What this project looks like
Native, pollinator, drought-tolerant, and conservation planting can qualify when it produces the outcome a program is trying to buy: lower water use, cleaner runoff, protected shorelines, habitat, or neighborhood improvement. A plant purchase by itself is rarely enough. The design, location, coverage, and maintenance commitment usually matter.
Common project routes include:
- Replace high-water turf with an approved living landscape.
- Build a planted rain garden, buffer, or conservation area.
- Use a nursery coupon or seasonal plant incentive.
- Complete a site assessment and install the practices recommended by a conservation program.
A local program can define the same everyday project differently. Treat its approved plan, drawings, specifications, and written decision as the rule for that property.
Who and where usually qualify
Eligibility is local. A mailing address inside a city does not necessarily mean the property receives service from the city program.
- The property lies in the correct utility, watershed, municipality, or conservation district.
- The applicant is an eligible owner, customer, tenant with permission, nonprofit, or land manager.
- The plant palette serves the stated water, habitat, erosion, or stormwater purpose.
- The applicant accepts any inspection and maintenance requirements.
Use the map and state directory to find candidates, then confirm the address on the administering agency’s site or with program staff. The map shows directory coverage, not a guarantee of eligibility or available funding.
What the work may involve
- Locally appropriate trees, shrubs, grasses, sedges, and flowering perennials
- Mulch or compost used as part of an approved planted system
- Temporary establishment watering or an efficient permanent irrigation plan
- Site preparation, invasive-plant removal, and erosion protection
- Signs, borders, or habitat features only where the program allows them
This is a project list, not a shopping list. A component can be required, merely allowed, or reimbursable. Those three meanings are different and should be labeled on every program page.
How programs may provide help
Support ranges from plant coupons and reimbursements to free site advice, formal cost share, and recognition programs. Technical-assistance programs may be more valuable than a small check when the site has erosion, drainage, or shoreline constraints.
Compare the benefit mechanism before comparing headline amounts. Ask who pays first, what proof is required, when the benefit arrives, whether it is a check or account credit, and what happens if the final cost is higher than expected.
Before you start
Stop and check: “Native” is not one national list. Use the list, tool, or design standard named by the program serving the property. Save the final plant list and receipts, and confirm whether coverage is measured when installed or at maturity.
A safe sequence is:
- Confirm the address, account, applicant, and property type.
- Read the current program page and application—not an old PDF or third-party summary.
- Document existing conditions with dated photos and measurements.
- Submit the required concept, plan, quote, or application.
- Wait for the written approval, contract, or notice to proceed.
- Complete the approved scope and preserve changes in writing.
- Save itemized invoices, proof of payment, product details, and after photos.
- Request the final inspection or submit the completion package.
Programs to check
Austin Water WaterWise Landscape Rebate
Replace at least 200 square feet of healthy turf with an approved planted, water-wise yard.
$100 per 100 square feet; 200-square-foot minimum; up to $3,000 residential lifetime maximum.
Delaware Community Conservation Assistance Program
The program may support one of these project types: Build a Rain Garden, Bioswale, or Runoff-Management Yard or Create a Native, Pollinator, or Conservation Yard.
The official sources do not publish one simple amount.
Maine LakeSmart
The program may support one of these project types: Stabilize a Streambank, Shoreline, Slope, or Eroding Area or Create a Native, Pollinator, or Conservation Yard.
Free property evaluation and written recommendations. No cash reimbursement.
Miami-Dade Landscape Irrigation Rebate Program
The program may support one of these project types: Improve Irrigation and Keep a Yard Alive With Less Water, Create a Native, Pollinator, or Conservation Yard, or Capture Rainwater in a Barrel or Cistern.
Single family: up to $500.00 per year for five years. Single family total: $2,500.00. Large property: up to $2,850.00 per property.
NH LAKES LakeSmart
The program may support one of these project types: Stabilize a Streambank, Shoreline, Slope, or Eroding Area or Create a Native, Pollinator, or Conservation Yard.
Free education, personalized profile feedback, and recognition. No cash award.
Olathe Stormwater Cost Share Reimbursement Program
The program may support one of these project types: Build a Rain Garden, Bioswale, or Runoff-Management Yard, Create a Native, Pollinator, or Conservation Yard, or Stabilize a Streambank, Shoreline, Slope, or Eroding Area.
Match: 50% of eligible material equipment and labor cost. Rain garden bioswale stream buffer native planting: up to $1,000.00. Rain barrel: up to $75.00 each. Compost bin: up to $75.00.
Peconic Estuary Partnership Homeowner Rewards Program
The program may support one of these project types: Create a Native, Pollinator, or Conservation Yard, Build a Rain Garden, Bioswale, or Runoff-Management Yard, or Capture Rainwater in a Barrel or Cistern.
Native or rain garden: up to $500.00 for native plants only. Rain barrel: up to $100.00 each or actual cost.
Prince George's County Rain Check Rebate
The program may support one of these project types: Build a Rain Garden, Bioswale, or Runoff-Management Yard, Replace Pavement or Build a Permeable Driveway or Patio, or Create a Native, Pollinator, or Conservation Yard.
Pavement removal: $6.00 per square foot. Permeable pavement: $12.00 per square foot. Rain garden: $10.00 per square foot. Conservation landscaping: $5.00 per square foot.
Savannah Residential GI/LID Stormwater User Fee Credit
The program may support one of these project types: Build a Rain Garden, Bioswale, or Runoff-Management Yard, Replace Pavement or Build a Permeable Driveway or Patio, Capture Rainwater in a Barrel or Cistern, or Create a Native, Pollinator, or Conservation Yard.
20% off stormwater user fee.
Yard Smart Rain Rewards
The program may support one of these project types: Build a Rain Garden, Bioswale, or Runoff-Management Yard, Replace Pavement or Build a Permeable Driveway or Patio, or Create a Native, Pollinator, or Conservation Yard.
Stormwater managed: $7.50 per square foot of impervious area managed. Single family contractor: 75% up to cap. Single family DIY: 100% up to cap. Other property: 75% up to cap. Nonprofit: 100% up to cap.
SAWS WaterSaver Landscape Coupons
Create a Native, Pollinator, or Conservation Yard.
Fall 2026 coupon: $150.00 each. Maximum coupons: 4. Maximum value: $600.00.
2026 Lincoln Waterwise Lawns and Landscapes Cost Share Program
The program may support one of these project types: Replace a Lawn With a Water-Wise Yard or Create a Native, Pollinator, or Conservation Yard.
75% of approved project cost.
Boston Sunflower Beautification Grant
The program may support one of these project types: Create a Native, Pollinator, or Conservation Yard, Build a Rain Garden, Bioswale, or Runoff-Management Yard, or Improve Soil, Add Compost or Mulch, or Build Garden Beds.
5000 to $9,999.00 per organization.
Oahu Rainwater Solutions
The program may support one of these project types: Build a Rain Garden, Bioswale, or Runoff-Management Yard, Capture Rainwater in a Barrel or Cistern, or Create a Native, Pollinator, or Conservation Yard.
Free approved installation.
Questions to ask before committing money
- Which plant list controls?
- Is a minimum number of plants or percentage coverage required?
- Do cultivars count, or only straight native species?
- Are trees, seed, plugs, and ornamental grasses treated differently?
- Must invasive species be removed?
- Who maintains and replaces plants that die?
Get important answers in writing. If a contractor or supplier says a substitution is “basically the same,” ask the program to approve the exact change before installation.
FAQs
Do pollinator plants automatically qualify?
No. The program may require a specific service area, approved practice, plant list, design, or minimum coverage.
Can mulch cover the space between young plants?
Often, but not universally. Confirm allowed mulch type and depth and whether the program limits nonliving cover.
Is a free site assessment an incentive?
Yes, but label it accurately. Technical help is different from reimbursement and should never be presented as cash.
Does the program pay Hello Gravel directly?
Usually not. Most programs approve and pay for a completed property project using their own process. If the approved design requires aggregate, soil, sand, fill, mulch, or another bulk material, Hello Gravel can help the customer source the correct material after the specification and approval are clear.
Related guides
- plant coverage and approved plant rules
- materials required allowed or reimbursed
- completion deadlines and maintenance rules
Official sources
Use the official sources below to confirm current rules and availability.
- https://www.peconicestuary.org/what-you-can-do/homeowner-rewards-program/
- https://dnrec.delaware.gov/watershed-stewardship/chesapeake/decap/
- https://documents.dnrec.delaware.gov/Watershed/Chesapeake/DeCAP-Program-Summary.pdf
- https://www.miamidade.gov/waterwisely
- https://www.miamidade.gov/global/service.page?Mduid_service=ser1495121281246222
- https://www.miamidade.gov/global/release.page?Mduid_release=rel1782856427656883
- https://www.miamidade.gov/resources/water/library/2024-lf-app-list-of-retrofits.pdf
- https://www.miamidade.gov/waterconservation/library/forms/single-family-landscape-evaluation.pdf
- https://www.savannahga.gov/DocumentCenter/View/36659/City-of-Savannah-Stormwater-Utility-User-Fee-Credit-Manual---FINAL
- https://www.olatheks.gov/government/public-works/stormwater-management/stormwater-cost-sharing
- https://www.princegeorgescountymd.gov/departments-offices/environment/stormwater-management/rain-check-rebates/rebates
- https://cbtrust.org/grants/prince-georges-county-rain-check-rebate/
- https://cbtrust.org/wp-content/uploads/Rain-Check-Rebate-Application-Instructions_7.31.25.pdf