After a two-year break, the District was excited to relaunch our Green Partnership Fund small grants program in the fall of 2017. Gauging by the response we got, it seems like the community was even more excited for us to relaunch the program. We received an all-time high of 28 proposals requesting ~$420,000 and it was awesome to see so many great projects going on in the community. 

A special thank you to our volunteer ranking committee, who had the unenviable job of selecting the 8 projects that were ultimately awarded funding.

Farm to Farmer will enable beginning and expanding farmers to connect with land opportunities so they can grow their businesses. Building and supporting a network of farm businesses in concentration helps farmers succeed. The presence of a strong farming community amplifies the demand for locally grown, sustainable, and organic produce, supports a viable food economy by giving farmers access to markets, and amplifies environmental stewardship efforts.

Citizens for a Healthy Bay – Student Stewards Project - $8,000:
The Student Stewards Project is an immersive, comprehensive environmental education program designed to benefit both students and the natural environments they live in. Through a combination of education, scientific data collection and hands-on habitat restoration, 700 middle school students will work toward the study and protection of critical wetland and riparian habitat within the Puyallup River watershed.

Nisqually Land Trust – Community Based Habitat Restoration in the Nisqually Watershed - $10,000:
A project to support volunteer stewardship activities on Land Trust properties in unincorporated Pierce County. Volunteer stewardship activities will include: monitoring habitat conditions at eight of the Land Trust’s properties; planting and maintaining native tree and shrub seedlings; and removing invasive weed species.

Harbor Wildwatch - Explorer Series: From the Classroom to the Field - $8,000:
An interactive STEM education for K-16 students in Pierce County. Beginning in the classroom, students are exposed to a series of workshops that build upon one another and promote the synthesis of geology, biology, hydrology, and environmental science. Students then travel to a local beach, estuary, or wetland where they have the opportunity to apply the knowledge they learned in the classroom in a real-world setting.

South Puget Sound Salmon Enhancement Group - Crescent Creek Fish Passage-Estuary Feasibility - $9,000:
This project will complete a feasibility study to evaluate alternatives to restore fish passage and estuarine function to Crescent Creek, in Gig Harbor, a ~2 acre estuary and 3-mile watershed. The alternatives analysis will weigh cost, construction impacts, and realized ecosystem and societal benefit of each alternative to select a preferred project alternative to advance to later stages of design to pursue funds for final design and implementation.

Center for Food Preservation Arts – Seed to Shelf and Table - $4,000:
In partnership with Orting Methodist Church and Pt. Defiance-Ruston Senior Center, CFPA will: obtain a WSDA Plant License for  each site, producing jams and applesauce for distribution through their food banks; conduct 12 hands-on events teaching basic principles of safe food preservation for participants and volunteers; and reduce food waste from the emergency food system by ~400lbs.

Orting Community Garden – Building a Community Garden - $6,000:
To plan, design, and build of the garden in the City of Orting that will create a collaborative community where people come together to form a social ecosystem of caring, learning, and gardening together. We will ensure its a garden for all people, including those with the fewest resources and greatest need. Together we will learn about and grow a just and healthy food system and relationships that will strengthen our community while removing food inequities.

Tacoma Rainbow Center – Rainbow Conservation Corps - $10,000:
Through this project the Tacoma Rainbow Center will energize the local LGBTQ community to work in partnership with the Pierce Conservation District, Harvest Pierce County, the City of Puyallup, and three local community gardens. Project goals are to plan and implement native tree plantings in the Puyallup Watershed, and fruit tree installation and stewardship in three ethnic community gardens within the City of Tacoma.