The Community Foundation of North Central Massachusetts has awarded 11 Environmental Preservation and Animal Welfare grants totaling $73,172 in April.

"The Environmental Preservation and Animal Welfare Grant Program focuses on preserving and providing access to the natural beauty of North Central Massachusetts, as well as enhancing the welfare of domestic animals," said Stephen Adams, president of the Community Foundation. "We are excited about the projects this year's recipients have planned to enhance and promote the natural resources in our community."

Beneficiaries of Environmental Preservation and Animal Welfare grants include:

• $6,000 to Just Understand My Potential (JUMP) for their Foundations in Outdoor and Environmental Education for Pre-Adolescents program
• $5,000 to Mass Audubon 's Wachusett Meadow Wildlife Sanctuary for their Nature and Social-Emotional Learning offered in conjunction with the Athol, Gardner and Winchendon Head Start programs
• $14,422 to The Leominster Trail Stewards for their Hill Street Trail Project
• $5,500 to the Nashua River Watershed Association in Groton for their Aquatic Investigations Series for families in local parks
• $9,000 to the City of Fitchburg Public Works Department for their Coggshall Park and Northern Watershed Trail Maintenance and Access project
• $10,000 to GAAMHA for the Carl E. Dahl House Livestock Rescue and Animal Welfare Program
• $7,500 for the Mount Grace Land Conservation Trust's Winchendon Trails Initiative
• $10,000 to the North County Land Trust in Leominster to restore habitats, community, and access to nature in the Ebenezer Keyes Conservation Area in West Gardner
• $750 to The Farm School in Athol for their goat barn
• $2,000 to the Groton Trails Committee for the Marion Stoddart Riverwalk
• $3,000 for the Merrimack River Feline Rescue Society's Catmobile

Learn how to establish a fund or make a donation.