Campbell School District Edible & Native Habitat Gardens

The Authority contributed funds to the Santa Clara County Food System Alliance project which addresses the issue of economic and social viability of small-scale urban and peri-urban agricultural operations in Santa Clara County. The Alliance will produce a report that highlights potential models for creating successful small-scale agricultural operations and identifies marketing and distribution systems that expand healthy food access by linking a viable urban and peri-urban agricultural system to residents of Santa Clara County, particularly underserved communities. The report will also provide recommendations illustrating how to implement potentially successful models in the county. The data and recommendations in the report will be useful for policymakers, elected officials, partner organizations, beginning and existing small farmers, and they will feed into the Sustainable Agricultural Lands Conservation Strategy process and Urban Agriculture Incentive Zone implementation.

In collaboration with the UC California Naturalist Program, San Jose Conservation Corps (SJCC) is training and certifying 25 Corpsmembers as California Naturalists. As SJCC becomes a UC California Naturalist partner, the organization will have the capacity to provide the certification in-house. With support from the grant, SJCC will train 75 Corpsmembers overall and have them all receive their California Naturalist Certification. Funds are utilized for Corpsmember wages, guest speaker stipends, and training materials/supplies.

The Authority contributed funds towards San Francisco Bay Bird Observatory's (SFBBO) Coyote Creek Field Station Environmental Education Program. SFBBO operates a research bird-banding station at Coyote Creek, located at the urban boundary of San Jose and Milpitas, and engages dozens of volunteers and hundreds of visitors each year. For this project, SFBBO worked with interns from local universities to develop a place and a inquiry-based education module to bring students from six classrooms to engage in both classroom and field learning activities.