Small Grant 2013 – Supporting Volunteer-Led Efforts at Sausal Creek Watershed Restoration Sites
Small Grant: $5,000
Friends of Sausal Creek (FOSC) is a nonprofit 501(c)(3) volunteer-based community organization founded in 1996. FOSC mission is to engage local citizens in the enhancement of Sausal Creek and its watershed as natural and community resources. The focus is on native habitat restoration and on education of adults and children about the benefits of a healthy local ecology. In addition to the restoration workdays and environmental education field trips, FOSC staff supports the efforts of volunteer site leaders at over a dozen watershed sites from the hills to the bay, as well as volunteer-led aquatic insect and water quality monitoring programs.
With the help of the SFEP Small Grant, FOSC increased and enhanced support for volunteer restoration site leaders in order to improve the success of the restoration work at each site. FOSC trained and mentored volunteers in order to create a pool of highly qualified volunteers that are available to lead restoration work into the foreseeable future, and to increase biodiversity of local ecosystems through better training for the volunteer site leaders in restoration techniques and in strategies for volunteer management.
The work performed during the grant period included a series of training sessions for crew leaders on various aspects of watershed restoration, including removal of ivy and invasive plants, volunteer management, erosion control techniques, planting techniques and habitat improvement, etc. The funds also helped revamp the FOSC website in order to facilitate volunteer coordination and to display restoration project related information.
Photos by FOSC