Kelsey Fenn was selected to receive a Western SARE Graduate Research and Education grant ($29,984) funding her project titled ‘Physical Soil Health and Water Storage Dynamics of a Novel, Perennial Cover Crop in California Almond Orchards’ under the advisory of Dr. Mallika Nocco and Dr. Cristina Lazcano. Her project partners with almond growers in the Central Valley to address emerging changes to structural soil properties and soil carbon pools from a perennial cover crop. This work aims to contribute to knowledge on soil health and water dynamics of perennial cover crops in semi arid, irrigated cropping systems of California. Funding will be used to achieve research objectives and create multi-media outreach materials to communicate findings to both the scientific and grower communities.