Keep Maryland Beautiful
Keep Maryland Beautiful supports Maryland community groups, land trusts, and planting projects through stewardship, conservation capacity, and native tree planting to improve natural resources across the state.
Funder: Chesapeake Bay Foundation
Due Dates: December 1, 2026, 4:00 p.m. EST (all tracks and Aileen Hughes Award)
Funding Amounts: Up to $5,000 (Track 1); $10,000 (Track 2); $10,000 or $50,000 (Track 3); $5,000 (Aileen Hughes Award)
Summary: Supports Maryland community stewardship, land trust capacity, and tree planting on agricultural land.
Key Information: Track 3 sites must be zoned for agricultural use; Track 2 and award applicants need a current MET Cooperative Agreement.
Description
Keep Maryland Beautiful is a partnership of the Chesapeake Bay Trust, Maryland Environmental Trust (MET), Maryland Department of Agriculture, and Maryland Department of Transportation. It funds work across Maryland that improves natural resources and benefits communities. Community Stewardship supports local environmental education, engagement, problem-solving, and hands-on projects. Land Trust Assistance strengthens conservation, monitoring, stewardship, and organizational capacity.
Tree Planting on Agricultural Lands supports reforestation or afforestation using trees native to Maryland, with the goal of increasing forested acreage on agricultural land. The program page also offers the separate Aileen Hughes Award, funded by MET, which recognizes an individual’s leadership, partnership, or innovation in Maryland land conservation; its funding goes to the land trust, not the individual.
