For Leaders in
Biodiversity Science
The Biota Awards funds early-career researchers who seek to restore, protect, and conserve biodiversity in the Chicago region and around the world.
About the Biota Awards
The Biota Awards, a program of Walder Foundation, provides funding to outstanding early-career researchers based in Chicago who seek to protect, understand, and restore biodiversity locally and around the world using research outcomes to inform conservation action and deliver on-the-ground results.
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Meet the 2025 Biota Awardees
In 2025, for the first time, the Biota Awards are exclusively focused on providing support for postdocs. Each Biota Award recipient will receive funding over two years to address key conservation challenges across a variety of different landscapes in the Chicago region and beyond.
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Meet the 2024 Biota Awardees
The 2024 Biota Awardees are addressing key conservation challenges across a variety of different landscapes in the Chicago region and beyond. From tackling invasive species, to protecting threatened species, and improving the urban environment for nature, these projects will help ensure that people and nature can thrive together.
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Meet the 2023 Biota Awardees
In 2023, the Biota Awards expanded its funding to researchers based anywhere in Illinois, with a meaningful connection to Chicago. This connection might be through the work itself, or in how it engages Chicago region communities, or in how it elevates Chicago’s contributions to tackling the global biodiversity crisis.
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Meet the 2022 Biota Awardees
Walder Foundation announced the inaugural cohort of Biota Award recipients in 2022. From microbes to mammals, and plants to people, this research covers a range of broader impacts, from education, land management, and policy to social science, technology, and conservation.
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