Looking for some inspiration this Earth Day?

Check out The Soil Awakens, a brand new video on the amazing soil life all around us.

This video, and the products to follow, were produced under a UC Davis/USDA-NRCS collaborative project and are part of a national campaign to raise awareness about the value and importance of soil. Over the next few weeks they will be launching a short animated video series and an interactive website, including a graphics-based intro to soil science, a media hub of vetted soils-related content, and clear, actionable items for people to ‘get involved’ with protecting and promoting soils in their everyday lives.

Videos will be shared as they are released.  If you are on social media, you can find and connect on Instagram @soil.life – Facebook @TheSoilLife – and Twitter @The_Soil_Life.

Apply for 2022 Range Camp

Don’t miss out on the 37^th annual Range and Natural Resources Camp!

Range Camp is an opportunity for high school students to engage with the professional world of plant, animal, and landscape management. Students will learn about wildlife, forestry, rangeland, and plants from university and cooperative extension staff, as well as other professionals.

Range Camp is organized by the California-Pacific chapter of the Society for Range Management (CalPac SRM). Follow these links for an application and more information. Applications are due May 1^st, 2022.

Request for Applications

Are you a farmer interested in operating on a small scale amongst a community of other growers? There are currently two plots available (1.4 acres total) in the beautiful Sunol Valley at the Sunol Agricultural Park.

The deadline to apply is April 22^nd, 2022 at 5PM.

There will be two informational tours held at the AgPark on Tuesday, April 5th from 1-2 PM and Monday, April 11th from 3-4 PM. To RSVP and for any other questions, please contact Colleen Hotchkiss at [email protected].

Click here for more information and to download the application

Earth Day Cleanup of the Castro Valley Creek Trail

Volunteers Wanted!

The Alameda County Unincorporated Area’s Clean Water Program is hosting an Earth Day cleanup of the Castro Valley Creek Trail in collaboration with the Castro Valley Sanitary District and the Friends of San Lorenzo Creek

Space is limited, so register today!

www.cvsan.org/ED

Watershed cleanups start at your doors!

Volunteers Wanted!

The Earth Day clean-up is an annual event hosted by the Alameda County Flood Control & Water Conservation District’s Clean Water Program, to help keep our waterways free of harmful trash by cleaning up in your neighborhoods and local natural areas.

Watershed cleanups start at your doors! Trash travels through storm drains into creeks, and rivers to become harmful pollution.

Cleanups can be on Earth Day, April 22nd, or any day throughout the month of April and will be self-guided and close to home. Local streets, sidewalks, parks, and other natural areas are good choices. Trash within our neighborhoods becomes the trash polluting the coast once they are washed into the storm drains and waterways.

Register today to have your efforts counted!

https://accleanwater_earthday2022.eventbrite.com

Free technical assistance is available for Urban Farmers in Alameda County.

Request deadline is Friday, April 29, 2022.

Work must be completed by June 1, 2022 to qualify.

For more information visit: https://acrcd.org/projects/urban-farms/

The ACRCD and partners held the Grassland Butterfly Symposium on April 22nd & 23rd, 2022.

The Alameda County Resource Conservation District and The San Francisco Bay Area Chapter of The Wildlife Society held a virtual presentation by species experts and agency personnel on western monarch, Bay Area checkerspot and Callippe silverspot butterflies. An optional field trip was held to view species habitat in eastern Alameda County on Saturday April 23, 2022. The flyer can be found here.

Any questions, please email: [email protected]. Thanks to everyone who joined us at this event!

We are excited to announce that the May 5th State of the Alameda Creek Watershed Conference registration is now open and below you will see the fantastic presentation lineup! Register Today! There are a limited number of exhibitor tables available for purchase on the registration site. 

The Alameda Creek Watershed Forum announces a Photo Contest! Submissions are due on April 1, 2022.

If you have any questions or concerns, please email Owen Sowerwine at [email protected].

Alameda Creek Watershed Forum

Save the Date: May 5, 2022

To stay up to date with the Alameda Creek Watershed Forum, sign up for the newsletter here.

Healthy Soils Incentives Program Deadline to Apply: February 25, 2022

California Department of Food and Agriculture’s Healthy Soils Program provides financial incentives to California farmers and ranchers to implement conservation management practices that sequester carbon, reduce atmospheric greenhouse gases (GHGs), and improve soil health.

Conservation practices include:

• Compost application
• Cover cropping
• Hedgerow plantings
• Mulching
• Reduced tillage
• Prescribed grazing
• …and more!

ACRCD can assist you in identifying which practices are best suited for your operation, and help you complete your application to the Healthy Soils Incentives Program. For more information, visit CDFA’s website here, and contact:

Colleen Hotchkiss, Sustainable Agriculture Specialist

[email protected]

(650) 868-7186 (cell)

Alameda County Unincorporated Area’s Clean Water Program POSTER CONTEST for 3rd & 4th graders!

We are so excited you are considering having your child or entire class enter the Alameda County Unincorporated Area’s Clean Water Program POSTER CONTEST for 3^rd and 4^th graders! We aim to spread the message to the community that Litter Hurts. Click HERE for more information and contest rules. Deadline for submission is April 1, 2022.

If you have any questions or concerns, please email Allison Rodacker at [email protected].

Get creative and good luck!

State of the Alameda Creek Watershed Webinar

Unravelling the Mystery of Sycamores

Join us on November 9th, 2021 from 11:30 am – 1:00 pm on zoom.

The historical extent of sycamore alluvial woodland has been reduced significantly as a result of land use change and alteration of streamflow and sediment regimes. As part of the EPA-funded “Preparing for the Storm” project, the San Francisco Estuary Institute, Zone 7 Water Agency, and HT Harvey are collaborating to expand a regional dataset to better understand how sycamore distribution, health and regeneration patterns relate to geomorphic and hydrologic processes. Field-based sycamore surveys at sites along Arroyo Mocho and Arroyo Valle in Livermore Valley were conducted and analyzed with geospatial and hydrologic information. This work, as well as insights from other sycamore research such as genetic studies, is being used to develop regional suitability analyses to advance process-based restoration and provide planting guidance.

Click here to register

For more information:
Allison Rodacker
[email protected]

Central Coast Rangeland Coalition Fall 2021 Meeting

Join us on October 21st, 2021 from 8:30 am – 4:30 pm, alongside the Central Coast Rangeland Coalition, for a day of conversations about compost application to degraded rangelands. We will describe the Healthy Soils Demonstration project examining the effects of compost on steep (15-30%) slopes. Preliminary field data will be shared, as well as diverse perspectives on grassland and soil responses to compost, costs, benefits, logistics, and potential problems. Participants will tour the field site and engage in stations focused on vegetation, soils, and compost quality. Register now for this FREE program, space is limited.

Click here to register

Coastal Cleanup Day

September marks the 37th annual California Coastal Cleanup. The Alameda County Flood Control & Water Conservation District Clean Water Program is hosting the cleanup effort throughout the county by supporting volunteers as needed. We know some volunteers prefer to clean up individually or with their pods. This year let’s again help clean the beach by cleaning up in our neighborhoods and local natural areas. Beach cleanups start at our doors! Trash travels through storm drains, creeks, and rivers to become beach pollution.

Click here to register

Call for Urban Farms Conservation Mini-Grant Applications

The application period for the Urban Farms Conservation Mini-Grant program is open! Visit our Funding Opportunities page for more information. Applications are due by 5pm on Friday September 10, 2021 via email to [email protected] or through google form here.

Click here to download application packet

FY19 & FY20 Annual Report

Our latest annual report for FY2019 and FY2020 is now available! Read about our project highlights, upcoming projects, services, and more by clicking below.

Click here to download

KQED’s Forum

Get a regional perspective on the troubles and mysteries of the Western monarch butterfly population from KQED’s Forum. Hear directly from local experts on the pressing issues of long-term data collection on pollinator declines, prospects of the Western monarch population, and considerations related to pesticide use, captive rearing, disease, climate change, and milkweed planting. Listen in for more information on what can be done to help the Western monarch butterfly population.

Click here to listen

Alameda County Conservation Partnership

The Alameda County Resource Conservation District (ACRCD) and the USDA Natural Resources Conservation Service (NRCS) collaborate as the Conservation Partnership to serve as the lead conservation agency in Alameda County. We provide technical and educational services for natural resource conservation and agriculture enhancement. The Partnership collaborates with many partners including private landowners, local, state and federal agencies and other organizations to develop and implement various conservation and agricultural strategies. The ACRCD also works closely, on a fee for service basis, with public agencies and private sector companies, to help achieve conservation based goals.