Urban Forestry Outdoor Classroom

The Authority helped fund Valley Verde’s San Jose Family Gardening Project, which creates and maintains community and home gardens in collaboration with 140 low-income families. The project addresses the need for access to green spaces for underserved families, healthy and affordable fresh food, and environmental education. Valley Verde provides families with raised-bed gardens at home along with all the supplies needed to grow fresh vegetables and a year of monthly workshops which cover topics such as urban agriculture, habitat for native wildlife, and water conservation. After one year, participants are eligible to become mentors for other families in the program, growing the circle of environmentally sustainable gardening skills and fostering sense of community in urban areas.

The Authority contributed funds towards the Santa Clara County Public Health Department's Park and Play Initiative, which aims to address health equity related to park utilization by underserved communities. The goal of this Initiative is for families to visit Santa Clara County Parks, participate in park programming, and become comfortable utilizing parks on an ongoing basis to increase their physical activity and overall understanding of environmental stewardship. Park utilization has many known benefits including diabetes management and prevention, depression and anxiety reduction, and increasing community cohesion. Many of the families in the geographic focus area for this initiative (Milpitas and East San Jose) have had limited opportunities to visit parks and limited exposure to environmental education.

The Open Space Authority has contributed $265,284 toward Reach 1 of the Penitencia Creek Trail. This section stretches from Alum Rock Park to Noble Avenue. The trail will follow one of the few urban creeks in the county that flows through its natural channel, offering visitors a chance to observe a riparian ecosystem.