Guadalupe Gardens Open Space Protection

The Authority helped to fund Keep Coyote Creek Beautiful’s Coyote Creek Environmental Education Project, which engages students, educators, and the public through Watershed-in-a-Box kits for K-12 students and public education events, such as walks, public presentations, and student-led art projects. The goal of the program is to build awareness and value of the creek environment so that people will become involved in advocacy and creek cleanups.

The Authority helped to fund the City of San José’s project to construct an outdoor classroom for Guadalupe Oak Grove Park patrons that serves as a space for environmental education programs and nature-based outdoor play. This space invites families to spend time in nature while also encouraging them to learn about the five different ecosystems within the park and the various wildlife that live there.

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.