Community Resiliency Grants Continue to Keep Local Economy Thriving

Editor’s Note: This is the third article in a series examining the impacts of Nevada County’s Community Resiliency Grants four years after the 2020 Covid-19 pandemic lock down. 

When the Covid-19 pandemic struck four years ago it threatened the economic viability of Nevada County that is intricately tied to safe neighborhoods, arts, culture, outdoor recreation, digital technology and a vibrant network of creative entrepreneurs.

Following guidelines to social distance, people went outdoors en masse seeking refuge on local trails, parks and rivers. With recreation use at historic highs, land managers like Bear Yuba Land Trust (BYLT) needed extra cash to educate visitors and maintain high use areas. 

Local funds from Nevada County’s Community Resiliency Grants and other sources helped to support outreach and improvements to trailheads, parking lots and trail signage that continue to benefit the community, such as BYLT’s popular 37-acre Adam Ryan Preserve near the community of Alta Sierra. 

“BYLT is thrilled that the County has prioritized outdoor recreation funding over the past few years. The expansion of the Adam Ryan Preserve parking lot was a direct response to the increased use of outdoor spaces we saw skyrocket during the Covid-19 pandemic. People need access to places in nature for both mental and physical health,” said BYLT Executive Director Erin Tarr. 

Nevada County’s Community Resiliency Grants provided one-time funding of up to $100,000 for local programs to increase resiliency, support recovery and provide relief from the impacts of the Covid-19 pandemic. 

Nevada County Board of Supervisors allocated 30 percent of its American Rescue Plan Act (ARPA) allocation, $5.8 Million, for Community and Economic Resiliency projects. This included four grant programs and one loan program. 

"The opportunity to put a significant amount of dollars directly into our community was a highlight in my role as Supervisor,” said District 2 Supervisor Ed Scofield. “Our residents, businesses, and nonprofits were struggling. I was proud of our commitment to get those dollars where they would have the biggest impact."

In the southern reaches of Western Nevada County, Bear River Park and Recreation received funding to replace a turf field where youth and adult sports leagues play games and build a sense of community. 

In Eastern Nevada County, a grant to Truckee River Watershed Council provided unrestricted funding that helped move forward important watershed and forest restoration projects throughout the Truckee River Watershed helping the communities of Truckee become more resilient in the face of catastrophic wildfire, drought and impacts of increased recreation visitation. 

Youth in Nature 

Outdoor educator Debra Weistar remembers when the pandemic first hit. Suddenly, all regularly scheduled field trips and programming stopped at Synergia, the outdoor experiential learning center on the San Juan Ridge near Grizzly Hill School she and her husband have operated since 2002. 

“We knew local kids would be struggling because the schools had been shut down,” she said.

Synergia became a nature school for the children of local working families. 

“We made that pivot really quickly to meet the needs of the families so parents could still work,” said Weistar. 

Three days a week, a small band of local children ages 8 - 12 from the San Juan Ridge, Grizzly Hill School, Penn Valley and Grass Valley attended the outdoor school, masking up and practicing social distancing. 

“The pandemic made people more aware of just how important it is for children to be outside. So much was learned during that time. At Synergia, we’re creating more materials for teachers in the classrooms so they can have a bigger toolbox available to them,” said Weistar. 

The grant helped Synergia pay overhead costs while field trips from underserved urban youth were still on hold. 

“The grant was critical for us. It got us through. We’re a small organization and we needed just enough not to go into the red,” said Weistar. 

Today Synergia serves 1,000 youth a year fostering social emotional development through outdoor experiences like backpacking, canoeing and a ropes course in the trees. A younger generation is learning to be good stewards of the land. 

“People are coming to the area and learning how precious and fragile it is and they want to take care of it. You can’t stop people from coming but you can educate them how to care for these ecosystems,” said Weistar. 

Keeping Neighborhoods Safe

The Greenhorn Firewise Community is located between Banner Mountain and You Bet Road. This rural neighborhood of 780 households winds along seven miles of forested road with only one way in and out. After the Paradise Fire, residents became concerned for their safety. 

A handful of fire hydrants dot the road for the first couple miles. The rest of the neighborhood relies on individual wells for water. A lack of fire hydrants meant fire companies would have to haul water long distances in the event of a wildfire. 

With COVID challenging the ability to conduct traditional fundraising, funding from the Community Resiliency Grants enabled the firewise community to  purchase four 10,000 gallon tanks, placed in two strategic locations. The community installed the tanks and is responsible for keeping them full of water. Though it’s not enough, it helps the community sleep a little easier during fire season. 

Greenhorn resident and retired firefighter Jerry Funk was one of the main champions for the water tanks. “Any fire can quickly become everybody’s problem. Providing the fire department with as many tools as possible is important to all of us,” said Funk, who spent 37 years in the fire service, including with Nevada County Consolidated. 

Helping Local Businesses Thrive

The pandemic hurt many local businesses and support was needed more than ever to keep the economy going. 

With the grant funding, Nevada County Economic Resource Council (NCERC) was able to assist 10 struggling tech businesses by setting up best practices like accounting systems, assist in building personal manuals, craft financial spreadsheets and help build monitoring. 

After sending 1,700 letters to new businesses, 32 responded with requests for help. NCERC provided know-how in accounting, human resources, marketing and sales.

“During the pandemic, business entrepreneurs were reluctant to open new businesses, but as the pandemic receded, a heavier than normal load of new businesses were undertaken,” said Gil Mathew, Executive Director of NCERC.

In total, the ERC assisted approximately 60 businesses plus referrals of another 20 or so to the Small Business Development Center in Truckee.

Grass Valley Downtown Association and Nevada City Chamber of Commerce received funding to boost visitation and breathe life into downtowns. 

"Our main source of income--events--came grinding to a quick halt at the start of the pandemic. Then as we collectively struggled to come out, a number of events had to be canceled after the time and expense was already put in place. The Resiliency grant saved us and enabled us to hire a first-rate events organizer that got us back in our groove," said Executive Director Stuart Baker of the Nevada City Chamber of Commerce. 

Recognizing that the arts are equally important to the economic backbone of the community, Nevada County Arts Council received funding to increase capacity and build momentum in both east and west sides of the county. Curious Forge received funding to expand programs for interns, workforce development and home and charter schools.  

At the entrepreneur hub known as Sierra Commons, a once full coworking facility dropped dramatically overnight to a handful of essential workers. Federal emergency funds and disaster loans provided immediate relief, but that money quickly ran low. One year into the pandemic, the Community Resiliency Grants came to the rescue. 

“The resiliency grant was coming out of the pandemic and was able to put wind back in our sails to help us transition from survival to reimagining what our role can be,” said Executive Director Robert X Trent. 

With the money, the nonprofit was able to provide a number of networking and educational events that brought the community together to recalibrate. More than 40 tech leaders gathered at the event, “CEOs and Tacos,” and a panel of bankers and alternative financiers provided valuable advice at another “Capital Summit.” 

A series of tech meetups focusing on artificial intelligence, drones and robotics and animation were held in the community at local cafes and a series of web workshops provided the community with hands-on e-commerce support. 

“We did bring together some tech startup companies and planted the seeds and created networking opportunities for technology professionals,” said Trent. As an added benefit, Sierra Commons learned of workstyle shifts and the importance of remote workers and virtual teams that continues to inform programming. 

“We created the petri dish for things to grow. The work we put into it is still percolating,” said Trent. 

Learn more about the Community Resiliency Grant program at: https://nevadacountyca.gov/3652/Community-Resiliency-Grants.

Laura Petersen is a freelance writer living in Grass Valley. This is one of a series of articles written on behalf of Nevada County. She can be reached at laurapetersenmedia@gmail.com.