Final report for WPDP23-009
Project Information
Agroecology Commons (AC) serves beginning farmers and agroecological educators working to amplify farming practices that enhance food sovereignty and sustainable farming. Professional development funds will support AC’s and Contra Costa Resouce Conservation District (CCRCD) staff and farm educators to deepen their understanding of sustainable agriculture, and in order to enhance educational programming focused on natural resource management, food production, farmer wellness, and cooperative economic development.
This proposal takes a unique multi-disciplinary and multi-organizational approach by deepening collaboration between the CCRCD and AC, a non-profit community-led organization. AC is composed of agricultural producers and community leaders and is working hand in hand with CCRCD staff to deepen educational/extension support for farmers seeking to enhance sustainable farming practices and affirm agriculture as a viable career choice.
As the principal grant applicant, Agroecology Commons (AC) is recognized as a leader within the local food movement, stewarding 3-acres of their own farm, training beginning farmers through the Bay Area Farmer-to-Farmer Training (BAFFT), facilitating farmer-to-farmer apprenticeships and skillshares, and organizing robust farmer and cooperative market partnerships. Through BAFFT, AC coordinates a network of over 30 educators, farmers, agricultural specialists, scientists, and food sovereignty organizers, who offer modules in their areas of expertise.
In order to strengthen these programs, which have trained over 80 beginning farmers over the last 2 years, the WSARE grant will support program facilitators, farm educators, technical assistance provides through leadership/facilitation training, the development, of course, material/ curriculum content, and professional development opportunities that enhance technical sustainable farming skills
Through carefully curated and farmer-led programming, such as the Bay Area Farmer-to-Farmer Training (BAFFT), we contribute to cultivating a just and equitable food system. Our programs are open to all underserved farmers and focus on farmers who are Queer, Trans, Black, Indigenous, multiracial, and/or people of color (QTBIMPOC).
Objective 1: Increase skills and technical knowledge of coordinating and executing an educational incubator farm and apprenticeship program for beginning farmers by providing professional development to AC staff through the National Farm Incubator Training Initiative (NIFTI).
Objective 2: Support the ongoing development and expansion of Agroecology Commons’ on-farm apprenticeship program through curriculum module development, and one-on-one farm mentor training for host farms.
Objective 3: Train the trainers to provide leadership, facilitation, and technical training for a network of farm educators and AC staff who currently host the Bay Area Farmer-to-Farmer Training (BAFFT) and practice the campesino-a-campesino methodology in order to strengthen community-based agroecological learning in the Bay Area.
Objective 4: Support curriculum and course material development for the Bay Area Farmer-to-Farmer Training (BAFFT) which provides beginning farmers with comprehensive on-farm vocational training, a network of farm mentors, and interactive online coursework.
Objective 5: Increase AC Staff’s ag professionals’ sustainable agriculture knowledge around beekeeping by effectively being able to communicate the importance of honey bees and other pollinators within educational programming in order to serve as mentors for other beginning beekeepers.
Objective 6: Enhance the business development module of the Bay Area Farmer-to-Farmer training by having AC staff/ farmers participate in professional development that supports training farmers in marketing plans, crop planning, budgeting, and other elements of creating a cohesive farm business plan.
Objective 7: Provide funding for four CCRCD Technical Assistance Providers to attend 3-6 workshops, courses, or trainings across the grant period on related culturally relevant sustainable agriculture.
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Milestone: Participate in National Farmer Field Day Training Participants: AC Staff Outcome: Increase skills and technical knowledge of coordinating and executing an educational incubator farm for beginning farmers and apprenticeship program. |
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Milestone: Work with host farm apprentice sites to develop individualized farm apprenticeship programming Participants: AC and Host Farm Apprenticeship Sites Outcome: Learning syllabus development including; technical farm skills learning checklist, community agreement development, farm apprenticeship evaluation process, and post-apprenticeship pathways. Develop an individualized training plan for 5-9 beginning farmers participating in the apprenticeship training program. |
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Milestone: Develop and enhance course curriculum and materials for BAFFT Participants: AC staff and BAFFT core educators Outcome: Increased resources available to participants on our online learning platform. |
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Milestone: Partake in hive management professional development courses Participants: AC Staff Outcome: Enhance educational beekeeping module for participants of BAFFT and Farmer-to-Farmer Skillshares |
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Milestone: Partake in farm business model training as part of professional development Participants: AC Staff Outcome: Enhance farm business module of BAFFT program and support 6 beginning farmers with drafting a comprehensive business plan |
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Milestone: CCRCD technical assistance providers partake in 3-6 culturally relevant sustainable agriculture training across grant period Participants: CCRCD Outcome: Expand professional development opportunities for TAP’s in order for them to be more equipped to offer culturally relevant sustainable agricultural extension services. |
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Milestone: Conduct evaluations for each project outcome Participants: AC & CCRCD Staff Outcome: Identify project success and shortcomings |
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Cooperators
- - Producer (Educator)
- (Educator)
- (Educator)
- (Educator)
Education
Agroecology Commons' educational approach is a blend of hands-on training, collaborative learning, and innovative use of digital platforms, all aimed at empowering a new generation of farmers in agroecology. This model educates and builds a community of informed, skilled, and resourceful agricultural professionals.
Agroecology Commons implements this approach through its BAFFT and Farmer Mobilization initiatives, centered on collaborative and community-centric learning. At the heart of this approach is the engagement of multiple stakeholders - a network comprising agencies, organizations, businesses, and individuals, all aligned in their values and dedicated to the support of beginning farmers. Experienced farmers bring invaluable insights as hosts, educators, partners, and mentors, facilitating farmer-to-farmer training, skillshares, and online workshops, leveraging the collective wisdom of curriculum partners to enrich the learning experience for beginning and limited-resource farmers.
A key feature of this educational model is the utilization of the Farmer Campus, an online learning platform. This platform is a repository of diverse educational resources catering to the varied needs of learners. By incorporating modern teaching tools like videos, infographics, podcasts, tip sheets, and social media content, the program ensures that the learning material is comprehensive and accessible, especially to those without traditional academic backgrounds in agroecological farming. In addition to these resources, the project also focuses on developing educational products. These include ongoing curricula for the Bay Area Farmer-to-Farmer Training Program and a curated selection of online resources like podcasts, videos, and articles. Furthermore, materials enhance the educational offerings at farm apprenticeship host sites, including skills checklists, apprenticeship evaluation forms, and learning syllabi.
The approach also encompasses in-person training and networking opportunities, such as participation in the National Farm School Field Day training and on-farm sustainable beekeeping workshops. Additionally, developing an incubator farm guide is underway, covering topics like land management best practices, natural resource management, and conflict resolution protocols. Farm business development training enables participants to draft comprehensive business plans, including marketing strategies, crop plans, and budgets. Moreover, the program provides professional development opportunities for staff, including teach-ins and skill-sharing sessions.
Education & Outreach Initiatives
Objective 1: Increase skills and technical knowledge of coordinating and executing an educational incubator farm and apprenticeship program for beginning farmers by providing professional development to AC staff through the National Farm Incubator Training Initiative (NIFTI).
AC Co-DirectorLazzlo completed the NIFTI Farm Business training in early 2025.
AC Co-Directors Brooke and Jeneba attended NIFTI conference in 2025, joining other farmer trainers and incubator programs from across the U.S. and Canada. They participated in workshops, network gatherings, and peer-to-peer learning sessions while also exploring local apprenticeship and incubator farms.
After completing the NIFTI Farm Business training, Lazzlo then developed a business plan for the incubator farm itself, putting into practice what they had just learned and also keeping it as a working model for incubatee farmers.
Attending the 2025 NIFTI conference gave us great fodder for improving ideas and resources for our Apprenticeship program particularly. We captured the following ideas that we plan to implement once we are able to restart our Apprenticeship program, planned for 2027:
- Host Train the Trainers potentially in Feb and Jan after matches have been made
- Host bi-monthly check-ins with farmer mentors and apprentices
- During check-ins ask the farm mentor to give a roadmap of what the next two months will look like for the apprentice
- Pay farmers to be a part of the Train-the-Trainers day
- Ask farmers who have partaken in the apprenticeship program to share about their previous experiences, positive aspects/challenges
- Topics for Train-the-Trainers Day:
- Communication
- Delegation and Education
- Giving and Receiving Feedback
- Worker/Apprentice Perspectives
- Give tangible tools
- Provide scenarios
- Peer-to-Peer Training
- Clearly define what a program mentor is vs a farm mentor
- Create space for weekly check-ins with farmers' mentors and apprentices and provide a question guide
- What are alternative options or structures if farmers don't have workers compensation insurance?
- Could a temp agent issue the payments?
- Final apprenticeship presentation/ evaluations/ celebration/dinner
- Final presentations are 5 minutes long and could be anything to explaining the clothes you wear on the farm to teaching a skill you learned like Korean natural farming.
- Apprenticeship and mentorship assessments that both the farm mentor and apprentice fill out
- Make core competency form relevant to each farm and customized by farm mentor
- More opportunities for hosts to connect with each other to share a meal, skills, and experiences
- More opportunities for the apprentices to connect each other to share a meal, skills, and experiences
- More opportunities for hosts and apprentices to connect each other to share a meal, skills, and experiences
We are also excited by the connection we made at the conference with Pie Ranch Co-Director Leonard Diggs. Diggs heads the Cascade Ranch incubator program at South Bay area-based Pie Ranch. Though we are all in the Bay Area, it’s a large region and folks are busy so this dedicated conference time finally provided us a substantive opportunity to network with our peers.
Overall objective assessment
Each of our Co-Directors was able to attend at least one of the NIFTI conferences during this project duration. That exposure to people, ideas, and resources has been deeply meaningful and has resulted in immediate and planned improvements to both our Apprenticeship program and our Incubator Farm. Additionally, two out of our 4 Co-Directors completed the NIFTI business course which immediately materially benefited our Incubator program and our Bay Area Farmer to Farmer Training (BAFFT) program and through those, dozens of beginning regional farmers.
Objective 2: Support the ongoing development and expansion of Agroecology Commons’ on-farm apprenticeship program through curriculum module development, and one-on-one farm mentor training for host farms.
In 2025, we organized a record 17 apprentices through our AC Farm Apprenticeship program! That growth was enabled by increased capacity of AC and our farm mentors. This meant a lot of farm visits to both apprentices and farm mentors from AC Collective members and we also organized skillshares and networking events that all apprentices could access without additional cost.
We invested in a much more deliberate and thorough farmer mentor training/orientation in the spring of 2025, developing a guidebook for mentors to keep as a reference throughout the year. This included requiring them to acknowledge community agreements, equitable and inclusive approaches, and logistical commitments. Topics covered included:
- Communication Training
- Delegation and Education
- Giving and Receiving Feedback
- Worker/Apprentice Perspectives
- Creating tangible learning tools
- Provide scenarios for farm mentor learning
- Peer-to-Peer Training and reflections from past farm mentors
- Roles and Expectations conversation
- On-farm Safety
- Creating Community Agreements
- Creating horizontal learning spaces and the campesino-a-campesino methodology
- Conflict Resolution Support
- Farm mentors all attended spring (2025) orientation and received “Guidebook for Apprenticeship Farm Mentor 2025.” Other key orientation materials that were revised and/or developed in 2025 for mentors and apprentices included:
- Apprenticeship On-Farm Learning Activity Guide 2025
- Guidebook for Farmer Mobilization Apprentices 2025
- Apprentice Orientation Reflection Questions:
- We had 17 apprentices complete 250hr or 500hr apprenticeships and graduate by December 2025 or in early 2026.
- Apprentices were hosted across 9 Bay Area farms this year.
- Each had individualized learning plans collaboratively developed with their farm mentors
- Both apprentices and farm mentors took advantage of proffered learning stipends with a total of 19 stipends requested (and received) to help defray costs of specialized books, courses, conferences, and learning visits to agroecological sister farms.
- In December 2025, we hosted a graduate celebration for apprentices, inviting all mentor partners as well. A highlight of the graduation celebration were the mini farmer-to-farmer skillshare led by the apprentices themselves. Each graduate taught a short workshop, resulting in a rich and inspiring exchange of knowledge. Topics ranged from how to address excess phosphorus in soil, grafting, to making traditional Laotian chili paste, setting gopher traps, crafting herbal medicines, and so much more. These skillshares reflected the depth, creativity, and lived experience each apprentice brought to the program.
Overall objective assessment
With increased internal AC capacity, we were able to carefully evaluate the experiences of both Apprentices and their farm mentors by 2025. Focusing on the mentors, per the focus of this project grant, we can report that all 7 (out of 9) mentors who responded to our evaluation survey in December 2025 reported a good to excellent experience as a mentor. While they did share some feedback about potential improvements in the use of the learning plans, accessibility & inclusion, and safety & risk management, the suggestions were tweaks, not overhauls or major changes. In other words, they felt prepared to be mentors by AC and assessed their success as mentors with deserved pride. (Through the separate apprentice evaluations, we can corroborate that the apprentices, by and large, deemed the farm mentors to deserve their feelings of success!). Here are some testimonials of highlight memories:
- Every time [Apprentice A] came she would lament that she forgot her binoculars (there is a huge tree where a family of hawks live, next to the farm). She finally brought them at the very end. I don't know why, it was just a delightful and funny reoccurrence. I also really loved hearing about her family. Her mom used to be a librarian (shero!!) and I'm excited she wants to farm with her sister, and [Apprentice A] became an aunt this year...they just sound like a special family.
- Ah there are many. My apprentice and I love to talk about food. Not just crops, but food. My partner came out to the farm to cook BLTs for us on harvest day where my parents are there, too. It was officially tomato season, which means officially BLT season. My apprentice doesn't like tomatoes and was embarrassed to say, but they actually kind of liked one of the varieties I grew. This was such a nice lunch that my apprentice wanted to cook for us as well so we had another harvest break lunch where they and their partner cooked one of their favorite meals at the farm. Nothing makes me happier than eating, except eating with other people who feel the same way, but even better eating things they are proud of and want to share.
- A favorite moment from the apprenticeship season was our end-of-season dinner, where we gathered to share a meal made with food grown in the garden. Sitting together after months of working the land felt deeply grounding. The dinner marked not just the close of a season, but the relationships built through shared labor, care, and joy, reminding me that apprenticeship is as much about community and nourishment as it is about farming skills.
- Going in on the soil remediation project with [Apprentice B] meant a lot to me. It felt like an important turning point in our journey with the land, learning what the soil needs, balancing prior mistakes, and in the midst of it, learning how to take care of our farmers in a new way. [Apprentice B] was a thoughtful and practical thought partner on that journey, and it felt good to have built that kind of trust over a few short months. I think it has everything to do with the groundwork that you all have done through the BAFFT program!
- One of my favorite moments is capturing their facial expression or body language as they tried some fruits for the first time. It is always great to hear and see peoples first 2 minutes with a fruit they have never tasted before.
While 2025 was our first year to more rigorously collect evaluation data from both Apprentices and Mentors, we can report that this objective has been achieved with great success over the years. We see it in our numbers, not just in our enrollees but our graduates, and also in the number of recurrent and new partner mentors. We look forward to resuming our Apprenticeship program in 2027 with renewed vigor and improvements for apprentices and mentors.
Objective 3: Train the trainers to provide leadership, facilitation, and technical training for a network of farm educators and AC staff who currently host the Bay Area Farmer-to-Farmer Training (BAFFT) and practice the campesino-a-campesino methodology (via skillshares) in order to strengthen community-based agroecological learning in the Bay Area.
Onsite at AC’s farm in El Sobrante, in 2025, we focused on implementing our technical training to benefit both BAFFT and Skillshare programs. Brooke and Lazzlo had completed a compost certification program and with that knowledge, built composting system on our demonstration farm: a 3-bin system with vermicompost capacity. We also completed a rainwater catchment system in August 2025 after receiving rainwater catchment technical assistance from an expert consultant off and on from November 2024-November 2025.
We conduct BAFFT every other year so 2025 was an ‘off’ year. While we did host three skillshares in 2025, we didn’t do any targeted train-the-trainer activities for skillshare co-organizers and partners.
However, we did help organize and participate in the Berkeley-based, on-farm “Radical Agroecology Dinner & Discussion” (RADD) group with farm partners and alumni, which occurred every month beginning in January 2025 between 6-9pm. These gatherings involved teach-in’s and discussions on different topics in agroecology and professional development opportunities with research and peer-led education, including topics on land access and reform, water rights, urban agriculture, soil fertility, and fundraising. We supported these monthly convenings through outreach to our network, resource sharing, feedback sessions, and we participated every month in these three-hour gatherings.
- AC now has a functioning vermicompost system and a rainwater catchment system on our demonstration farm, two key components of an agroecological farming ecosystem that are in high demand for small-scale agroecological farmers in the Bay Area.
- Continued cultivation of fellow ‘trainer’ network in our region, from researchers to farmers to justice activists to ag-business experts
Overall objective assessment
Over the course of this project period, we have led, organized, and/or supported multiple opportunities to train our (fellow) trainers in ways that materially benefit both the Bay Area Farmer-to-Farmer Training (BAFFT) curriculum-based program and our Skillshare programming where we use immersive campesino-a-campesino methodology on all sorts of topics. Both BAFFT and Skillshares remain very popular offerings, a testament to both the strength of our network and the efficacy of our ‘trainers,’ internal and external to the AC Collective.
Objective 4: Support curriculum and course material development for the Bay Area Farmer-to-Farmer Training (BAFFT) which provides beginning farmers with comprehensive on-farm vocational training, a network of farm mentors, and interactive online coursework.
Brooke took the (online) UVM course: “ Agroecology, Food Sovereignty, And Social Movements” in spring 2025. This course helped develop skills for BAFFT and our educational programming by: 1) Apply critical social, cultural and political theory to the change and evolution of food systems 2) Describe the roots of agroecology and food sovereignty in indigenous cosmovisions, revolutionary movements and the dialogues among ways of knowing 3)Reflect on trajectories of food system change, based on real-world examples from the US and across the world 4) Contribute to collective and strategic decision-making processes connected to agroecology. Many ideas came out of this course! See below.
In collaboration with Real Food Media and Farmer Campus, we developed an agroecology principles coloring book as part of our curriculum with the intention of having an interactive and accessible primer that people can take with them to complement the online virtual learning materials.
- Ideas for future BAFFT course development and equitable recruitment (stemming from Brooke’s spring 2025 professional development coursework):
- Video applications
- Review applications down to 60 or so and then do short half-hour interviews
- Include attendance policy in the welcome packet
- Potential Guest Speaker for Indigenous Foodways Jeff Kiyoshk Walpole Island Unceded First Nation- Canada Food as Medicine
- Shell analysis tool
- Lines of Wisdom and Accountability Activity
- Invite The Food Sovereignty Lab Cutcha Risling Baldy and Kaitlin Reed to teach as part of the Indigenous Foodways module
- “Agroecology is for Everyone” coloring book for all BAFFT participants and possibly distribution at future in-person skillshares
Overall objective assessment
We now have had 125 people complete our nine-month Bay Area Farmer to Farmer Training (BAFFT) journey! This journey is no small feat and takes considerable commitment. The fact that we’ve retained the majority of enrollees from year-to-year and have now developed 19 course modules is a testament to this objective’s success. We have a robust network of farm and ag business mentors/educators within our diverse socio-ecological Bay Area region.
Our farmer peers include: Feral Heart Farm, Scott Family Farm, Red H Farm, Yagi Sisters Farm, Soul Flower Farm, Cultural Roots Nursery, Ujamaa Farmers Collective, Gill Tract Farm, Berkeley Basket CSA, Raised Roots Farm, Goat Wild Collective, Three Feathers Farm, Catalán Family Farm.
Our regional partners include: Acta Non-Verba, Agroecology Research-Action Collective, Community Alliance With Family Farmers, Cuban-US Agroecology Network, Farms to Grow, Mandela Grocery Cooperative, UC Berkeley Agroecology Lab, Urban Tilth, Feed Black Futures, Planting Justice, United Farmworkers, Saba Groceries, Contra Costa Resources Conservation District, Stop Waste, Freedom Community Clinic, Veggielution, Farm Service Agency, Freedom Community Clinic.
Objective 5: Increase AC Staff’s ag professionals’ sustainable agriculture knowledge around beekeeping by effectively being able to communicate the importance of honey bees and other pollinators within educational programming in order to serve as mentors for other beginning beekeepers.
In 2025, our lead beekeeper Brooke mostly focused on implementing what she had learned the previous two years though did take one refresher course: “Biomimicry Beekeeping: Nature-Inspired Solutions for Thriving Bee Communities.”
We did partner with Laney College carpentry class to train folks on basic carpentry and experiential learning to construct a honey hut on our demonstration, incubator farm for better honey processing.
Implementing skills and approaches gleaned from recent training, Brooke set up a new kind of hive system in 2025. We are continuing to care for our pollinator hedgerows to encourage more native bee colonies. We are collaborating with Planting Justice to design an orchard to offer even more nourishment for the various bee colonies.
Overall objective assessment
We now have functioning hives on our demonstration farm and experience teaching and inspiring others on beekeeping. Beekeeping remains a popular subject for agroecological farmers in our region and pollinator services even more so. While our main beekeeper Brooke has since moved on (in early 2026) from AC, we have the institutional resources and a regional network to be able to offer our support to beginning farmers in their pollinator and beekeeping development.
Objective 6: Enhance the business development module of the Bay Area Farmer-to-Farmer (BAFFT) training by having AC staff/ farmers participate in professional development that supports training farmers in marketing plans, crop planning, budgeting, and other elements of creating a cohesive farm business plan.
Again, since 2025 was an off-year for BAFFT, we mainly implemented the past two years of dedicated learning and training around business plan development for farmers. We focused on building out the curriculum and materials and particularly worked on the following modules:
- Agroecology principles,
- cooperative principles, and
- financial literacy for farmers.
We developed another workbook for BAFFT in 2025, this one focused on financial literacy.
Overall objective assessment
We are much more confident in our collective ability to support beginning farmers in their creation of a cohesive and holistic farm business plan that matches their needs and ethos. This is now a tested part of our BAFFT curriculum and has already benefited dozens of beginning farmers.
Objective 7: Provide funding for four CCRCD Technical Assistance Providers to attend 3-6 workshops, courses, or trainings across the grant period on related culturally relevant sustainable agriculture.
Contra Costa Resource Conservation District (CCRCD) used Western SARE Professional Development Grant funding to register and attend relevant technical assistance training to increase capacity amongst CCRCD Agricultural Technical Assistance Staff.
In 2025, CCRCD Staff attended the following trainings:
- Regenerative Ranching 101 - The last three sessions of an 8-part Regenerative Ranching 101 series focused onLand Management in a Changing Climate at Open Field Farm in Petaluma (01/15/25),Monitoring at Stemple Creek Ranch in Tomales Bay, CA (02/12/25), and Lease Structure,Technical and Financial Assistance at TomKat Ranch in Pescadero (03/12/25).
- ArcGIS Online Mapping Training - Throughout these various ArcGIS Online Mapping Training modules I worked on completing, I learned about various tools I can use on ArcGIS Online to help me better visualize the work I am doing out in the field with CCRCD. Two courses I completed during these multiple training dates were GIS for Climate Action and Going Places with Spatial Analysis.
- Native FEWS Talk Story Series - This Native Food, Energy, and Water Systems virtual session focused on K-12 Curriculum Development that centers tribal educational values and uplifting the techniques used in indigenous pedagogy. This was a helpful session for me to attend as some of the work I do at the RCD works with tribal communities across Contra Costa County. I wanted to learn more about implementing good practices for teaching STEM in a way that honors indigenous teaching frameworks.
- UCANR Organic Seminar Series - In this webinar, Jiana Choi, a researcher for UCANR, taught the participants about Korean Natural Farming practices and the unique ways these methods enhance sustainable agriculture outcomes. Organic waste and plant by-products are repurposed and fermented. The presence of indigenous microorganisms along with the fermented components helps improve soil nutrient quality and crop health as an eco-friendly alternative to chemical fertilizers and pesticides.
- 2025 Organic Seminar Series - In this webinar, Dr. John Clark Lagarias shared insights from his photoreceptor research at UC Davis.
- Edible Landscapes Workshop- The one-day workshop was designed to help home gardeners and farmers enhance their edible landscapes, boost crop yields, explore creative growing techniques for limited spaces, and gain new agricultural and business skills.
- Avocado Tree Care Workshop - This workshop was designed to help people learn how to care for and grow avocados successfully in the Bay Area!
- Resilient Community Food Systems Conference - The event brought together students, scholars, activists, and practitioners to explore how sustainable practices and intergenerational wisdom can create lasting change in food systems.
- Central Coast Rangeland Coalition Meeting - The Spring 2025 Rangeland Coalition meeting was titled The Conservation and Control of CA Ground Squirrels: A Valued Species and Pest on Rangelands and was hosted at Martial Cottle Park in San Jose, CA.
- FLAME Meeting Spring 2025 - I attended the fifth meeting of the Fire-resilient Lands Alliance (for the Management of Everything) working group, known as FLAME! at Anthony Chabot Regional Park on Friday, April 18, 2025. This regional working group aims to connect professionals in the Greater Nine-County San Francisco Bay Area (and some adjacent) who delve in fire and natural resource management. I met technical service providers from different parts of the Bay Area and it was a great networking opportunity to learn more about what other agencies and organizations are doing across the diverse Bay Area landscape to make the region a safer place for everyone including the non-human species who reside here too.
- Agroecology Commons Field Day - During this free Field Day, participants learned about soil health being an important part of land sovereignty and wellbeing. This workshop taught us practical solid and liquid compost-based strategies for feeding and building up the soil nutrients for improving the microbial health and preparing the ground for planting with locally sourced ingredients.
- Implications of California’s Fire History for Fire Relations - A [Living with Wildfire] webinar series session, Dr. Tony-Marks Block, Assistant Professor of Anthropology, Geography, and Environmental Studies at CSU East Bay, discusses the potential and co-benefits that the revitalization of cultural burning can bring to California after years of fire suppression across the State. This was a helpful webinar to attend as CCRCD has been working on programs with local tribes to help re-introduce cultural burning throughout the landscape.
- Women in Ranching Training - The American Farm Bureau Federation put on a webinar as part of their Women’s Leadership Program, with Dr. Ronda Hamm as this session’s featured speaker.
- California Tiger Salamander Training- Self-paced training on the California Tiger Salamander species where I learned technical assistance skills to be able to identify and monitor this special status species out in the rangelands I frequently work in throughout Contra Costa County.
- Agriculture and Ag Tech USDA Webinar- The webinar is part of the USDA Southwest Regional Food Business Center’s quarterly webinar series, where Center partners share best practices and innovative projects on essential topics related to business development and capacity assistance for local producers, farmers, and ranchers. Speakers discussed their organization’s role in bridging the innovation gap for small and mid-sized farmers and food business, and their role in equitable development of agriculture technologies.
- Rainwater Harvesting: A Western Water Resilience Workshop- Farmers Michelle Week (Good Rain Farm) and Nate Johnson (Sunbow Produce) shared their experiences designing and using rainwater harvesting systems to build resilience. This session highlighted practical strategies and lessons learned from growers adapting to increasingly unpredictable water access.
- Western Water Rights 101: A Western Water Resilience- Amanda Cronin from (AMP Insights), helped break down water rights fundamentals across WA, OR, and CA for western ag advisors. They delved into practical tools to support growers with questions like: Do I have a water right—and how can I find out? What can I legally use water for, and how much? What if I don’t have water right? Is it realistic to apply for a new water right?
- Living with Wildfire Webinar Series - We attended two webinar sessions in the Living with Wildfire Webinar Series. On July 9, 2025 we attended CCRCD Living with Wildfire Webinar Series: Returning Good Fire to Mount Diablo State Park and on September 10, 2025 we attended Restoring Our Relationship with Fire: Ohlone-Led Stewardship at Russell and CSU East Bay.
- The Watershed Project Symposium - During The Watershed Project’s (TWP) – Water Quality Monitoring (WQM) Symposium on 07/11, multiple stakeholders across the Bay Area, including various agencies and community watershed groups, gathered in Walnut Creek to discuss water quality and health throughout our local creeks and waterways. The Symposium was a mix of presentations and interactive workshopping in groups to improve our technical prowess in community science watershed monitoring.
- Land Access and Land Capital Workshop - The American Farmland Trust (AFT), the USDA Farm Service Agency (FSA), U.S. Small Business Administration (SBA), and the USDA Office of Partnerships & Public Engagement (OPPE) hosted this workshop that covered information on USDA FSA and SBA loans and the following topics:
- Buying land
- Different terms and requirements
- Guidance on secure financing to purchase land
- Details on different types of land loans
- Eligibility criteria
- Application processes
- Strategies to access capital for land acquisition.
- Fruit Tree Webinar- UC Master Gardeners of Yolo County hosted a webinar on fruit tree care and how to grow strong, productive trees.
- Invasives Upcycling Conference - A virtual event highlighting how creativity and environmental stewardship can intersect to solve pressing ecological challenges caused by invasive species. Speakers from all over shared stories of how tapping into their ancestral knowledge as well as modern innovation can allow mutually beneficial outcomes
During this project period, various members of the CCRCD Agricultural TA staff attended 22 practical information and skills-building conferences and workshops, supported in part or entirely by this grant. All of them were selected to round out our team’s acumen or take us to another level of expertise that we can use when providing direct technical assistance to our diverse urban and rural growers and land stewards.
Overall objective assessment
Over the course of the entire project, we sent 5 individuals to various relevant courses, workshops, and conferences. This was one more staff person who benefited than originally intended! There were a number ranging from full-blown, multi-day conferences to much smaller single-day events to online webinars. CCRCD was able to use time and funding strategically to make the impact of this grant stretch far beyond original expectations benefiting more staff and covering many, many more topics and skills. The majority of staff that attended these trainings were Nat Gaffney (Urban Ag/Small Farms Coordinator) and Genna Fudin (Livestock and Rangelands Coordinators) as well as a few from Zoë Fung (Wildfire Resilience Coordinator). All told, these individuals are building up their programs from the beginning, so these trainings/workshops/conferences have been very useful for them to get on the ground, see how other programs are shaped, and take back ideas to grow and support farmers and ranchers here.
According to Ben Weise, the Agriculture Program Director, “These trainings absolutely equipped my staff to provide equitable technical assistance to local underserved farmers and ranchers. I'm counting 38 trainings and conferences. In all likelihood, we'd have been lucky to attend even a quarter of those without the support of this grant. The events attended were a mix of culturally-relevant trainings and technical knowledge trainings so that we improved both the ‘how’ of technical assistance and the ‘what’.”