Alviso Adobe Park

Sacred Heart Community Service’s La Mesa Verde (LMV) program is a network of urban gardeners that uses innovative solutions to build a sustainable food system in San Jose and the broader Bay Area. Their approach draws on agroecology to bridge knowledge, build an active community, and implement organic gardening practices. This grant will help cover the cost of purchasing materials needed for the urban gardens, staff time, and community-building efforts.

The Authority helped to fund Veggielution’s Eastside Explorers, an experiential, hands-on field trip program which engages hundreds of middle school students each year. Field trip activities are centered around collaborative group tasks focused on urban agriculture, nutrition, human impacts, and ecological interconnections. Veggielution's historical location in East San José encourages discovery while pushing students and teachers to develop a sense of teamwork and fostering a strong sense of place.

The Authority helped fund Bay Area Older Adults’ Environmental Education Park Crawl program. The project consisted of eight, 4-hour walks in different parks and one wildlife lecture. Each two- to four-mile walk had an environmental theme that educated the participating adults age 60+ about our valley’s parks, natural resources, and urban green spaces. It also included lunch, coordination of transportation, parking fees, and three trained guides. Participants benefitted in multiple ways: safely walking outdoors in a group is critical in reducing the risk of heart disease, diabetes, colon cancer and depression, and learning about nature promotes cognitive health and reduces the risk of dementia.