Stewardship Seed Funding - now open and accepting applications!

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The Drinking Water & Watershed Protection Stewardship Seed Funding (SSF) program is now open for applications for 2023 projects!

The RDN's Drinking Water & Watershed Protection (DWWP) program supports the efforts of local stewardship groups involved in community-level action to monitor, restore, or enhance regional watersheds by offering seed funding of $1000 to $5,000 per project. Multi-year projects can apply annually for up to three consecutive years.

To be eligible for Stewardship Seed Funding, projects must:

be led by a non-profit organization and involve community volunteers,
be jointly funded by other partners, donors, or with in-kind contributions,
acquire all the necessary permissions and permits for work to be carried out,
and they must actively enhance or monitor stream, river, lake, estuary, or wetland health, hydrology, or function.

Funding is available to all organizations and projects that match the above criteria and align with DWWP goals, though priority in the program is given to groups pursuing recommended actions generated from RDN supported stream assessments or water quality monitoring, such as the Community Watershed Monitoring Network.

To apply, organizations must:

Step 1: Submit a Pre-approval Application with estimated project costs, site overview, and any other requested information.
Step 2: Once approved, complete the outlined project work within the same year as applying to the program.
Step 3: Submit a Claim Application with an itemized breakdown of project costs, invoices/receipts for project materials and services, and any other requested information, such as project completion site photos and site maintenance plan.

There is no application deadline - allocations are 'first come, first served' based on project merit until years-end or until program funds are exhausted.

Complete program details and application forms are available online at https://www.rdn.bc.ca/stewardship-seed-funding. Applications and any questions can be submitted to waterstewardship@rdn.bc.ca.