Funds available for pollinator gardens

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Grants for pollinator gardens are available through the Texas Urban Conservation Project,  the U.S. Department of Agriculture Natural Resources Conservation Service (USDA-NRCS) has announced.

The Texas NRCS Urban Conservation Project is an effort to challenge community organizations, educational institutions and Indian tribes to establish community and school gardens across Texas.

“The simple act of planning a garden can help unite neighbors in a common effort and inspire locally-led solutions to challenges facing our state,” said Salvador Salinas, Texas NRCS State Conservationist. “The challenges that can be addressed with locally-led solutions can be diverse in an urban setting.”

Grants are available for up to $3000 for Monarch butterfly gardens. Preference will be given to Monarch butterfly gardens in the following counties because of their strategic location within the Monarch butterfly’s flight paths during their spring and fall migrations: Atascosa, Bastrop, Bell, Bexar, Blanco, Burnet, Caldwell, Comal, Dallas, Ellis, Gillespie, Guadalupe, Hays, Johnson, Kaufman, Kendall, Kerr, Lee, Limestone, Llano, Navarro, McLennan, Palo Pinto, Parker, Tarrant, Travis, Williamson, and Wilson.

Applications for the Urban Conservation Project are due by December 15, 2017. The Notice of Funding Opportunity is available at https://www.grants.gov. The Opportunity Number is USDA-NRCS-TX-UCP-18-01, and the title is Texas NRCS Urban Conservation Project.  Applicants can also enter the Catalog of Federal Domestic Assistance (CFDA) number 10.902 to search for this grant. Direct questions to Bertha T. Venegas, (830) 249-3508 extension 103.

Funds are also available for community gardens. Addressing hunger with an urban garden can bring communities together and initiate other positive outcomes for people. Pollinator habitat planned with urban gardens can provide an increase in harvest potential while providing food and habitat for declining insect communities in Texas. Grants are available up to $4,000 for a community garden and $6500 for a seasonal high tunnel.  Community gardens and seasonal high tunnel projects must be located in one of the following counties: Bexar, Brazos, Cameron, Dallas, El Paso, Galveston, Harris, Hidalgo, Jefferson, Lubbock, Maverick, McLennan, Nueces, Polk, Potter, Tarrant, Travis, Webb and Wichita to be eligible for funding. Apply through the same process described above.

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**ARCHIVED POST AUTHOR: julieallen

About the Region

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This low-elevations region of Texas extends inland from the barrier islands, about 60 or so miles, and stretches from Brownsville to Louisiana. In total, it covers about 9.5 million acres, with a high point of 150 feet in elevation. More than 1000 species of plants can be found in this region. On the southern end, species more common in Mexico (such as Sabal mexicana) and Central America occur.

The barrier islands provide us with dune systems, and clay flats to the inland side, which have species found in these areas alone. Many plants here, such as Ipomoea pes-caprae (beach morning glory), can be found throughout tropical regions of the globe. I’ve encountered the same species on the beaches of Guam.

Once inland, vast marshes and wet prairies occur. Occasionally, oak (Quercus fusiformis) groves can be found. Common grasses include species of Bothriochloa, Paspalum, and Sporobolus; eastern gamagrass (Tripsacum dactyloides); and switchgrass (Panicum species). Many rivers and creeks cut through the Gulf Prairies, and along these riparian areas various species of trees, Sabal minor, and other plants adapted to clay soils can be found. Due to overgrazing, farming, and fire suppression, woody species such as mesquite (Prosopis glandulosa) and huisache (Acacia farnesiana), and invasive species such as chinaberry (Melia azedarach), Brazilian pepper (Schinus terebinthifolius), and Chinese tallow (Sapium sebiferum) have increased and displaced our native flora.

Source: Wildflowers of Texas by Michael Eason