NC Foundation for Soil and Water Conservation

Improving the environment: the initiative is designed to implement Soil and Water Conservation practices to protect or enhance natural resources. During the year, 17 grants were implemented to help preserve ecosystem services on working lands through term Conservation agreements in military priority areas and 3 innovative animal waste management systems were piloted.

Building Conservation capacity: the initiative is designed to support Conservation at the state level through pilot studies or at the local level through an influx of resources. During the year, agriculture resilience pilots were created to test how Conservation practices can be used as a flood mitigation tool in 3 counties. Additionally, 7 pilots were created to investigate how Soil health management systems increase carbon sequestration as measured by the usda comet-farm tool. In 2022, 6 schools received outdoor environmental learning centers, including food gardens, rain gardens, pollinator gardens, and a mobile soils tent which was designed to be used as an educational outreach tool, impacting 2,686 people.

Educating the citizens: the initiative is designed to provide educational resources and opportunities on Conservation issues to all citizens of the state. During the year, 8 careers in Conservation scholarships were offered to students enrolled in natural resource management, agriculture, forestry, or a related field of study.