Community brief

Audubon Society awarded open space grant

The Santa Clara Valley Audubon Society is among 10 organizations recently awarded a Measure Q grant by the Santa Clara Valley Open Space Authority. The society, headquartered in Mcclellan Ranch Park in Cupertino, received $79,608 for its Oak Savanna Citizen Science Project.

In total, the authority awarded over $875,000 as part of the 2020 cycle of its Urban Grant Program. Funding a variety of projects, including environmental education on the topics of food and agriculture, as well as environmental stewardship, the program focuses on providing access to nature within the urban areas of the Authority’s jurisdiction.

The projects funded work toward the Authority’s larger goal to help urban communities overcome barriers of accessing nature.

The Urban Grant Program, launched in 2016, is one of two grant programs the Authority offers. The program is funded by Measure Q, which was renewed by the passage of Measure T this November with 81% of the vote.

“Measure T will continue to allow the Open Space Authority to make investments in organizations that provide access to nature in the urban core,” Andrea Mackenzie, the authority’s general manager, said in a statement.

Other Urban grant recipients include Bay Area Older Adults, awarded $95,561 for its Trailblazer Program, enabling vulnerable older adults to access open space; and Guadalupe River Park Conservancy, awarded $130,000 for its Outdoor Field Trips for Title 1 schools and special needs groups.