Five local projects that protect and improve water quality are on tap to share $34,646 in funding from the Shuswap Watershed Council (SWC).
The SWC announced on the May 12 the recipients of grants to help farms, landowners and stewardship groups their improvement projects, with an emphasis on mitigating the risks from nutrient-loading from land to surface water.
"Protecting water quality is one of the main objectives for the Shuswap Watershed Council," chair Rhona Martin said in the release. "The Shuswap has a rich agricultural heritage, and agriculture is a significant part of the economy here and contributes greatly to local food security. We want to support farms as they adopt new and improved practices that protect our water quality."
SWC program manager Erin Vieira added the grant program is targeting phosphorus that, though "an important factor of water quality and soil heath," too much of a good thing can be bad.
"It's needed for agriculture, but when excessive amounts of it flow from the landscape into water it can trigger algal bloom in the lake," she explained. "Our goal with the grant program is to help farms and other land stewards keep nutrients on the land and in the soil, not running off or leaching into nearby watercourses."
Trinity Dairies, one of the grant recipients that is located along the Shuswap River near Enderby, is using the funding to upgrade technology and nutrient management practices on the farm. Those upgrades will increase the accuracy and efficiency in applying nutrients to cropland to reduce the risk of those leaching into the river.
The other recipients are a hobby farm in Scotch Creek owned and operated by Michele Roane and Kurtis Bischoff, who are using the funding to build livestock exclusion fencing a creek on the property and install off-stream watering for livestock. Westwold View Farms will also be implementing some technology upgrades, while Owendale Farms in Lumby will use the grant to improve on-farm composting and the production of organic soil amendments. The final recipient, the Invasive Species Council of BC, will be conduction stream bank restoration on Bessette and Duteau creeks near Lumby.
The SWC grants will also be used to leverage other monetary and in-kind contributions for a combined investment of $79,495 into watershed protection and restoration.
"We are proud to support these innovative projects on farms to improve agricultural practices, build soil health, reduce the risk of nutrient run-off into the watershed," Vieira said. "It is inspiring to see our grant recipients working to protect the environment now and for the future."
