Reflections from an SSC Fellow

May 25, 2026

By Manpreet Singh, Public Education Coordinator Fellow

Manpreet joined SuSol in February as our Public Education Coordinator Fellow through the Sustainability Service Corps. Here, she shares about her experience. It has been such a positive experience for the organization that we are honored to be a host site again this year for the September 2026-July 2027 Fellowship. 

Are you interested in bringing change while growing as a sustainability leader? Learn more and apply here: https://www.sustainabilityservicecorps.org/fellowships

Manpreet works alongside community members at the Prosperity Park resilient garden installation in Suisun City

When I joined Sustainable Solano as a Sustainability Services Corp (SSC) Fellow, I hadn’t fully anticipated how deeply fulfilling this work would be, both personally and professionally. 

During my graduate program at Boston University, I became passionate about addressing the intersection of climate change and social vulnerabilities. As I was navigating career goals and potential pathways for public service, I was driven to take climate action that addresses environmental injustices, empowers communities to speak up and take action, and plant the seeds for systemic change for regenerative, just and resilient communities.  

I was drawn to join the AmeriCorps Fellow Program as a 2026 SSC Fellow due to their mission to support community-based climate change solutions. As Sustainable Solano’s Public Education Coordinator Fellow,I not only get to actualize the organization’s mission to build an ecologically regenerative, economically and socially just world through programs that empower communities to take climate action, but I also get to serve my community in Solano County where I was born and raised. 

Although it’s only been a few months, I’ve had the opportunity to support a range of work that resonates with my core values and goals — particularly focusing on community-led localized action and addressing urgent and current issues impacting Solano County. Some key projects that I’ve supported include

  1. Drafting the Rio Vista Community Air Quality Action Plan, a strategic document that centers community voices at the forefront of city decisions that affect air quality and resiliency.
  2. Collaborating with community members and local government representatives to assess sea level risks in Solano County, raise awareness of sea level rise and how it can impact environmental justice and frontline communities throughout Solano County, and ensure that community input is heard and implemented in the development of a Regional Shoreline Action Plan as part of the Bayshore Resiliency Project
  3.  Developing the vision for a new program focused on a just transition in Benicia and Vallejo to set the stage for the shift away from a fossil fuel-based economy to a regenerative economy through youth and community empowerment, education, and workforce development.
Manpreet (center) conducts community asset mapping for flood resilience along with Vallejo Environmental Leadership Fellowship interns at the Vallejo Farmers Market
Setting up for tabling at Fairfield-Suisun Sewer District’s 75th anniversary event

Reflecting on my work over the past months, the moments I found most fulfilling were when I was engaging with people and the environment. I’m supporting community-engaged adaptation planning that puts community members’ voices at the forefront of addressing critical issues — a mission that I am passionate about pursuing.

At tabling events, workshops and garden installations, I’m not just sharing my knowledge, but I’m also listening and learning from community member’s lived experiences. Additionally, supporting classes for high schoolers in the Youth Air Protectors and Vallejo Environmental Leadership Fellows programs gives me the opportunity to connect with youth leaders and help shape the next generation of sustainability leaders. Actively engaging with residents and government leaders has provided me with pathways to pursue deeper connections within my community and help me hone my role as someone who can help my community grow.

A key goal of my going into this fellowship was to grow both professionally and personally. This means strengthening my policy analysis skills, communication skills, and confidence so that I can be the leader that I want to be. Sustainable Solano and SSC are actively making efforts to help me grow by shaping opportunities that align with my goals and providing mentorship that acts as the cornerstone of my career development.

At Sustainable Solano, I’m part of a team dedicated to empowering residents to take action at home and within their communities to address critical climate and environmental issues. This role has proven to be much more than just a job; it’s providing unexpected opportunities to make a real difference and grow. I‘m driven to leverage my experience as an SSC Fellow to champion community-driven policy in my public service career and ensure that community voices are central to policy development.

I encourage anyone interested in taking climate action through building systemic change and collaboration with communities to apply to serve as an SSC Fellow with Sustainable Solano.

Please feel free to reach out and connect with me on LinkedIn if you want to learn more or have any questions!

Doing Good: Bless’d Blossom

May 25, 2026

By Sustainable Solano

Bless’d Blossom owner Hannah Hartley inspects trellised cucumbers / Photo credit: Lan Ngo

Hannah Hartley’s face lights up as she gestures at the trees and soil around her and talks about regenerative farming, growing, and sharing the harvest and love of the Earth with her community.

“It’s a perfect design. From the soil community to the local community,” she said.

Hannah runs Bless’d Blossom, a regenerative market garden now in its third year on 1 acre she leases at Be Love Farm in Vacaville. The business brings together her love of farming, of growing healthy, nutrient dense, novel produce, and educating and serving others. It is a reflection of the connection she wants to have with the health of the soil and stewarding its care for the future while feeding people.

“For me, farming has always been a lifestyle — having the passion to cultivate garden veggies, and to pick them fresh at the utmost ripest moment for those around me and myself have been a cornerstone of my life,” she said. “It has naturally evolved into my career.”

Sustainable Solano is naming Bless’d Blossom as the recipient of our 2026 Doing Good business award. Hannah’s commitment to Earth Care and community makes her stand out. As does her beautiful heirloom produce and edible blooms.

Hannah specializes in greenhouse growing — pruning plants to grow vigorously, and trellising vertically to make the most of a small space and increase yield. In a 100-foot greenhouse, she can fit eight rows of tomatoes. That equates to more than 600 heirloom tomato plants towering more than 12 feet high. She envisions a future with market gardens built on the foundation of healthy soil in each city, which could revolutionize the food system.

Hannah has sold at farmers markets and farm stands. She also sells directly to many private chefs and local chefs who know the value of local food and seasonal menus, including Backdoor Bistro’s Chef Lindsey Chelini. This season, she has been selling most of her produce to the Food Bank of Contra Costa and Solano. The Food Bank has a grant that helps it pay her organic prices. She picks the food the same day it’s delivered and it stays in Solano County to go to people who need it. That grant has been a huge boon, but it ends in June, and she’s not expecting that it will be available again. Hannah is hoping to have a flower/vegetable Community Supported Agriculture (CSA) subscription soon. She can be found @blessdblossom on Instagram for updates.

Hannah harvests from the Bless’d Blossom market garden / Photo credit: Lan Ngo

Her market garden continues the regenerative farming revolution that Be Love Farm was founded on by original owners Matthew and Terces Engelhart. Regenerative farming places more physical demands on farmers, though once established can yield more through balanced, healthy systems. Hannah notes that weeding by hand is a constant “labor of love” in the regenerative garden. But there are parts that are simple that everyone could be doing as well. Hannah said cover crops are her favorite regenerative practice because they add life back to the soil and help it to flourish.

Hannah met her partner, Terry Ryan, when he was her most loyal customer at the Vacaville farmers market. Their paths aligned, and it turned out he was a regenerative shepherd, tending a flock of St. Croix heritage sheep, grazing them for fire prevention and soil health.

“He is an endless wellspring of inspiration,” Hannah said. “His honorable stewardship of the land and most tender nurturing of the creatures have deepened my understanding in devotion, and in regeneration and animal integration, to such a profound level I did not know was possible.”

At the end of Hannah’s garden season, her partner’s flock grazes on the cover crop, nourishing themselves as well as the garden — and the community of microbial and fungal life under the soil.

As she talks, Hannah returns to community, which has supported her career over the years. A love of gardening and growing started when she was a child in her mother’s backyard garden, lovingly built by her father. The setting allowed both plants and young Hannah to flourish. Her mother instilled a lasting love of nature, while her father encouraged her that any dream was possible if she put her heart and soul into it.

She said her older brother, Holden, instilled in her “the strength to persevere” mentally and physically. She didn’t realize just how much she would need that fortitude: on a midsummer day trellising up another tomato in the 110-degree greenhouse, or going another week of working nonstop during the busiest parts of the season.

And she has Jon, a friend whom she calls her “regenerative farm angel”, who volunteers to help her and offers encouraging enthusiasm on the hardest of work days and guidance on regenerative farming.

Bless’d Blossom greenhouse gardening / Photo credit: Lan Ngo

When she first approached Be Love Farm about leasing an acre, owners Rachelle and Loren Ditmore encouraged her to grow not out of necessity, but out of love. The Ditmores have since moved, but Hannah keeps that connection. She is building a regenerative flower farm in Yuba City, where she will grow flowers for Rachelle’s nonprofit, “City of Refuge,” a shelter providing housing and services for women and children.

She hopes these women can find peaceful restoration amongst the flowers, recognizing “there is still an abundance of beauty, grace and life to be lived. That there is still so much goodness all around us, to be savored and shared.” Hannah has found that divinity of goodness is most accessible in the natural world and most specially in the tender unfolding of the garden; this is her favorite part to share from the garden with her fellow community members.

She continues to have support from Be Love farm’s current owners, Rob and Zina Kirtlink, who have made her feel like a part of the family. Hannah also holds gratitude for her neighbors on Bucktown Lane, who took such tender care in her daunting early years of becoming a small business owner and farming regeneratively.

“They have always consistently shown up to my beginning farm stands and markets, poured so much life-affirming encouragement over me, and they purchased from me (even when I knew they were purchasing too many vegetables to be able to eat themselves!” she said. They check in on her to see what she needs. They are the epitome of what it means to “support your local farmer.”

Hannah grew up in Vacaville, but spent years traveling and overseas, with many of those spent with World Wide Opportunities on Organic Farms (WWOOF), a program where participants learn to farm sustainably and provide their labor in exchange for room and board. She felt called home in recent years, and now is putting down roots.

“The lifestyle of farming calls for you to be grounded,” she said. Planting a tree is a long-term commitment. “These plants demand your devotion.”

She has a degree in childhood education, and she can see a future where she’s pairing that love for learning and teaching with her passion for farming. She has future-focused approach and wants to instill that love, and the joy at watching that first sprout shoulder its way out of the earth, in the next generation of farmers. She feels it is her responsibility to not only share her knowledge and joys from the garden, but to also pass on the soil to the next farmer, in better condition than she found it. That is why she remains committed to regenerative farming.

“It’s so profound to ponder the garden,” she said. “The miracle of the garden and life itself.”

Doing Good

The Doing Good business recognition program spotlights Solano businesses that stand out in their efforts to support people and planet. Sustainable Solano’s work is informed by the practice of permaculture to form healthy ecosystems. The three ethics of permaculture are Earth Care, People Care and Fair Share. In business, this can mean authentic sustainability practices, how companies care for their employees, and giving back to the community. Our program recognizes businesses that excel in any of these three areas.

Know a business that is Doing Good in Solano County? Let us know by submitting a nomination form here.

Buying Local: Community Preferences for Local Food

Apr 29, 2026

By Sustainable Solano

What does “organic” mean to you? How about “local”? How should farmers and other food producers communicate the direct benefits of local food to communities?

These labels and their interpretation have been part of ongoing research around consumer habits when it comes to food purchases, and most recently are part of a study by UC Davis in partnership with Sustainable Solano here in Solano County. This study’s preliminary findings for Solano residents and consumer behavior in general around local food were part of a recent presentation and forum hosted by the Solano Local Food System Alliance.

The Solano Local Food System Alliance is dedicated to supporting an environmentally sustainable, economically viable, socially just and equitable local food system in Solano County. The Alliance brings together a variety of stakeholders, organizations and agencies that work within the local food system, from producers to retailers to food access providers. An important part of the Alliance’s work is education. It holds regular educational forums to learn more about topics that intersect with the local food system.

On April 9, the topic was about what leads consumers to make purchasing decisions around local food. For example, information alone won’t make a difference in buying habits, but experiencing freshness does. So increasing access and opportunities to experience local food can lead to increased purchases.

Alliance member and UC Davis professor Kristin Kiesel and PhD student Hyunjung Lee presented findings from surveys and a retail experiment that show what affects consumer preferences and purchasing decisions in the county. Sustainable Solano will use the research to shape marketing and messaging strategies that can increase community awareness about local food, farmers and food producers.

You can watch the presentation and discussion in the video below. Those interested can fill out this form to request the complete data analysis from the research when it is available.

You can view the slides from the presentation here. Due to some technical issues the slides in the video may be difficult to view. It may be easier for some viewers to open the slides separately while listening to the video presentation.

Building Local Flood Resilience

Apr 29, 2026

By Manpreet Singh, Public Education Coordinator Fellow

There will be an online public workshop on May 20 for those interested in learning and offering feedback on local flood resilience planning, and two upcoming community workgroups — Vallejo on May 30 and Suisun City on June 13. Residents of Vallejo, Fairfield or Suisun City who are interested in being part of a workgroup can fill out this interest form.

As a lifelong resident of Vallejo, I have seen the effects of flooding on the city. Flooding has impacted my and other residents’ ability to walk and drive on local roads, commute via highways, and get access to essential health services and public spaces. My concern about flood risks in Vallejo has only grown in recent years with the harsh impacts felt by local residents and infrastructure from more dramatic King tides that hit the Vallejo shoreline in 2025 and early 2026 and learning that the entirety of White Slough, parts of Mare Island, and portions of South Vallejo are at risk of being flooded by 2050. This affects vulnerable community members, such as the unhoused population and children, and critical infrastructure that many residents use such as essential healthcare services, businesses, homes, and government buildings.

Sea level rise projections from the Bayshore Resiliency Project

As part of the Solano Bayshore Resiliency Project, I’ve had the opportunity to share flood risk projections with community members in Vallejo. Unsurprisingly, residents expressed similar concerns and highlighted additional infrastructure that is of importance to them and that they  want protected from flood risks.

With an extensive coastline, rich ecosystem of estuaries, and low-lying lands along the Bayshore, Solano County is vulnerable to rising sea levels and flooding due to melting ice caps and thermal expansion of the ocean. Flooding can result in widespread damage and impacts can be further intensified as the Bay Area could see up to an additional 10 inches of sea level rise by 2050 and 2 – 7 feet of sea level rise by 2100. The sea knows no boundaries, which is why building resilience through a community-informed plan is key to ensuring that communities and critical infrastructure that are most vulnerable to sea level rise and flooding can adapt and be prepared for the more frequent and destructive flooding events in the coming years. Through the Solano Bayshore Resiliency Project, Solano County residents in cities vulnerable to sea level rise and flooding have the opportunity to share their voices and ensure that community priorities are centered in the planning process of the Regional Shoreline Action Plan.  

Sustainable Solano and Greenbelt Alliance, collaborating partners on the project, are leading efforts to hear from community members to identify assets that are important to them and that they want protected from sea level rise and flooding. In February and March, both organizations led asset mapping activities and flood walks with over 150 residents across Fairfield, Suisun City, and Vallejo — frontline cities that are vulnerable to the impacts of sea level rise and flooding. These activities gathered information on areas important to local residents, bringing community members’ voices in as an important part of the planning to ensure adaptation and protection from sea level rise.

Manpreet (center) conducts community asset mapping for flood resilience along with Vallejo Environmental Leadership Fellowship interns at the Vallejo Farmers Market

Through the asset mapping activity, community members shared insights into where they have seen flooding and identified assets they want protected. This was an activity that I led in Vallejo where I assisted residents in identifying critical infrastructure and community resources such as Interstate 80 and Highway 37, the Vallejo Marina, local libraries, healthcare services, nonprofit organizations, and educational institutions. This data will be analyzed and incorporated into the Shoreline Action Plan as recommendations of what should be protected from sea level rise and flooding. Engaging with my local community provided me with the opportunity to hear about their experiences living in regions vulnerable to flooding and trends and patterns that they have seen over time. Moreover, I heard from residents what they love about their city, such as the diversity and the people, and where they see opportunities for improvement in their respective communities.

Through interactive flood walks, residents of each city had the opportunity to learn more about sea level rise, how it will impact their shorelines, and ways flooding could threaten homes, roadways, community centers, businesses, and natural habitats. During the Vallejo flood walk, residents responded to how development and land use changes have made areas more prone to flooding and how wastewater plants can be impacted by flooding due to being built on the lowest lying parts of the city and aging infrastructure.

Suisun City Flood Walk
Vallejo Flood Walk

Community engagement is critical in addressing sea level rise and flooding impacts in Solano County. Residents have the opportunity to provide insights as the Bayshore Resiliency Project is an ongoing project with the Regional Shoreline Action Plan to be published in December 2026.

Benicia & Vallejo Food Forest Garden Tour Celebrates Its 10th Year!

Apr 2, 2026

By Nicole Newell, Sustainable Landscaping Program Manager

Every community has their magical spots and events that only locals know about. I consider our annual garden tour, this year on April 25, one of those special events. It is the sweetest part of our world — kind people that want to open their yards to inspire, to talk about plants, and to see what grows well in USDA garden zone 9b. This will celebrate our 10th year touring the food forest gardens!

Register here!

The tour has evolved over the years to include other types of gardens for a variety of inspiration. This year’s garden tour showcases a mix of new garden sites, established permaculture food forests, native landscapes, community gardens and more. In partnership with the Willis L Jepson chapter of the California Native Plant Society, we are featuring four dedicated native plant gardens. Join us to meet passionate local gardeners, explore real-life examples of flourishing food forests, and get inspired to grow your own edible paradise.

The day opens at 9 am with Lori Caldwell, a.k.a. “Compost Gal,” presenting on healthy soil at Avant Garden in Benicia. Attendees can pick up the itinerary of participating gardens at Avant in the morning and visit Benicia gardens from 10 am-1 pm and Vallejo gardens from 1-4 pm. For those just able to join for the afternoon, there will be an opportunity to pick up the Vallejo itinerary at Pollinator Pathway on Mare Island from 12-1 pm. You can visit gardens at your own pace on this self-guided tour.

Learn more about the gardens on the tour here!

How It Will Work

You can choose to tour for the whole day or for half a day.
Benicia Demonstration Food Forest Gardens will be open 10 am-1 pm
Vallejo Demonstration Food Forest Gardens will be open 1-4 pm

Register here

Itinerary pickup:

9-11 am: Itineraries will be available at Avant Garden in Benicia (400 First St., Benicia). This itinerary will include all of the demonstration food forest gardens in Benicia (open in the morning) and Vallejo (open in the afternoon).

12-1 pm: Itineraries for the Vallejo garden sites (open in the afternoon) will be available at the Pollinator Pathway garden at the Global Center for Success (1055 Azuar Dr/BLDG 733, Vallejo).

Highlights and What’s New

Every garden is an opportunity to learn about permaculture, native planting, water conservation, and much more. By attending the tour, you will leave with practical knowledge that can transform not just your own garden but also the way you interact with the environment. Here are a few new projects and educational talks that will be highlighted during the garden tour:

Healthy Soil

Compost Gal, Lori Caldwell will open the garden tour at Avant Garden in Benicia with a talk on healthy soil. After the talk she will be available to answer any questions about compost, soil and so much more!

Native Plants

While all the food forest gardens feature native plants, this year we are thrilled to showcase five specialized gardens dedicated to highlighting native species. 3 in Benicia and 1 in Vallejo, each will have a CNPS Docent to answer your native plant questions!

Free Seeds, Plants & DIY Garden Design Templates

Pick up free seeds at Avant Garden & Pollinator Pathway during registration, and grab free veggie starts at our partner location, Vallejo Unity Garden. We will also have DIY Landscape Design templates for both edible and water-efficient gardens. Available while supplies last! 

Plants & Garden Goodies

Plants and garden goodies will be for sale at some of the gardens so bring cash. At Terraza Dominica at St. Patrick-St. Vincent Catholic High School, tomato plants will be for sale for $5. (exact change or credit card/Apple Pay only)

Pollinator Activities & Guides

Join the Vallejo Environmental Leadership Fellowship interns for a fun community day at the Pollinator Pathway Garden! Make seed balls to support local pollinators. Come make a positive impact on our environment alongside passionate local youth. Vallejo People’s Garden will offer guided tours at 1 pm and 2:30 pm.

HOA

Visit this lawn conversion project designed by Michael Wedgley from Soilogical and installed by the Bay Vista Homeowners Association. This project not only serves as an example of environmental stewardship, but also as an inspiring model for HOA communities everywhere. This project will show resilient plants that are adapted to our local climate and require far less water than traditional lawns.

We are still planning so there is more to come …