To encourage soil and water conservation districts in Indiana to write and obtain grants, the SSCB allocated training funds this year in a specific category for grant writing training. Bilyeu eagerly took advantage of this opportunity and attended a grant-writing workshop hosted by Purdue Extension last spring. Workshop day #1 focused on the basics of grant writing with an assignment of having a grant proposal written for workshop day #2. During workshop day #2, the grant proposals were then subjected to peer reviews and funding sources were researched.

Bilyeu's grant proposal idea was created from the need she discovered from local citizens who call the district wanting to know environmentally safe ways to decrease the mosquito population near their residences. She immediately thought of bats! So, she proposed the building of bat houses.

She gathered partners who were willing to support the project like Silver Creek Water Corporation and Floyd County Parks and Recreation, who was willing to help build the houses. Cassie Hudson, Nongame Biologist with the Indiana DNR Division of Fish and Wildlife, helped with specifications of the bat houses, and the know how of monitoring and installing bat houses.

Bilyeu submitted the grant in March and the Floyd County SWCD received word in May that their grant was accepted. Three thousand dollars was granted from the Community Foundation of Southern Indiana.