2021-22 Watershed Stewardship And Education Grant In Sacramento County

Press release from the Sacramento County Government:

August 3, 2021

The Sacramento County Stormwater Quality Program is accepting applications for the 2021-22 Watershed Stewardship and Education Grant.

Each year the Stormwater Quality Program offers schools, non-profit and community organizations up to $2,500 for projects to help students understand the importance of keeping local creeks and rivers clean and healthy. This is the 16th year the County is offering grants to help raise awareness about the need for protecting creeks and rivers.

By collaborating with schools and non-profits over the years, the County has seen positive results from the community as they develop a better understanding of stormwater pollution.

Along with helping the environment, many participants find completing a project like this can be a great team-building effort. Thirty-five schools have participated in the program over the years. Will Rogers Middle School is one of the original participants and has taken part in the program every year since it launched in 2005.

Past grant winners have completed 115 projects like creek clean ups; hands on education about Sacramento’s watershed, creeks, or rivers; creating eco-friendly gardens; water quality experiments to assess the health of a creek/river; and creating school-wide campaigns to increase awareness about stormwater pollution.

Each year grant winners submit a report to the County on their projects; each showing many students in the program gain a better understanding of stormwater pollution and the environment. To be eligible for this grant, projects must in some way protect or enhance local creeks, rivers, or watersheds. Projects will generally fall into one or more of the following categories:

• Educational Projects - Projects that inform or instruct about the aquatic ecosystem, watersheds, or stormwater pollution prevention
• School/Club Projects - Projects that can be organized by teachers, classrooms, or clubs
• Community Outreach Projects - Projects that involve and inspire the community
• Monitoring Project - Projects that measure water quality, species, or habitat
• Restoration Projects - Projects that restore or enhance riparian habitats, wetlands, creeks, or rivers

Eligible projects must be implemented within the Stormwater Utility boundaries of Sacramento County or directly affect the residents of these areas. The application for the 2021-22 Watershed Stewardship and Education Grant is available on the Stormwater Quality Program webpage. The application deadline is Sep. 30, 2021, and the grants will be awarded in October. For more information, contact Jeanette Huddleston at 874‐4711 or by e‐mail, huddlestonj@saccounty.net.

This press release was produced by the Sacramento County Government. The views expressed here are the author’s own.