Aldo Leopold Foundation opens grants for community readings during Leopold Week 2027

The Aldo Leopold Foundation is offering grants for public reading events March 6-7, 2027, to help libraries, nonprofits and civic groups bring Aldo Leopold and other nature writers into their communities. The program expands a 2026 pilot that drew 1,000 participants across 23 events nationwide.

Why it matters: - The grant program aims to turn public readings into local events that build support for conservation and a stronger connection to land. - The Foundation is betting that shared reading can widen participation in environmental conversations, especially when communities gather in person.

What happened: - The Aldo Leopold Foundation announced grants for nature-based community reading events during Leopold Week 2027, set for March 6-7. - Civic organizations, nonprofits and libraries are eligible to apply. - The Foundation is asking local organizers to use Aldo Leopold and other nature writers, including contemporary and diverse voices, in their events. - Interested groups can apply through the Community Reading Grant application.

The details: - Each grant includes $500 in cash, 50 copies of A Sand County Almanac and promotional assistance. - Last year’s inaugural Community Readings Grants reached 1,000 participants across 23 events in the U.S. - The Foundation expects to support more than twice that number of events in 2027. - Leopold Week began 26 years ago with a public reading of A Sand County Almanac at a library in Lodi, Wisconsin. - The tradition was first envisioned by Dr. Tom Heberlein, a professor of Rural Sociology and Environmental Studies at the University of Wisconsin-Madison. - Heberlein’s idea spread as libraries and communities across the country hosted readings and discussion. - Buddy Huffaker, president and executive director of the Aldo Leopold Foundation, said many conservation leaders trace their start to first reading A Sand County Almanac aloud or privately.

Between the lines: - The Foundation is pairing a classic environmental text with a broader invitation to include new and more diverse writers, which signals an effort to keep the program relevant to more communities. - The emphasis on public readings suggests the Foundation sees conservation as a social practice, not only an individual one.

What's next: - Local groups can submit a brief application for funding and event support. - The Foundation expects Leopold Week 2027 readings to expand the reach of the pilot program and deepen community participation around land ethics.

The bottom line: - The Aldo Leopold Foundation is using small grants, books and local events to scale a decades-old reading tradition into a wider conservation outreach effort.