Sustainable Solano

Dixon Youth Air Protectors Reflect on Program

Mar 2, 2026

SuSol launched our Air Quality program in 2022. The program is centered around Youth Air Protectors — high school students and young adults who learn about air quality challenges that affect their cities and seek ways to educate the community about those challenges and possible solutions while working on hands-on projects. In 2025, we were fortunate to receive funding from the Yolo-Solano Air Quality Management District to bring the Youth Air Protectors program to Dixon. Here are reflections from two students in the program, which will conclude by May.

Dixon Youth Air Protectors speak with community members about air quality, community priorities and locations for new bike racks at a community event in January 2026.

By Layla Booth, Dixon Youth Air Protector

My internship this year has been an eye-opening journey into the world of environmental health, specifically regarding the air we breathe every single day. One of the most impactful parts of my experience was getting directly involved with you, the community. Through conducting surveys and interviewing neighbors about their opinions on our local air quality, I discovered that while many are concerned about pollution, there is a powerful shared desire for a healthier environment. I also had the opportunity to host public events to promote clean air awareness, which showed me that when we come together, we can turn complex environmental issues into manageable, community-driven solutions.

Advocacy was another major pillar of my work. I had the privilege of speaking at a city council meeting to highlight how crucial walkability and bikeability are to our community’s future. By pushing for better infrastructure for pedestrians and cyclists, we aren’t just making our streets safer — we are directly reducing the number of cars on the road and lowering the emissions that cloud our air. I also spent time attending public meetings to learn about sustainable practices like local gardening, even getting my hands dirty helping with the garden at our public library. These experiences taught me that air quality isn’t just about what comes out of a tailpipe; it’s about how we design our cities and nurture our local ecosystems.

As I wrap up this internship, I want everyone to know that improving air quality is something we all have a hand in. You can help today by choosing to walk or bike for short trips, supporting local gardening initiatives that help filter our air and staying engaged with city council decisions regarding our environment. Our collective voice matters — whether it’s through a community survey or a public meeting, your input helps shape a cleaner, more breathable future. Thank you for sharing your stories with me. Let’s continue to work together to keep our community’s air clear and healthy.

Dixon Youth Air Protectors work alongside community members to plant at the community garden

By Sophia Ferri, Dixon Youth Air Protector

In my time in this internship during the fall semester, I’ve learned a lot about air quality and generally everything surrounding it. I interacted with my peers in order to plan and survey the community on problems and their opinions. I had a lot of fun, actually; it was very interactive and educational at the same time. I’m doing the internship again in the spring semester and highly recommend it to students. Even if they’re not interested in the environment, there are still extremely intriguing topics discussed each meeting. The most fun I had was when we went to a community garden and planted with other community members. It was a fun way to reach out to others outside of the classroom we meet at. In general, this internship has furthered my understanding that air quality is such an important aspect to many people and everyday life.

Throughout my time in this internship, I was introduced to various resources that are available to anyone! Websites or maps that show air quality indexes or general environmental concerns in communities. I think that’s just really cool that we have that available to anyone. At one point in the internship, we created an air filter from vents and a fan! I learned how air filters work, which I didn’t previously know and now I do! I got to experience seeing my community up close as in many instances I had to research and survey common areas for people and other spots that need improvement. Whether that’s through bike racks, crosswalks, or more.

Overall I have really enjoyed my time in the internship. I got a lot closer with my peers and built friendships that’ll last a lifetime from this internship. It gave me something to look forward to every week.

Layla and Sophia build a DIY air purifer

We’re planning a countywide Air Quality Summit this fall that will bring together community members, citizen air quality organizations and experts to share knowledge. We want to hear about your interests when it comes to air quality. Take a short survey here!

Get Your Garden Growing with Benicia Garden Series

Jan 30, 2026

By Sustainable Solano

We are excited to offer this new workshop series for all of you gardeners! This series is designed for growing in zone 9b in Solano County. You can sign up for one or all of them!

Master Gardener Maggie Kolk will guide participants through the growing season with sessions on garden planning, seed starting, companion planting, pest management, harvesting and so much more! Resources will be provided at each class.

Benicia Garden Series

(check each link for the location of each class)

Feb. 11 (6-7 pm) – Garden Planning & Climate Basics

March 18 (6-7 pm) – Seed Starting & Transplanting

April 15 (6-7 pm) – Companion Planting & Garden Design

May 2 (6-7 pm) – Pest & Disease Management

June 17 (6-7 pm) – Harvesting & Garden Maintenance

Roots in the Ground: Tree Planting

Jan 28, 2026

By Maleah J. Brown, Rio Vista Youth Air Protector

Maleah, one of our Rio Vista Youth Air Protectors this fall, wrote this blog about the tree planting project the YAP did in partnership with the City of Rio Vista. Interested in planting more community trees? Our Fairfield/Suisun City Youth Air Protectors invite the public to plant trees Feb. 21 at City Church in Fairfield. Learn more and register here.

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Planting a tree seems like such a small act, until you hold it and place it in the ground. When you walk away, knowing it’ll be in the same spot it was left in, that small act seems much bigger. At the tree planting in Rio Vista last November, the sense of community was touching. The small group we started with grew as it came time to start planting.

When I arrived early in the morning at Airport Road, I was greeted by my fellow Youth Air Protectors. We discussed how the event was going to go, as we sipped our coffee and ate our bagels. When participants ranging from residents, elected city officials, and even the fire department started arriving, we tied our hair back and grabbed our gloves.

Maleah, left, works with others to plant trees

We went through a brief instructional meeting on how to properly install the trees to insure longevity. From there we took a course of action and split into groups, 3-4 people a tree. People put their ideas together to help make the process smoother, like dedicating a group to installing all the tree support posts. I joined a group including two of my peers and someone who I’d never met. This experience not only helped me connect with my peers, but also helped me branch out and make new connections in the community. We worked together, shoveling soil, spreading compost, and placing trees in the ground. The smell of nature and the warm rays of the sun made the experience calming. In the end, my group succeeded in planting around four trees. Once we were all done, I helped distribute the extra compost soil on all the trees. We were finished after around three to four hours of planting.

I returned to the scene around eight weeks later to check on the conditions of the trees, as well as to plant some native wildflower seeds. The leaves have fallen off since I last saw them, which is unsurprising due to the currently cold weather conditions, but the trees seem to be stable and thriving. They were standing tall where they had been placed, and were bright and healthy. Soon, they will have new plants to share their soil with. The beautiful flowers will enhance the view of the road, as well as providing a food source and home for native pollinators. As I left, driving past the trees I had helped stamp into their new spot in my community, I knew this small act was bigger than I could have hoped.

The Rio Vista Youth Air Protectors program is funded through the California Air Resources Board and is part of California Climate Investments, a statewide initiative that puts billions of Cap-and-Invest, formerly known as Cap-and-Trade, dollars to work reducing greenhouse gas emissions, strengthening the economy, and improving public health and the environment — particularly in disadvantaged communities.

Transform Your Yard: Vallejo Residential Demo Garden Site Search

Jan 12, 2026

By Nicole Newell, Sustainable Landscaping Program Manager

Do you live in Vallejo? Are you interested in working with your neighbors and community to install a demonstration food forest garden or native garden in your front yard?

We are looking for a residential site in Vallejo to install a demo garden. This project will educate community members and transform a water-thirsty lawn into a lush, productive demonstration garden that provides multiple benefits for the community and environment.

The garden will

Build healthy soil
Capture rainwater to reduce stormwater flooding and create resilience to drought
Utilize Laundry-to-Landscape greywater (if feasible)
Reduce heat and sequester carbon
Create habitat for beneficial insects, pollinators, birds and other wildlife
Provide shade and food

The garden installation is a collaborative effort between Sustainable Solano and the homeowner and involves two to three hands-on, public educational workshops. These workshops help participants gain the skills and knowledge needed to bring these ideas back to their own gardens and neighborhoods. Homeowners often provide lunch during the workshops, recognizing the deep value of sharing food together as a way to build community. They also agree to participate in the Annual Benicia & Vallejo Demonstration Food Forest Garden Tour. This year’s tour will be on April 25.

The project aims to build wonderful connections within our community, deepen our collective appreciation for the environment, and inspire everyone to consider the positive impact we can have on the life around us.

If you live in Vallejo and are interested in creating a waterwise, edible food forest or native plant garden please fill out the Sustainable Landscape Interest Form. A team member will contact you with next steps. We get a lot of interest forms, so please be patient!

This project is made possible through the support of the North Bay Watershed Association, and we are very grateful for their contribution. Demonstration gardens are part of the Solano Sustainable Backyards Program.

Sowing Seeds of Connection: 2025 Permaculture Design Course

Dec 30, 2025

By Nicole Newell, Sustainable Landscaping Program Manager

Our 2025 Permaculture Design Certification (PDC) in Benicia blended online zoom sessions with hands-on, in-person training for nine students from August through December. As part of their training, students and instructors collaborated on redesigning an 850-square-foot residential lawn into a permaculture oasis, featuring rainwater-capturing swales, laundry-to-landscape, and native plant guilds. Local residents Gabie and Kyle opened their yard to host the hands-on weekends. We’re so grateful to them for sharing their beautiful space, fostering hands-on learning and building a vibrant community around regenerative design.

I took a PDC course in 2015 with Toby Hemenway, author of Gaia’s Garden. That experience was life-changing: the principles didn’t just feel like new information, but rather a “remembering” of ancestral knowledge I already held. Beyond teaching a whole-systems design approach, these PDC courses forge deep connections with each other and the ecosystem that we are part of. I had the honor of supporting the 2025 Benicia PDC led by Lydia Neilsen and Anne Freiwald and saw firsthand how they intentionally cultivate a supportive container for growth and reflection, sharing material that can be applied in both life and work. We were joined by Heath Griffith of Grow with the Flow, a local Benicia designer who graciously volunteered their time to support the program.

“We designed, dug, planted, sang, and became one with the wild, creative, living pulse of life.”

Carrie

Benicia PDC student

A vital part of the PDC was the design projects, with students working in groups to collaboratively design three local sites. The program concluded on Dec. 6 with a public event where these projects were presented to the community. Before the presentations, the PDC group gathered and sang a song of Courage. Each group presented with a unique artistic flair, blending whole-systems thinking and design principles with a deep respect for local indigenous tribes and the historical context of the land. These are aspirational designs, but we hope that the visions will be shared with the stewards of each design location and could influence future decisions.

Here are the visions of all three projects and two Who Am I? poems from the perspective of the land.

Group Name: Gaia Mana Katonda

Design Location: Graceway Church in Benicia

Students: Juliet Majalya-Francis, Karen Borg, Owen Peute

Establish and sustain a sacred garden that reflects harmony through the practice of permaculture. We seek to cultivate a living expression of faith where prayer, reflection, play, and participation unite in a rhythm of growth and renewal. We strive to nurture systems of life that honor the interdependence of soil, water, plants, and people. Through this garden, we envision a community flourishing in spirit and in stewardship, embodying abundance and grace.

Group Name: The Gold Growers

“Sanctuary of Life”

Design Location: Swenson Garden at Heritage Presbyterian Church in Benicia

Students: Carlos Zaragoza, Rianna Samson, Natallia Pulko, David Gustafson

We want to keep the Benicia Community Gardens’ mission alive: Strengthen community resilience by increasing access to sustainable, regional sources of food [and] improving communal space.

Who Am I?

I am a multi-communal space that welcomes everyone.

I am a place where many lives meet —
people, birds, animals, insects, roots, and rivers of quiet things.
All of them belong here.

I am alive, vibrant, full of movement and stillness at once.
Life does not simply live on me —
life flows through me.

I am generous by nature.
Abundance is not something I give —
it is something I am.

I open my fields to footsteps,
my shade to rest,
my soil to seeds.

I enjoy when someone comes and sits with me —
just to be with me,

I am a place for gathering,
for remembering that we are not alone,
that every being here is part of the same story.

I am here to share, to nourish, to hold.
And I welcome all who arrive with gentleness, curiosity,
and the willingness to listen.

Group Name: Subterranean Nobles

“A Vision for a Living Classroom and Urban Oasis for Pollinators”

Design Location: De La Salle High School in Concord

Students: Jazzmin Ballou, Carrie Rehak

We aim to provide a reminder of earthly connection for students amid studies, sports, and other curricular and cocurricular activities. By enhancing especially … the main common spaces for students, such as the Quad and Inner Court … we seek to foster curiosity and connection through intentional planting, habitat creation, and permaculture ethics (Earth Care; People Care, and Fair Share), principles, and design.

This campus will be an oasis for the entire community: students, staff, parents, and wildlife,
supporting pollinators, birds, beneficial insects, plants, shrubs, groundcovers, and soil organisms.

Excerpt from “Who I Am from the Land” (from the Perspective of a Bdelliod Rotifer)

….I want to thrive.
For fungi to bloom. For bacteria to roam. For nutrients to cycle.
I want cover crops to knit soil back together and compost to restore memory.
I want moisture and air in balance, in a breathable, living network.
I want life to move through earth’s restless, resilient web of roots, worms, fungi, wildflowers, oaks, vegetables, bees, birds, and my family of rotifers.

I want students to see me through microscopes, to sense me in the soil beneath their feet and in
their hands, not as something small and hidden, but as part of the pulse of life that carries seasons forward.

I want them to walk mindfully, to plant thoughtfully, to harvest water wisely, so that every clump of roots and drop of rain becomes a handful of wonder or a cradle for my kin.

I want them to pause, to observe, to experience earth as a living, breathing classroom where every droplet, every worm, every microbe is a teacher.

I want them to know that caring for earth is caring for themselves and that the smallest creatures, like me, carry both memory and future.

After their public presentations, the PDC class celebrated their achievements, received their certificates, and discussed future opportunities. Below are some of the actions they hope to take in the year ahead.

Continue attending garden installations.
Volunteering for related projects and community events.
Organizing or attending garden tours.
Hosting gatherings to share skills and ideas (e.g., about specific permaculture topics like building soil, water harvesting, or food preservation).
Forming community connections to support ongoing sustainable education and build resilient neighborhoods.

The day was filled with heartfelt community connection and the impact of the course is already visible. May this momentum continue to have a rippling effect in our Solano County communities. We are excited to see what the future holds for the students and Sustainable Solano will look for ways to support their future endeavors.