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Regenerative Agriculture
Regenerate Wheat Ridge: Urban Agriculture Partnerships
The Jefferson Conservation District (JCD) and the City of Wheat Ridge (COWR) in Jefferson County, Colorado, have been awarded an urban agriculture conservation grant for their collaborative agricultural project through a partnership with the National Association of Conservation Districts (NACD) and the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) Natural Resources Conservation Service (NRCS) to boost technical capacity nationwide.
JCD is one of 20 conservation districts across 14 states to receive funding. NACD and NRCS established the Urban Agriculture Conservation Grant Initiative in 2016 to help conservation districts and their partners provide much-needed technical assistance for community-oriented agricultural projects in both urban and rural contexts.
Regenerative agriculture is a broad framework of farming, grazing, and growing practices that help rebuild soil organic matter and restore degraded soil diversity.
The project will increase regenerative urban agricultural production in Wheat Ridge by identifying eligible parcels of land and providing technical assistance to facilitate at least two local landowner-producer partnerships.
It will also connect residents with Happiness Community Gardens through FREE educational events to increase awareness of regenerative urban agriculture.
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Parks & Recreation
Physical Address
Administrative Offices
4005 Kipling Street
Wheat Ridge, CO 80033
Phone: 303-231-1300
Regenerate Wheat Ridge in 2022
The Regenerate Wheat Ridge program, a partnership between the Parks and Recreation Department and the Jefferson Conservation District and funded by a grant from the National Association of Conservation Districts, continues in 2022!
There will be a series of 8 workshops in 2022, all FREE to the public and welcome for all ages. Each workshop will run from 8:30-9:30am, with coffee & pastries and a meet and greet with workshop hosts from 8-8:30am.
The work being done by the department provides many resources to residents and landowners interested in getting involved in regenerative agriculture practices. View the full Technical Assistance Guide for Growing Urban Agriculture Partnerships here (PDF).
| Event | Date | Location | Registration Link | Workshop Resources |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Kiss the Ground Movie Virtual Watch Party | 3/9 | Virtual | Register here. | |
| Start With Soils | 4/13 | Happiness Gardens
Ammons & W. 43rd |
Register here. | Start with Soils Handout.(PDF) |
| The Perfect Match: Native Plants and Regenerative Ag | 5/11 | Happiness Gardens
Ammons & W. 43rd |
Register here. | Native Plants & Regenerative Ag Handout (PDF) |
| Putting It All Together: Regenerative Farming Showcase | 6/8 | Happiness Gardens
Ammons & W. 43rd |
Register here. | Living Soil Handout (PDF) |
| Goats and Restorative Grazing | 7/13 | Lewis Meadows
Swadley & W. 34th |
Register here. | Goats & Restorative Grazing (PDF) |
| Peek Into a Bee’s Life | 8/10 | Happiness Gardens
Ammons & W. 43rd |
Register here. | Peek into a Bee's Life (PDF) |
| Seed Collecting + Saving | 9/14 | Happiness Gardens
Ammons & W. 43rd |
Register here. | |
| Tree Planting + Overwintering | 10/12 | TBD | Register here. |
2021 Recap
Thank you to everyone who attend any of the 5 free workshops offered throughout the summer and fall of 2021! Feel free to download the workshop resources below so you can catch up on anything you may have missed!
We also hosted a wonderful Harvest Festival on October 16th, 2021 at Anderson Park Pavilion with live music, food trucks, seed swaps, raffles, Q&A's with local farmers and more!
2021 Community Events
| Event | Date | Location | Workshop Resources |
|---|---|---|---|
| Start With Soils | 6/23 | Happiness Gardens Ammons & W. 43rd |
Start With Soils Handout (PDF) |
| Why Goats? | 7/14 | Lewis Meadows Swadley & W. 34th |
Why Goats Handout (PDF) |
| Pollinators and Bee-yond | 8/18 | Happiness Gardens Ammons & W. 43rd |
Pollinators & Bee-Yond Handout (PDF) |
| Build Your Sustainable Garden Ecosystem | 9/15 | Happiness Gardens Ammons & W. 43rd |
Build Your Sustainable Garden Ecosystem (PDF) |
| Planning for Beneficial Bugs | 10/6 | Happiness Gardens Ammons & W. 43rd |
Planning for Beneficial Bugs Handout (PDF) |
Jefferson Conservation District (JCD) utilizes an educational, incentives-based approach as opposed to a regulatory approach in working with landowners, cooperators and partners in implementing Federal and State conservation programs. Along with forest restoration, JCD has grown to include specialization in noxious weed management and urban agriculture. Our energetic staff find implementing real and meaningful conservation projects a rewarding profession. Jefferson Conservation District has four areas of focus: Forestry, Noxious Weeds, Urban Agriculture and Native Seed Sales.
The National Association of Conservation Districts (NACD) is the non-profit organization that represents the nation’s 3,000 conservation districts, their state associations and the 17,000 men and women who serve on their governing boards. For more than 70 years, local conservation districts have worked with cooperating landowners and managers of private working lands to help them plan and apply effective conservation practices.