Dear All,

Summer is often a season of growth, and that feels especially true for us this year.

We're excited to announce that applications are now open for the 2026 Incubator Grant. What began as a pilot project just a year ago is already helping new microhabitat programs take root across the country. In this issue, you'll find information about the new grant cycle, a look back at the early results from our inaugural cohort, stories from the field, and research highlighting the importance of connected habitat for wildlife.

You may also notice a new name beginning to appear in our communications. Over the coming months, Village and Wilderness will gradually transition to Village and Wilderness Fund. While our name is evolving, our mission remains the same: helping communities restore nature where people live, through the growth of local microhabitat programs. As part of this transition, we are also simplifying how we describe our work. The Microhabitat Accelerator has always been one part of a larger effort, but as we go forward, our activities will appear directly under the Village and Wilderness Fund name. We look forward to sharing a new website in the coming months and appreciate your patience as old and new names occasionally appear side by side during the transition.

As always, thank you for being part of this growing community. We are continually inspired by the creativity, dedication, and optimism of the people working to restore nature one site, one neighborhood, and one community at a time.

Warmly,

Tripti & Tom

GRANT OPPORTUNITY

Applications Open for the 2026 Incubator Grant

Do you know an organization interested in launching a microhabitat program in its community? Applications are now open for the 2026 Incubator Grant, an opportunity designed to help community-based organizations, including conservation organizations, land trusts, conservation districts, native plant groups, and others develop and launch new microhabitat programs.

The Incubator Grant provides seed funding, planning tools, and technical support through a two-stage process: a Planning Award to develop a strategic plan, followed by a StartUp Award to help selected organizations launch their programs. Eligible programs must be new initiatives that work across multiple sites within a community and provide participants with site-specific ecological guidance.

The application deadline for Planning Awards is November 30, 2026 or until funds are fully allocated. To learn more about eligibility requirements, program details, and how to apply, visit our website or review the Incubator Grant prospectus.

2025 INCUBATOR GRANT

What the Incubator Grant Makes Possible 

As applications open for the 2026 Incubator Grant cycle, we're also reflecting on the early results of our 2025 pilot. In just one year, the program supported organizations in eight states as they developed plans, built partnerships, and launched new microhabitat programs tailored to their communities and ecosystems.

From conservation districts to grassroots nonprofits, participating organizations are demonstrating how local leadership can translate into lasting ecological impact. Together, these emerging programs have the potential to influence thousands of habitat sites while cultivating a growing culture of stewardship.

PROGRAM SPOTLIGHT

Restoring Habitat, Growing Community

A recent article in Bluedot Living magazine spotlights the work of MiniNature Reserve, a member of the Village and Wilderness network, in Oxnard, California. What began as a grassroots effort to revegetate neglected roadsides and vacant spaces has grown into an energizing example of community-led restoration. The program demonstrates how microhabitat restoration can do more than improve local ecology: it can foster community connections, local leadership, and a shared sense of stewardship.

IN THE MEDIA

A Culture of Stewardship

The themes explored in the MiniNature Reserve story are echoed in a recent essay by Tom for Bluedot Living. Drawing on examples from across the country, Tom reflects on how restoring nature often helps restore community as well. He explores how stewardship can grow into something larger: a shared ethic that connects people to one another, to place, and to the living world around them. 

RESEARCH

The Importance of Dark Corridors

“Urban sprawl and light pollution disrupt commuting corridors of urban-roosting bats,” a study published in Science of the Total Environment, found that urban bats consistently avoid street lights when traveling between their daytime roosts and nighttime foraging grounds. Using GPS tracking, researchers discovered that bats preferentially follow dark, vegetated corridors (often along streams, rivers, and other natural features) and avoid heavily lit and densely developed areas whenever possible.

The findings underscore the importance of preserving and restoring connected green spaces within our communities. For microhabitat practitioners, the research offers a reminder that even small habitat improvements can contribute to larger networks that help wildlife move safely through human-dominated landscapes.

What is a “Microhabitat Program”?

Microhabitat programs restore ecosystem function in the fragmented landscape be it for people or biodiversity or both. Examples include community-scale efforts to create backyard habitats, bioswales in urban areas, pollinator patches in agricultural areas and more.

What is the “Microhabitat Accelerator”?

The Microhabitat Accelerator aims to increase both the number and impact of microhabitat programs—advancing a growing movement to restore ecosystem function across fragmented landscapes.

Looking for previous issues of our newsletter?

Whether you are new to our newsletter, or just missed our last update in your inbox, you can now catch up on all the back issues.

Interested in supporting our work?

Donate today. Your support allows us to provide pro bono services to community-based nonprofits to help them create and share community-scale climate adaptation strategies—such as microhabitat programs. 

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We help community-based organizations invent, share and grow replicable, climate adaptation solutions. Our flagship project is the Microhabitat Accelerator℠.