The 2021-2022 Watershed Stewardship and Education Grant is Now Available!
The Stormwater Quality Program is offering grants to community groups and school projects that protect, restore or enhance our creeks and rivers. Each recipient can receive up to $2,500 in grant funds. Eligible projects must be located within the Sacramento County Storm Water Utility Boundaries and/or directly affect the residents of these areas. View the map of eligible areas.
View or download the 2021-22 Watershed Stewardship and Education Grant application.
Previous Educational Grant Winners
The Sacramento County Stormwater Quality Program offers educational grants to do projects that increase students’ awareness of the importance of local waterways. Here are some examples of previous grant winners:
| Grant Recipient | Project Description | Grant Award |
| California Waterfowl Association (CWA) | The California Waterfowl Association (CWA) will provide bus transportation to several schools so that students can participate in watershed education field trips organized by the CWA. Field trip activities include guided tours and water sampling that are designed to educate students about the importance of keeping watersheds clean. | $2,500 |
| Spinelli Elementary School | Spinelli Elementary will organize field trips for students to learn about the impacts of stormwater pollution and inspire students to keep local waterways clean. | $680 |
| Del Dayo Elementary School | Del Dayo Elementary proposes to help young students (K-6th grade) become stewards of the American River Watershed. This will be accomplished through several activities including water quality testing, field trips to the American River Parkway to evaluate natural vegetation and species, developing watershed guidebooks, and training to teachers and parents that can carry the project forward into the future. | $2,500 |
| American River Natural History Association/Effie Yeaw Nature Center | The Effie Yeaw Nature Center will provide aquatic programs to underserved/low-income students. The program includes a lab study of aquatic organisms and a field trip to observe and study organisms. | $2,446 |
| Sacramento Valley Conservancy (SVC) | Sacramento Valley Conservancy (SVC) is working towards incorporating more educational opportunities at their facility to inspire visitors and students to care for their watershed. This project includes the installation of educational signage for outdoor school programs and the public, restoration of the native vegetation along the American River, and the installation of a bio swale with native plantings. SVC will partner with youth organizations and volunteers on these projects with the intention of engaging the community and local students in watershed stewardship. | $2,500 |
| Sierra Nevada Journeys | The Sierra Nevada Journey's program has an established watershed stewardship and education curriculum that focuses on in-class lessons and field study experiences that emphasis stormwater pollution prevention. Students receive an opportunity to become “environmental scientist" by solving problems related to stormwater pollution and explore macro-invertebrates in the river to determine the health of the watershed. Funding from the grant will allow Sierra Nevada Journeys to purchase field study supplies and materials for students to carry out their activities. | $2,500 |
| American River College Environmental Conservation Program | The American River College's (ARC) Environmental Conservation Program will improve creek environments by removing trash and invasive species; water quality monitoring; planting seeds; and installing educational signage. Through this project, students will contribute to improving a local habitat, build career skills and learn how to lead environmental projects. | $2,500 |
| University of California 4-H Youth Development Program | The 4-H Youth Development Program is a water education program to help youth understand water pollution prevention. Students who participate in this program learn from building model watersheds, use an Enviroscape to learn about the sources of pollution, and get involved in a service-learning project. With grant funding, the Program will organize a student field trip to the San Francisco Bay-Delta model and the Pacific Ocean. This trip will help youth draw a better connection between the Sacramento watershed and how it ties into a larger ecosystem. | $2,500 |
| Daylor High School | Daylor High School's project involves inviting the Sacramento Zoo mobile to do a presentation on organisms that live and depend on local creeks and rivers. This educational presentation will help students understand the importance of keeping the water clean so that animals can live in a healthy environment. | $450 |
| Will Rogers Middle School | Will Rogers Middle School will use grant funds to provide opportunities for students to be actively involved in watershed stewardship activities around campus. The grant project will allow students to monitor storm drains and keep the area around them clean, go on field trips to the American River Parkway to clean up trash, stencil storm drains with a no dumping message, and visit the Stone Lake Wildlife Refuge and Natural Science Museum to learn about their watershed. | $1,424 |
Sierra Nevada Journey’s “Hands in the River” Program
Sierra Nevada Journeys (SJN) program offers 5th grade students watershed science and storm water management using relevant and hands-on learning experiences both in the classroom and outdoors. During the 2017/18 fiscal year, the SNJ program received funding to transport 260 students to do a field study at William B. Pond where they learned how to assess water quality and the importance of keeping our local waterways clean.
University of California 4-H Youth Development Program
The UC 4-H Youth Development program offers a Water Wizards project which ties in with after school programs. Through the Water Wizards project, 4th-6th grade students participate in hands-on learning experiences that encourage inquiry, get involved in experiments that teach basic information about watersheds and water quality, and develop a sense of stewardship as they take action on a water issue in their community. During the 2017/18 fiscal year, the grant program provided funding so that 95 students from 3 after school programs were able to visit the Bay-Delta Model after completing the Water Wizards project. The field trip deepened their understanding of watersheds and delta issues and students gained a better appreciation of our natural resources.
Will Rogers Middle School
The students and teachers of Will Rogers Middle School participated in W.E.T. Water Education Training.
With their grant, the Will Rogers Middle School students were able to:
- identify and stencil storm drains on the school campus
- plant California Native plants
- construct a rainwater catchment system
- participate in field studies of the local watershed
- participate in water quality experiments
- attend field trips to local creeks and water educational centers
Read the
final report for more information about this project.
Leo. A Palmiter School
Kevin Jordan, the ROP Landscape Instructor at Leo Palmiter School, used the stormwater grant money to replace the conventional landscape at their school with River-Friendly Landscaping (RFL). Besides learning about RFL and it's contribution to improved stormwater quality, the students learned how to work as a team and how to overcome obstacles. Read the
final report for more information about this project.
Before and after photographs of an existing conventional lawn area that was replaced with River-Friendly Landscaping
Global Youth Charter School
The Global Youth Charter School used their grant to map, research, and create marketing materials about Dry Creek.
The students first mapped Dry Creek and identified locations for research. Then they tested the water quality and studied the flora and fauna at the identified locations. The final phase of the project involved creating a
brochure and poster to education the community about Dry Creek.
Read the
final report for more information about this project.
Orange Grove Adult School
With their grant, the Orange Grove Adult School students were able to:
- identify and stencil storm drains on the Orange Grove campus
- create a W.E.T Project storm drain educational flyer
- plant
UCD Arboretum All Star California Native plants
- construct a rainwater catchment system
- participate in field studies of the local watershed
- participate in water quality experiments
- attend the Will Rogers Middle School Earth Day Celebration and the California Green Summit Expo
Read more about this project.
