belonging to the diverse and growing bird conservation movement. American Bird Conservancy takes bold action for birds and their habitats across the Americas – and gets results for the species that need it most. Learn about the principles, strategies, team, and board that drive ABC’s work.

American Bird Conservancy is getting results for birds. The proof is in the number of species conserved, acres of habitat improved, and more. Learn about the impact of our conservation actions throughout the Americas.

American Bird Conservancy delivers conservation results for birds throughout the Western Hemisphere. Learn about what drives our work and our proven strategies for halting extinctions, reversing declines, reducing threats, and building the bird conservation movement.