Recognizing the dual mission of the Stewardship Council to protect and preserve PG&E watershed lands and connecting underserved youth with PG&E watershed lands, the Stewardship Council Board thought it was important to identify meaningful ways to create synergies between each of these two parts of our mission.  Therefore, when the Stewardship Council board negotiated the Major Grant Agreement (MGA) with the Foundation for Youth Investment (FYI) in 2013, the board decided to restrict $425k of the grant funds for the development of a program to connect youth to PG&E Watershed Lands.  

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A key component of this program is development of a model and best practices for the creation of partnerships between youth program providers and land trusts that will hold conservation easements on PG&E Watershed Lands. The Stewardship Council has selected 11 land trusts to hold conservation easements and these land trusts will have a permanent relationship with PG&E.  They understand what it takes to implement programs on PG&E land and partner with  youth serving organizations to connect young people to these watershed lands.

 

WATERSHED GRANT PROGRAM ACCOMPLISHMENTS

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Focusing on PG&E-owned Watershed Lands, two groups of youth program providers and land trusts created innovative youth programs on PG&E land. Both of these projects were made possible by the Watershed Grant Program and demonstrated the value of teamwork and leadership through outdoor experiences. These programs also helped pave the way for increased public access to PG&E-owned lands.