What are we proud of doing in 2020? Well, we got all our staff together a couple of months ago and asked them that question. The following list came from them. We hope you enjoy watching the videos we made about each accomplishment!
Food Access During the Pandemic
One of our most important accomplishments during the pandemic of 2020 was stepping up our efforts to increase food access for our community. Our Harvest Pierce County team collaborated with Mother Earth Farm to distribute over 10,000 food plant starts to people across Pierce County.
In addition, we were also proud to help create greater food access in the spring of 2020 by directing some of the CARES Act funding.
Learn more in the video below!
Going Virtual with Education
In 2020 we found a way to continue providing resources to you despite the social distance and the pandemic. In all we made over 52 educational videos, averaging a new educational program a week. Learn more and see some examples in the video below.
City Forest Credits Program
With support from a grant from Boeing, we became the first Conservation District in the country to create a carbon credit program that quantifies the amount of carbon sequestered from our restoration efforts over a 25-year period! Learn more in the video below and here.
Huertos de Comestibles
In March of 2020, Harvest Pierce County unveiled a program on VT Radio Universal called “Huertos de Comestibles”. “Huertos de Comestibles” is the Spanish translation for “Edible Gardens”. We worked with VT Radio Universal founder Christian Lopez and HPC Cultural Ambassador Wendy Pantoja to broadcast 18 bilingual shows from March to October.
Take a minute to watch one the program hosts, Renee Meschi, talk about the show. You'll even catch a peak at the show itself!
South Prairie Creek Preserve
One of the 2020 accomplishments that we’re most proud of began with 100 acres acquired from a dairy farm in 2005. It required dozens of partnerships and funding sources. It faced year after year of delay. Now, after 15 years of anticipation we’re seeing the fruit of our labor at South Prairie Creek Preserve. Watch the story in the video below:
New Cost Share Programs
Another great accomplishment in 2020 was the expansion of our financial assistance, or “cost-share” programs. For decades we’ve had a financial assistance program for farmers. This assistance helps farmers implement practices that benefit both on-farm productivity and local streams and wildlife. So why did we decide to grow our program beyond agriculture after all these years? Learn more in the video!
New Strategic Plan
Our entire staff, board of supervisors, and community helped create our new 5-year Strategic Plan, creating a vision and road map for how the District can deepen our impact. We’re proud of that accomplishment. Learn more about it in the video below!