Aug 15, 2018
As part of a large, multi-stake Solano Local Food system project, Cultivate Community Food Co-op, in cooperation with other county organizations, will be working on a pilot project through September 21st with local farmers and chefs to offer participating co-op owners weekly home delivery of local, sustainably-grown produce and locally prepared meals. There will be no charge for home delivery for this pilot, though participants will need to pay for any food purchased.
The purpose of this effort is to collect data in regards to the costs of labor, equipment and time that is needed to develop and implement a local food network that supports Solano County consumers, farmers, and chefs. The results obtained will be used to better understand the opportunities and challenges that exist to achieve the goal of building the community and economy while improving access to healthy, sustainably grown food.
Cultivate Community Food Co-op (CCFC) will be Solano County’s first community-owned, natural grocery store providing high-quality, locally-sourced, culturally-relevant, ethically- produced and affordable products.
Click here for information about how to become a member.
Aug 12, 2018
The Vallejo Watershed Alliance welcomes Chris Rose from the Solano Resource Conservation District (RCD) to help lead its next restoration project in Vallejo. Since their last successful partnership to restore habitat in the Blue Rock Springs Creek Corridor, the RCD has secured a grant from the California Coastal Conservancy to plant native vegetation around Lake Dalwigk.
Chris will present an overview of the planned restoration work at this year’s annual planning meeting and will discuss how best the Alliance can join in this important work. Following the presentation, calendar activities for the next twelve months will be discussed.
Members of the public are invited to come for the presentation only or stay for the entire meeting. Free refreshments and parking.
The meeting will take place on Saturday, August 18, from 9:00am to 12:00pm at the Dan Foley Cultural Center (Vista Room) located at 1499 North Camino Alto, Vallejo. To RSVP, call 707.652.7812 or email Info@VallejoWatershedAlliance.org.
Jun 29, 2018
The Cloverleaf Farm is a 10-acre, certified organic orchard and farm in Dixon bursting with juicy peaches, nectarines, apricots and figs. Emma Torbert and Katie Fyhrie lease the orchard from The Collins Farm and co-manage the Collins Community Farmstand.
For the 2018 season, the community farmstand, directly off of I-80 West at the Kidwell Exit, is open Saturdays and Sundays from 9:00am to 3:00pm now through October 8th. In addition to fresh fruit, also enjoy fresh pies, popsicles, blackberries, organic Cloverleaf stone fruit, and organic vegetables from Hearty Fork Farm.
Cloverleaf Farm will be hosting several events at the Farmstand this summer like special U-pick days which will be advertised on their Facebook page and through their mailing list.
For information on purchasing produce or joining their fruit CSA, please e-mail thecloverleaffarm@gmail.com. Please go to Find our Produce to purchase a CSA share.
Jun 27, 2018
The Berkeley Food Institute launches its newest project, ‘Hungry for Change,’ a collection of compelling profiles showcasing the work of 20 emerging food system leaders across California who are advancing equity, health, and sustainability in food systems. These 20 up-and-coming trailblazers represent a broad range of geographic regions, areas of reform, and socio-economic backgrounds. What these leaders have in common: a desire to remake food systems in order to bring about greater equity, justice, sustainability, and health for all.
This project chronicles the successes, challenges, and innovative thinking of these trailblazers intent on making change on a local, regional, and national level. These farmers, policy advocates, social entrepreneurs, and social justice activists work in different fields, but share a vision of remaking and repairing food systems.
Hungry for Change grew out of BFI’s Changemakers project and takes the form of a print publication, written by Sarah Henry, and a 10-minute movie, produced by Fabian Aguirre and Maya Pisciotto of The Understory. Click here to watch film clip.
The project was generously supported by the California Endowment.
Jun 13, 2018
Participatory Budgeting (PB) is a democratic process in which community members recommend to the City Council how to spend part of a public budget. It enables taxpayers to work with government to make the budget decisions that affect their lives. Developed first in Brazil in 1989, Participatory Budgeting is now practiced in over 1,500 cities around the world.The City and Vallejo residents’ involvement in Participatory Budgeting has made Vallejo a model for city and government institutions worldwide. Through new partnerships with universities and educational institutions, non-profit organizations, generated recognition from The White House,
The Atlantic,
Slate Magazine, Time and
National Public Radio, Vallejo has become the gold standard for public participation and collaborative government.
What is the Participatory Budgeting Steering Committee?
The Participatory Budgeting Steering Committee facilitates the PB process, which includes recommending program rules, planning public meetings, and conducting outreach with diverse communities.
Members work with City Staff to ensure that PB Vallejo is transparent, fair, and inclusive.
The committee has a total of 11 seats, comprised of organizational and at-large members.
Committee members serve for 2 cycles of Vallejo’s PB process (Approximately 2 years).
Currently, there are 6 member vacancies and 3 alternate member vacancies.
Applications must be received no later than close of business on Friday, June 15, 2018.
City Council interviews have tentatively been scheduled for the weeks of July 2 through July 16 starting as early as 5:30 p.m.
Applicants must attend the interview in order to be considered for appointment.
Jun 7, 2018
The Common Ground Team led by TLS Landscape Architecture has presented the “Grand Bayway” vision at the Resilient by Design Challenge in San Francisco, May 17th. The proposal looks at a resilient future for flood threatened and congested State Route 37 connecting the northern edge of San Francisco Bay as well as a vast restored marsh and tidal complex adjacent. The result creates a new Ecological Central Park bigger than the area of San Francisco itself.
TLS collaborated with architect Michael Maltzan, on an iconic bay crossing on a braided, elevated causeway with separated lanes and diverse transit options 25 feet above migrating tidal marshes. It creates a scenic experience of views to bay landmarks like Mt. Diablo and Mt. Tamalpais, and a front door on the immense open space of tidal sloughs and restored wetlands. Bike and pedestrian trail also “unspool” and provide access to trails, boardwalks, kayak routes, floating fishing camps, 19th century ghost towns that provide excursion train stops.
The marsh complex, largest in the Bay Area is also threatened with inundation by rising tides and flooding. Working with the local ecological community, a spectrum of terra-forming techniques for marsh and benthic habitat recovery will create a vast working laboratory for experiments and pilot projects to benefit similar conditions found around the Pacific Basin.
Urban gateways from the diverse and rapidly growing cities of Vallejo and American Canyon invite new populations to this 21st century, ecologically-oriented open space. Visitors can arrive at intermodal hubs by car, ferry, or train and be equipped and launched for explorations into a part of California, previously unknown to the public. First stage projects will take shape with the next 2 years and engineering of larger scale initial phases will be coordinated with Caltrans alternative planning over the next year.
Working with Exploratorium and Rana Creek Design, the team has also released an explorer’s map for the North Baylands as an outcome of this project which allows people to explore hidden cultural and ecological stories as they hike, bike, drive and kayak through the Baylands.
Team Common Ground
TLS Landscape Architecture
Exploratorium
Michael Maltzan Architecture
Guy Nordenson and Associates
Sitelab Urban Studio
HR&A Advisors
Lotus Water
Rana Creek Design
Dr. John Oliver
Richard Hindle, UC Berkeley
Fehr & Peers Transportation Consultants
Project video:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Suv-_jKwLzU
