New Jersey: Natural Resources Conservation Service Urban Conservation Project

The New Jersey NRCS Urban Conservation Project is an effort to challenge local Conservation Districts, non-profit organizations, non-government organizations, institutions of higher learning, and other community partners to establish urban, community, and pollinator gardens across New Jersey. The simple act of planting a garden or creating a pollinator habitat can help unite neighbors in a common effort and inspire locally-led solutions to some of the challenges facing local communities within the state. Addressing hunger and health, while inspiring beautification projects, with an urban garden, can positively unite communities. As part of the USDA’s Urban Agriculture Toolkit, the New Jersey NRCS Urban Conservation Project will provide technical and financial assistance to eligible entities to implement natural resources conservation practices such as low tunnels, high tunnels, composting facilities, micro-irrigation systems, rainwater harvesting, raised beds, build pollinator habitats, urban trees (orchards) and establish gardens for food production.

Eligible entities are invited to apply for NRCS assistance with the following key conservation objectives:

• Provide conservation learning experiences to urban communities.
• Address concerns regarding food deserts.
• Improve access to healthy, affordable food at the local level.
• Create urban gardening projects that develop urban properties into sustainable production sites for fruits and vegetables.
• Leverage non-federal resources to achieve positive natural resource conservation outcomes.
• Build and develop healthy and vibrant pollinator habitat.
• Provide a method to follow up with the historically underserved producers to measure the rate of success of their participation in both technical and financial assistance by NRCS staff.
• Describe the relationship between the applicant and urban and small acreage producers, community gardens, and/or communities addressing food insecurity through farming and education
• Provide outreach to increase participation among historically underserved farmers and ranchers in NRCS conservation programs and services.
• Clearly identify how and why the intended groups and geographic areas were selected.
• Describe the relationship between the applicant and urban and small acreage producers, community gardens, and/or communities addressing food insecurity through farming and education.

Funding Information

• The estimated funding floor for this opportunity is $5,000, and the estimated funding ceiling is $25,000.

Period of Performance

• Projects may be between 1 and 3 years in duration. Applicants should plan their projects based on an estimated project start date of September 15, 2022.