Ventura County Resource Conservation District Project Updates
Grant programs and community support allows Ventura County Resource Conservation District (VCRCD) to provide Ventura County farms, ranches, and nurseries financial assistance for conservation project implementation, technical services, and conservation education. For over 30 years VCRCD has helped local farmers improve their irrigation efficiency, water conservation, and soil health. In recent years VCRCD has expanded its capacity to implement native habitat restoration and wildfire fuel management.
Two active CDFA grants we want to highlight are the CA Underserved & Small Producers (CUSP) Drought Relief funds and the Pollinator Habitat Program (PHP) implementation funds. Through CUSP, VCRCD can reimburse agricultural and working lands impacted by drought since 2021. Up to $20,000 can be reimbursed for approved drought-related practices or verified expenses.
The PHP grant, which is a partnership between Cachuma RCD, Community Environmental Council (CEC), Santa Barbara Botanical Garden (SBBG), and VCRCD, provides up to $200,000 to implement pollinator-beneficial practices on agricultural landscapes, for example, alley cropping, cover crops, field borders, hedgerow planting, riparian herbaceous cover, wildlife habitat planting, and more!
Finally, we expect CDFA to finalize the selection of Block Grant Recipients for both their Healthy Soils Program (HSP) and their State Water Efficiency and Enhancement Program (SWEEP) this month. VCRCD applied for funding to provide technical assistance to HSP and SWEEP applicants so, if you're interested in applying, sign up to our newsletter (https://lp.constantcontactpages.com/su/KJXfAN1/newsletter) for updates.
For information about VCRCD's other agricultural projects, please check out our website: www.vcrcd.org or contact Emily Nye, Agricultural & Environmental Sustainability Specialist, at emily.nye@vcrcd.org or 805-764-5155.
For those growers in San Luis Obispo, Santa Barbara, and San Diego County's, please reach out to Coastal San Luis RCD (https://www.coastalrcd.org/), Upper Salinas-Las Tablas RCD (https://www.us-ltrcd.org/), Cachuma RCD ( https://www.rcdsantabarbara.org/), and Greater San Diego County RCD (https://www.rcdsandiego.org/) to learn more about their programs.
