Gateway to Trails and Parks

The Authority helped to fund Veggielution’s Eastside Explorers, an experiential, hands-on field trip program which engages hundreds of middle school students each year. Field trip activities are centered around collaborative group tasks focused on urban agriculture, nutrition, human impacts, and ecological interconnections. Veggielution's historical location in East San José encourages discovery while pushing students and teachers to develop a sense of teamwork and fostering a strong sense of place.

Veggielution's Urban Grower Network is a response to the need for community-based food and environmental organizations to better coordinate themselves around specific work and projects, to grow our collective impact. The Urban Grower Network initiative offers a unique opportunity for a committed group of grassroots environmental education and urban agriculture agencies, and the community members we serve, to build relational trust and connections. The organization is developing a strategic plan to build a collaborative model for enhancing access to healthy food through urban farms and gardens and developing environmental education programs and facilities throughout Santa Clara County. The Urban Grower Network aims to meet present needs and reimagine our food system to be more equitable, resilient, and sustainable for the future.

The Bay Area Ridge Trail Council (Ridge Trail) is expanding public trail access at Máyyan 'Ooyákma – Coyote Ridge Open Space Preserve (Coyote Ridge) and growing public support for recreation, protection, and conservation at the preserve, under the Santa Clara Valley Open Space Authority’s (Authority) Urban Grants Program. The Ridge Trail is hosting eight guided trail outings at Coyote Ridge for 12-24 participants, in coordination with community partners, to broaden access for individuals and/or families within the Authority’s jurisdiction who have been historically underrepresented. These 3-7 mile nature-based, hiking experiences introduce residents to the trails at Coyote Ridge, scheduled to open for limited access to the public in late 2023.