Welcome 2021 UAC Grantee Franklin County Soil and Water Conservation District 06/02/2021
The Franklin County Soil and Water Conservation District (FCSWCD) in Franklin County, New York was awarded an Urban Agriculture Conservation (UAC) Grant through a partnership with the National Association of Conservation Districts (NACD) and the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) Natural Resources Conservation Service (NRCS) to boost technical capacity nationwide.
FCSWCD was one of 20 conservation districts across 14 states to receive funding. NACD and NRCS established the Urban Agriculture Conservation Grant Initiative in 2016 to help conservation districts and their partners provide much-needed technical assistance for community-oriented agricultural projects in both urban and rural contexts.
Through this 2021 UAC grant, FCSWCD has partnered with the Saint Regis Mohawk Tribe, local producers and partners to launch an urban agricultural education series. This series will educate urban agricultural producers on topics ranging from pollinator habitat and irrigation to soil health.
“The district is thrilled to be a recipient of our first UAC Grant. This funding is essential to expanding urban agriculture education in Franklin County. The urban agriculture community is one that is often looked over,” said Chastity Miller, FCSWCD District Manager. “We are excited to provide this group with education and resources to assist them with management decisions to improve soil and water conservation.”
With their funding, FCSWCD will partner with other agencies to educate the urban and rural farming community through a series of three educational workshops: Pollinator Palooza, Irrigation Management, and “Soil Your Undies”: Soil Health.
These workshops will cover soil health management, irrigation management, and creating pollinator habitat to aid the backyard gardener as well as the rural commercial farmer.
To learn more about the UAC Grant program and its grantees, view NACD’s urban and community webpage.