AUBURN, CA – The Placer Resource Conservation District has been awarded an urban agriculture conservation grant through a partnership with the National Association of Conservation Districts (NACD) and the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) Natural Resources Conservation Service (NRCS) to boost technical capacity nationwide.
Placer RCD was one of 20 conservation districts across 14 states to receive funding. NACD and NRCS established the Urban Agriculture Conservation Grant Initiative in 2016 to help conservation districts and their partners provide much-needed technical assistance for community-oriented agricultural projects in both urban and rural contexts. This is the fifth round of funding awarded by NACD and NRCS, with grants totaling $5.6 million for 122 projects across 35 states.
“With this grant, we will have the capacity and ability to provide free urban agriculture technical assistance to people who want to start or improve their own backyard and balcony vegetable garden, community gardens, and urban farms,” Outreach and Grants Specialist Andrew Justus Fritz said. “We’ll also be able to develop initiatives that can make fresh food more accessible to those less resourced and we look forward to working with the public and partners to make this possible.”
Those interested in learning more about the program can contact Andrew (andrew@placerrcd.org). For inquiries about garden technical assistance, contact Soil Health Specialist, Brian Pimentel (brian@placerrcd.org).
“The Urban Agriculture Conservation grants provide opportunities for conservation districts to continue their great work in new and different ways,” NACD President Michael Crowder said. “The projects we’re announcing will help conservation districts reach new audiences and build new programs to provide technical assistance in a variety of community-oriented settings.”
See the full list of 2021 grantees on NACD’s 2021 Urban Agriculture Conservation Grant Recipients webpage and read more about past grantees on NACD’s Urban Agriculture Conservation Grant Initiative Story Map.
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The Placer Resource Conservation District is local, non-regulatory special district. Since 1946 we help people help the land by partnering with people to conserve agriculture and natural resources.
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The National Association of Conservation Districts is the non-profit organization that represents the nation’s 3,000 conservation districts, their state associations and the 17,000 men and women who serve on their governing boards. For more than 70 years, local conservation districts have worked with cooperating landowners and managers of private working lands to help them plan and apply effective conservation practices. For more information about NACD, visit: www.nacdnet.org.