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Sustainable Solano urges continued water-saving gardens as county funding ends
Summary
Nicole Newell of Sustainable Solano reviewed the group’s green-infrastructure, local-food and youth internship programs and said Solano County Water Agency stopped funding the backyard program in 2024, leaving the nonprofit to seek partners and new revenue streams.
Nicole Newell, program manager for Sustainable Solano and a Benicia resident, told the Community Services Commission the organization began as a community garden project and has grown into three program areas: green infrastructure (food-forest demonstration gardens and community gardens), local-food connections and youth internships. "They stopped the funding in 2024," Newell said when describing Solano County Water Agency support for the sustainable-backyard program.
Newell cited past program impacts — including a cited 500,000-gallon water impact from early demonstration projects and a slide in a presentation that stated the program’s gardens can save and recycle "1,500,000 gallons of water each year." She described current work supporting roughly 41 demonstration gardens and about 15 community gardens countywide, partnerships with HOAs in Benicia, classes at Heritage Presbyterian Church, and youth microenterprise and culinary training. Commissioners asked about local-food connections, volunteer capacity and opportunities for residents to access educational classes.
