What’s Growing?
The Sustainable Solano Blog is the hub for all the latest information about our many projects and programs, as well as a snapshot of grassroots community transformation in action. You can find recent news articles on Sustainable Solano here and read our blog archive here.
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Buy Local: Strategies to Build Interest in Local Food
From Gen Z buyers to cost-conscious consumers, the messaging and marketing of local food has to subtly shift to address the inherent needs and desires of each buyer. Sustainable Solano partnered with UC Davis around the research of what drives buyer behavior, and Protective Marketing LLC for messaging strategies to reach specific audiences. The results were shared at a forum hosted by the Solano Local Food System Alliance.
From Backyard Fruit Trees to a Community Gleaning Network
Syrus is a college freshman from Vallejo who recently completed her Girl Scout Gold Award to revitalize, strengthen and make sustainable gleaning efforts to get food that would otherwise go to waste to people who can use it. The Gold Award is the highest award a Girl Scout can achieve. Here, she shares about her project.
The True Cost of Local Food
Comparing the cost of a subscription farm box with fresh, local, seasonal produce with grocery store prices reveals that the farm boxes are the better bargain.
Making it Meaningful: Marketing Local Food to Gen Z
Opportunities exist to engage Gen Z in boosting local food systems that build long-term community health, support regional economies, create a sense of community and belonging, and ensure sustainable food systems
Community Voices Help Shape Solano County Air Quality Summit
Vallejo community members shared their experiences and concerns about air quality — something that has a huge impact on our bodies and long-term health, but that we don’t often think about or notice. The meeting was part of Sustainable Solano’s effort to build community capacity to tackle air quality issues as a county through education, listening sessions, youth programs, community-based green infrastructure projects, and coalition building. The event gathered community feedback to shape a countywide Air Quality Summit, scheduled for Saturday, Oct. 17.
On Relationship with the Natural World
“Inspiring.” That was the most frequent word from participants who joined Sustainable Solano’s 10th annual Benicia & Vallejo Demonstration Food Forest Garden Tour. Having the opportunity to see how lively and full each garden was, I found it no surprise that participants took inspiration from these sites and each gardener’s stories.
Fairfield-Suisun Youth Air Protectors Reflections
Sustainable Solano worked with 11 students from Armijo High School from January through May 2026 as part of our 16-week Youth Air Protectors internship program. Here, several Youth Air Protectors share reflections on their internship experience, as well as memorable events and projects they worked on during their time in the program.
Reflections from an SSC 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.
Doing Good: Bless’d Blossom
Sustainable Solano is naming Bless’d Blossom as the recipient of our 2026 Doing Good business award. Hannah Hartley’s commitment to Earth Care and community makes her stand out. As does her beautiful heirloom produce and edible blooms.
Buying Local: Community Preferences for Local Food
The Solano Local Food System Alliance hosted an educational forum about what leads consumers to make purchasing decisions around local food. This forum drew on recent research in Solano County on consumer preferences that will inform future marketing around local food.
Building Local Flood Resilience
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. 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.
Benicia & Vallejo Food Forest Garden Tour Celebrates Its 10th Year!
Our annual garden tour of Benicia and Vallejo demonstration food forest gardens returns for its 10th year! We’ll have permaculture gardens, community gardens and native plant gardens on this year’s tour.
2026 Benicia & Vallejo Tour: Featured Gardens
Learn about each of the gardens featured on this year’s tour!
A Toxic Facility in Your Neighborhood? It Could Happen with Changes to State Law
Imagine waking up to find a manufacturing facility being built in your community, one that may release arsenic, lead, PFAS, hexavalent chromium, and other toxic chemicals into your air and water. If you live near industrial-zoned land anywhere in California, this can now happen without your receiving notice of the project’s construction or its associated health risks. Learn about this change and efforts to restore key protections.
A Note From Our Founding Executive Director
It is with gratitude, excitement and some sadness I am ready to announce that after 15 amazing years of creating and managing Sustainable Solano, I will be transitioning out of my executive director’s role this summer.
Dixon Youth Air Protectors Reflect on Program
Youth Air Protectors is a high school internship where students 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.
Get Your Garden Growing with Benicia Garden Series
We are excited to offer this new workshop series for all of you gardeners! 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.
Roots in the Ground: Tree Planting
One of our Rio Vista Youth Air Protectors reflects on the experience of planting trees in partnership with the City of Rio Vista: 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.
Transform Your Yard: Vallejo Residential Demo Garden Site Search
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.
Sowing Seeds of Connection: 2025 Permaculture Design Course
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.
Celebrating Petite Sirah & SuSol in Suisun City
It was a wonderful evening of wine, music, poetry and conversation around Sustainable Solano and local food at the Petite Sirah meet & greet.
All About Agritourism
While purchasing crops and products from local farms is an important part of supporting our local food system, it is only one way to support the work and livelihood of local farmers. Another way is agritourism, which puts farms and farmers face-to-face with community members who can grow to know them.
Little Free Library and Pollinator Garden Installed at the Rio Vista Roots Community Garden
SuSol installed a Little Free Library in the verge strip next to the Rio Vista Roots Community garden on Sept. 6. This library will serve as a resource for the community and was made possible by the Rio Vista Youth Air Protectors program.
Learning All Things Compost at the Vaca Valley Garden Club
Sustainable Solano connected Lori Caldwell, consultant, landscaper, and educator, with the Vaca Valley Garden Club
May There Be Rain: Challenging times in nonprofit funding
We all hear the news: significant reduction in federal funding, resulting reductions in state and local funding, uncertainty for the nonprofit sector overall, massive layoffs in the sector. It has affected so many nonprofits in Solano County, including Sustainable Solano. Funding partners like Magic Cabinet and Solano Community Foundation are driving action toward solutions.
Doing Good: Thistle
Sustainable Solano is naming Thistle as a recipient of our Doing Good business recognition award. Thistle is an example of a local business that exemplifies the permaculture principles that guide Sustainable Solano’s work and that we want to recognize in others: Earth Care, People Care and Fair Share, or taking care of the planet, taking care of employees and supporting local communities.
Doing Good: Morningsun Herb Farm
Sustainable Solano is naming Morningsun Herb Farm as a recipient of our Doing Good business recognition program. Their commitment to Earth Care and Fair Share is evident in every corner of the farm.
Solano’s 3rd Permaculture Design Course Starts in August
We are excited to have Anne Freiwald and Lydia Neilsen of Vital Cycles return this summer for our next Permaculture Design Certificate course in Benicia — starting Aug. 23! In this blog, Anne and Lydia reflect on past programs, talk about what will be covered in this year’s program, and we share a few videos and upcoming talks.
Celebrating Outstanding Service: Honoring Noah Galgan and Stephanie Oelsligle Jordan
In recognition of their exceptional work to reach Solano County youth through Sustainable Solano’s Youth Wellness Program, Local Food program managers Noah Galgan and Stephanie Oelsligle Jordan were recognized at the 19th Annual CAC Recognition Awards.
Introducing the new Solano Local Food System Alliance Logo
The Alliance Steering Committee began this process about a year ago in collaboration with a graphic designer to enhance our presence in the county (and among other food policy councils) and provide a brand for when we engage in advocacy, policy work and send statements to outside groups.
Looking for more? Find our blog archive here!
