Summary: A partnership between Mutual of Omaha’s Wild Kingdom and the National Wildlife Federation is providing nine colleges and universities across the country with grants to protect threatened and endangered species. The schools’ initiatives will help improve habitats for local wildlife and provide hands-on learning opportunities for students, researchers and community members.
Protecting wildlife for future generations takes commitment and the willingness to adapt as conditions change.
That’s why we’re proud to partner with the National Wildlife Federation to offer grants that help colleges and universities protect threatened and endangered species and the places they call home.
This year’s nine recipients are tackling a wide range of projects, from restoring habitats to learning more about species that need a helping hand.
Fort Valley State University, Georgia
With support from the Wild Kingdom grant program, Fort Valley State University will help restore 100 acres of longleaf pine forest on campus.
Longleaf pines once covered an estimated 90 million acres from Virginia to Texas. Today, that footprint is much smaller due to development and other human impacts.
The restoration will support native plants and animals around the university and create an outdoor learning space for students and local landowners. Most importantly, it will help bring back healthy habitat for native wildlife.
Massasoit Community College, Massachusetts
Massasoit plans to restore a meadow on its Brockton campus. The work will add more native plants, shrubs and trees and remove invasive species that don’t belong.
The meadow is home to pollinators, such as the half-black bumblebee, which is becoming less common in the Northeast, and the Carlin’s mining bee — a ground-nesting species documented in historical records.
The project will also boost plant and wildlife diversity by adding and expanding native species, including regionally significant plants such as Nantucket shadbush, mayflower and wild senna.
Stony Brook University, New York
At Stony Brook University, researchers will take on a growing threat to amphibians: an invasive fungal disease spread through global trade. Worldwide, it has contributed to major population declines and even extinctions.
The team will focus on amphibians on Long Island, New York, including the endangered Atlantic coast leopard frog. With support from the Wild Kingdom grant program, they’ll test water samples and use native leeches to help detect the fungus then use those results to shape a long-term plan for managing and protecting leopard frog populations.
They’ll also conduct water testing and tests involving native leeches to detect the fungus and develop a long-term plan for managing the leopard frogs.
Thomas More University, Kentucky
Thanks to the Wild Kingdom grant, Thomas More University will expand its conservation work with the Eastern hellbender — North America’s largest salamander.
Hellbender numbers have dropped across much of their range. In 2024, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service proposed listing the species as endangered.
With the additional funds, the university will upgrade a facility at its biology field station to support research and care across the hellbender’s full life cycle from egg to adult.
The work will also help the team develop recommendations that other hellbender facilities can use across the 15 states where research and recovery efforts are underway.
University of Mississippi
At Ole Miss, researchers will highlight how dragonflies and damselflies can support conservation — and even help public health — in urban areas. The work will focus on the endangered southern snaketail dragonfly.
Grant funds will help build a self-sustaining showcase pond on campus that will give dragonflies and damselflies a place to thrive. As an added benefit, it’s hoped the pond will attract amphibians, birds and reptiles.
Over several months, the team will track what shows up at the new habitat and compare it with nearby sites that haven’t been changed. They’ll also look at whether the pond has any impact on local mosquito numbers.
University of Nebraska-Lincoln
At the University of Nebraska–Lincoln, conservation efforts on East Campus will center on the southern flying squirrel, which is listed as threatened in Nebraska.
Researchers will take a closer look at campus trees and canopy cover to map where mature trees are thriving, where gaps exist and where squirrels are most likely to nest and travel.
Because flying squirrels depend on mature trees for food and shelter, the health of those trees — and how well wooded areas connect — will be key to supporting the species on campus.
The team will also install and monitor nest boxes in areas flagged through the assessment and past local observations. Students and campus partners will join in through guided field activities, citizen-science projects and outreach that highlights urban wildlife needs and why keeping and caring for mature trees matters.
University of Texas at El Paso
At the University of Texas at El Paso, researchers will take a closer look at the eastern black-tailed rattlesnake in Franklin Mountains State Park, one of the largest urban parks in the country.
In 2025, the team placed small sensors on rattlesnakes to track heart rate and body temperature through the winter.
The team will build on that work by using additional trackers to follow where snakes go throughout the year and how roads and popular trails may influence their movement.
The information will help park managers better understand rattlesnake habitat and look for ways to reduce unwanted encounters between people and snakes.
West Virginia University
The university will create a new habitat that’s friendly to both the monarch butterfly and the rusty-patched bumble bee, a federally endangered species protected under the Endangered Species Act.
It will also overhaul an existing green roof that currently features overgrown plant vegetation.
The 3,900-square-foot roof gets full sun, making it a great spot to create new habitat.
Students will lead the planting using native species chosen to attract bees and butterflies. With blooms from early spring through late fall, the garden will offer a longer season of nectar and pollen.
