Pajaro Valley High School students plant trees, shrubs and grasses along the Pajaro River at an ARRA project site near Watsonville, CA.

As many as 28 students from the Pajaro Valley High School recently planted wetland trees, shrubs and grasses as part of a Pajaro River Watershed project near Watsonville, California.

For this project, USDA’s Natural Resources Conservation Service is working with the Resource Conservation District of Santa Cruz County, Watsonville Wetlands Watch and the Land Trust of Santa Cruz County to restore wetland habitat in the Pajaro River floodplain. Read more »

We have a resource issue across the West, and here in Nevada in particular, that is crossing a number of boundaries in terms of its effects on rural economies, wildlife diversity and forest health.  That issue is pinyon-juniper encroachment; which is the rapid growth of pinyon and juniper trees to the extent that risks of disease, insects and catastrophic fire intensify, and diversity of forage and wildlife are threatened.  Extensive forest canopy blocks all of the light and plant life below, reducing the productivity of the land for both man and beast.  Each year in Nevada, another 100,000 acres of P-J woodland converts to the highest density Pinyon-Juniper forest. Read more »

Louisiana irises are North American native wildflowers that have the widest color range of all types of irises including blue, white, red and yellow forms. Photo: Keep Slidell Beautiful ©

A partnership between USDA’s People’s Garden Initiative and Keep America Beautiful (KAB) was a natural fit. KAB, the nation’s largest volunteer-based community action network, has been engaging individuals to take greater responsibility for improving their communities for over 50 years, through a grassroots network of nearly 1,000 local affiliates across the country. The People’s Garden Initiative – established in 2009 by Secretary Vilsack – challenges USDA employees to create sustainable gardens that benefit their communities through collaborative efforts. Read more »

Five months ago, I was offered one of the greatest opportunities of my budding career with USDA, an invitation to join the Office of Advocacy and Outreach as the Interim Lead for the USDA/1890 Program. I eagerly and enthusiastically accepted the challenge, and what an AMAZING experience it has been! Why so much excitement one may ask? The answer is quite simple, serving as the Interim Lead of the 1890 Program has given me the opportunity to do what every public servant is called to do….“give back.” Read more »