Want to start a garden or yard project? This Lexington agency can help you cover costs

Perhaps you’ve wanted to plant a backyard vegetable garden, teach your children how to compost or get a rain barrel so you can cut down on water use this summer, but the start-up costs are holding you back.

Enter the Fayette County Conservation District and its Backyard Conservation Program. Each spring, the program offers 50/50 reimbursement up to $200 for costs associated with many common types of backyard projects, from rain gardens to permeable driveways and lawns planted with native grasses.

“Every year we have adjusted and added new practices that are intended to serve as a conservation or environmental benefit or help with sustainability,” Heather Silvanik, director of operations for the Fayette County Conservation District, told the Herald-Leader in an interview.

So how can you get started, and how do you know if your idea is eligible? Here’s what to know.

What sorts of projects are eligible for the reimbursement?

According to Silvanik, common projects include installing a rain barrel or backyard composter. Other participants choose to build raised garden beds to grow vegetables. The program helps cover the cost of buying plants or seeds, mulch, gardening soil or lumber used to build a raised bed in the backyard.

Rain gardens have grown in popularity among the program’s participants, Silvanik said.

“We’ve always had it as a practice, and at first there were one, two people doing it. And then we entered into the double digits,” Silvanik said.

The program continually adds new projects that are eligible for reimbursement. Some of the more recent ones include installing a permeable driveway, building nest boxes and baths for birds and converting lawns to native grasses.

According to Silvanik, on average, 240 people receive reimbursement funds each year. The program’s annual budget as of 2024 stood at $185,000.

How do people apply for the Backyard Conservation Program?

All Fayette County residents — renters and landlords included — are eligible to apply.

Residents can apply through the Fayette County Conservation District’s website, where they’re encouraged to fill out the PDF application and email it to support@kyFCCD.com. Be sure to send along receipts and photographs related to your project.

Even if spots fill up, consider applying to be wait-listed. Silvanik said many people on the wait-list become eligible for reimbursement because a lot of participants don’t use the full $200 reimbursement for their project. There’s often money left over after spots fill up in the early spring.

How did the Backyard Conservation Program get its start?

The program first got started in 2019, but participation really took off in 2020 when residents found themselves spending more at home as the coronavirus pandemic shut down schools and workplaces. Initially, what the FCCD now calls the Backyard Conservation Program started as a pollinator habitat program.

Part of a network of conservation districts in every corner of Kentucky, the Fayette County Conservation District’s staff and elected board members collaborate with other districts, trading ideas and best practices. Its funding comes from a portion of Fayette County property tax revenues.

“Over 75% of our budget goes back into the pockets of taxpayers…either through program support, scholarships, grants, educational opportunities,” Silvanik said. “Our operations, including staff and personnel costs, take up less than 25% of that.”

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