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In partnership with the NYS Housing Trust Fund Corporation, Housing Action Council and select municipalities, Habitat for Humanity will coordinate the construction of accessory apartments on the properties of low- to moderate-income residents of Bedford, Dobbs Ferry, Hastings-on-Hudson, Irvington, Cortlandt, Croton-on-Hudson and Yorktown. 

For additional information please visit Plus One ADU - Habitat NYC and Westchester

Soil and Water Conservation District

Established in 1967 under New York state law by the then County Board of Supervisors, the Westchester County Soil and Water Conservation District (the “District”) is charged with developing and carrying out soil, water and related natural resources conservation, management and educational activities. Professionals from the county Planning Department provide administrative and technical support to the District’s seven-member citizen board of directors.

The District’s mission is to provide opportunities for research, collaboration across sectors and with community members, and environmental education around the topics of reforestation, habitat restoration, watershed management planning, resiliency planning, green career development, and agriculture in the urban, suburban and rural communities that makeup Westchester County.

“Potable Projects for Tomorrow” School Grants

The Soil and Water Conservation District (the “District”) is seeking to fund a limited number of school-sponsored projects and educational initiatives related to Envirothon topics. This funding opportunity is intended for Westchester County educators and schools teaching a 9-12 environmental science curriculum. Proposals should have a direct connection to the Envirothon’s topics of aquatics, ecology, forestry, wildlife, and soils and land use. However, annually the Envirothon has a “Current Issue” problem that speaks to a relevant environmental topic. Proposals that seek to address a current issue or need for the school will also be accepted. Priority will be given to applicants that have previously or currently participated, or plan to participate in the Westchester County Regional Envirothon.

Applications and proposals in response to this Request for Proposals (RFP) are due by 4:00 pm on June 30, 2025 and should be e-mailed to Matthew Castro at This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.. Award letters are expected to be issued by the end of August, which provides the opportunity for a fall project. Projects must be completed by December 31, 2025.

Portable Projects for Tomorrow RFP
Portable Projects for Tomorrow Application

Annual SWCD Work Plan

The district’s soil and water conservation and management objectives are generally focused on the natural environment within suburban and urban settings. The District’s work plan allow it to define distinct program areas, ensuring that each area is clearly articulated and strategically positioned. Doing so allows the District to execute activities within the broader scope of District operations, and expand on activities within each of those program areas in the years’ ahead. The District currently define’s its program areas as follows:
District-PRC Partnership Program Annually the District funds the Westchester County Parks, Recreation, and Conservation’s (PRC) annual proposals. Through those proposals, the District works with PRC to identify key reports and deliverables that can be provided to the District. The intended goal of deliverables is to provide a resource that educates municipalities and the public, and enhances the District’s visibility. Given the District does not have its own conservation technicians or field staff, the relationship with PRC is instrumental in implementing conservation practices and facilitating scientific research throughout the Westchester County.

Year-Round Envirothon Educational Program - By leveraging the Envirothon as an educational platform, the District will build a comprehensive educational program that supports the District’s mission by providing funding opportunities for local schools and promoting career development in environmental sciences. This will limit the District’s role to oversight, rather than educational program development and implementation. In the long term, those educational materials can be shared with the public, who can take advantage of the material. The Program takes a once-a-year environmental event, and transitions it to a year-round educational initiative.

Watershed and Coastal Planning -The program seeks to continue ongoing support to local municipalities, stakeholders, and partners while ensuring the protection of vital water resources through the development and updates to watershed plans, coastal studies, and work that contributes to flood and hazard mitigation. The District will compile and catalogue its work in watershed protection in order to better inform decision making.

Agriculture and Food Systems - The purpose of the District’s Agriculture and Food Systems program is to support agricultural practices, improve relationships with relevant stakeholders, contribute to the improvement of food systems and provide support to farming communities in Westchester County.

Flexible Funding Initiatives Program - The purpose of the Flexible Funding Initiatives Program (FFIP) is to allow the District the ability to create a program that allows for flexibility in funding and implementing new projects annually. The aim of the program is to consider funding smaller projects, which align closely with its mission, without limiting the District to work within its other four program areas.

The District continues its partnership with regional, state and federal agencies and organizations, as well as municipalities, to further mutual soil and water conservation and management goals and objectives. District and Westchester County Planning Department staff also continue to provide technical services and provide information to the public, including the preparation of soil group worksheets for agricultural tax re-assessments.

The district considers a wide range of concerns, such as:

  • restoring streams, floodplains, freshwater and tidal wetlands, and other natural resources to improve water quality and fish and wildlife habitat
  • retrofitting and installing stormwater management practices to improve water quality and control excessive stormwater runoff
  • protecting and managing streams, wetlands, ponds, lakes, reservoirs and floodplains
  • controlling erosion and sedimentation, and polluted stormwater runoff by advocating the use of best management practices through public education and outreach
  • encouraging and facilitating the development and implementation of soil and water resource conservation practices and strategies based on watershed-wide perspectives and analyses
  • promoting sound soil and water resource conservation techniques and natural resource stewardship through public outreach and education

Notable District Projects

Grassland Restoration Project at Croton Point Park

The County of Westchester completed restoration of the largest grassland habitat in the Hudson River corridor. The grassland sits atop the former landfill at Croton Point Park. The project was paid for with state funding to the Soil and Water Conservation District. More than 85 acres of grassland has been restored under the three-year-long project. The grassland provides a critically important place for ground-nesting and migratory birds, including songbirds and raptors, to find shelter, build a home, feed and rest throughout the year. Restoration is expected to halt the grassland’s steady decline in habitat value and raise it to its full ecological capabilities by removing less desirable, invasive plants in favor of more ecologically friendly native plants. Please see the District’s 2021 Work Plan for more information.  “Grassland Design & Management Specifications, Croton Point Park, Croton-on-Hudson” (2015), laid the groundwork for the current restoration project.

Edith G. Read Living Shoreline

Edith G. Read Wildlife Sanctuary is located on Long Island Sound and has been subject to decades of severe storms caused erosion and flooding issues along with habitat loss to Westchester County (the “County”) property. In 2024, the County began construction of a natural and nature-based shoreline to improve storm resiliency and provide additional habitat for migratory, marine and terrestrial species, also referred to as a living shoreline. The restoration areas are divided up into two (2) sections that include 4.68 acres of upland dune area, and 4.32 acres of intertidal marsh. For purposes of defining terms, the ‘intertidal marsh’ referenced here is called the Coastal Erosion Hazard Area (CEHA) in the Monitoring Plan. NYSDEC required adherence to Natural Resource Permit Conditions Nos. 14 and 15 (Attachment A), which include long-term plant survival and the submission of annual maintenance and monitoring reports (the “Monitoring Plan”). NYSDEC requires the Natural Resource Permit Conditions be followed for five (5) years post-construction. The County, through its consultant, submitted and received approval for a monitoring plan.

Aquatic Restoration Program:

The Westchester County Department of Planning and Westchester County Soil and Water Conservation District initiated the County’s water resources improvement and management program in 1998, when the first of more than three dozen water resources projects was turned from blueprints to “construction.” A lot was learned from the first stream and wetland restoration projects, and now the program addresses other vitally important considerations, such as general storm water management and flood control, to address both the quality and quantity of storm water runoff. Some 36 natural resources restoration and storm water management projects have been completed or are being planned, designed or constructed. As more resources are restored, water quality will continue to improve and a more diverse community of plants and animals will be established.

Aquatic Restoration Program

Envirothon

The Envirothon idea is simple -- combine the proven concepts of hands-on education with the excitement of good competition and the fun of spending a day outdoors. The result is an effective educational tool that will help our state's schools nurture environmentally aware students as well as meet the immediate need of teaching more about environmental education. Because of its diversity and complexity, environmental science is a mixture of disciplines difficult to integrate. The Westchester County Soil and Water Conservation District is a sponsor and financial supporter of the Envirothon, along with other conservation districts in New York State. Planning staff participates on the day of the event as well as managing the lengthy preparation during the year leading up to the competition.

Soil and Water Conservation District Staff have developed a website to allow schools and volunteers to stay up-to-date on all things related to the Westchester County Regional Envirothon. Find out more here!

Also see our 2025 Westchester Regional Envirothon featured on News 12.

Technical services:

  • Preparing Soil Group Worksheets - worksheet form.
  • Interpreting the USDA-NRCS Soil Survey of Putnam and Westchester Counties
  • Stormwater management and water quality protection, including the New York State Stormwater Management Design Manual and New York State Standards and Specifications for Erosion and Sediment Control
  • Natural resources and ecosystem protection and management
  • Environmental mapping, such as national wetlands inventory, tidal wetlands, coastal erosion hazard areas, flood zone, and historic aerial photographs
  • Analyses of soil content and characteristics may be made through Cornell University’s Soil Health webpage 

 Publications available online:

Model ordinances:

Guidance documents:

Related links:

For more information, please contact Matt Castro, District Manager/Principal Environmental Planner, at (914) 995-4423 or This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.