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Could empty lots be growing food, economic opportunity?
![Eric Middleton (left) and Lindsey Pedroncelli (right). Photo by Saoimanu Sope. Eric Middleton (left) and Lindsey Pedroncelli (right). Photo by Saoimanu Sope.](http://ucanr.edu/blogs/food//blogfiles/107963small.jpg)
UCCE scientists study feasibility of specialty crops for small urban growers The vacant lots around your neighborhood could be growing fruits and vegetables and making local produce more accessible – while reducing energy needed to transport and distribute the food. Could turning those empty lots into small farms also become opportunities for economic development? To answer this question, a team of researchers from University of California Cooperative Extension in San Diego County are investigating the economic feasibility of growing high-value specialty crops in urban settings like vacant lots. The project – led by Eric Middleton, UCCE integrated pest management advisor for San Diego, Orange and Los Angeles counties – is currently in progress at The Flower Fields in Carlsbad, a seasonal attraction for locals and tourists. Tucked away in the back of the field is the Small-Scale Urban Ag Demonstration Site where Middleton and his team established a small...
ANR hires expertise in urban pests, plants and small farms
![Azin Pourkhalili Azin Pourkhalili](http://ucanr.edu/blogs/ANRnewsreleases//blogfiles/107928small.jpg)
From Siskiyou County through Riverside County, University of California Agriculture and Natural Resources has hired UC Cooperative Extension experts to help Californians address challenging issues. The eight recently hired UC Cooperative Extension specialists, advisors and coordinators bring expertise in urban pest management, healthy families, regenerative agriculture, plant science, small farms and food safety to their communities. Since 1914, UC Cooperative Extension researchers have been working directly with community members to improve their lives and livelihoods. To see a list of UC Cooperative Extension experts who have joined in the past few months, visit https://ucanr.edu/About/DirectorySearch/Recent_Hires. The most recently hired scientists are introduced below. Lee brings expertise in urban pest behavior to Capitol Corridor IPM role Sang-Bin Lee joined UC ANR as the urban integrated pest management advisor for the Capitol Corridor – comprising...
Report: Making homes more resistant to wildfire can be affordable
![Steve Quarles demonstrates how embers can ignite dry leaf debris and melt plastic gutters. Photo by Evett Kilmartin Steve Quarles demonstrates how embers can ignite dry leaf debris and melt plastic gutters. Photo by Evett Kilmartin](http://ucanr.edu/blogs/Green//blogfiles/107900small.png)
Priorities include removing objects within five feet of a house, upgrading vents Wildfire losses cost taxpayers and communities hundreds of billions of dollars each year, and preparing communities before a disaster occurs is the best way to avoid damage to homes and neighborhoods. Retrofitting existing homes can make communities safer while avoiding billions in disaster costs. As Californians learn to live with wildfire, scientists encourage improving the structure and design of houses and other buildings to help them survive wildfire. A new report shows that even inexpensive changes can increase wildfire resistance. “Retrofitting a Home for Wildfire Resistance” suggests that some of the most effective strategies to reduce the vulnerability of homes and neighborhoods to wildfire can be done affordably. “This report is a practical tool that helps evaluate the relative costs and benefits of fire-hardening retrofits,” said Yana...
Barnes brings hometown knowledge to UCCE in Lake, Mendocino counties
![Matthew Barnes Matthew Barnes](http://ucanr.edu/blogs/ANRnewsreleases//blogfiles/107910small.jpg)
New Cooperative Extension director has worked extensively with Native American communities, youth groups Growing up in Upper Lake, along the “North Shore” of Clear Lake, Matthew Barnes lived near several of the Lake County region's seven federally recognized tribes. Although he counted several Native Americans among his diverse circle of childhood friends, and was very familiar with those communities, Barnes was nonetheless quite nervous when he was appointed in 2009 as the inaugural executive director of the Boys & Girls Club of the Pomo Nation. Barnes – a non-Native of European and Filipino descent – vividly remembers the tribal administrator paying him a visit on one of his first days on the job. “He said, ‘Hey, you have two ears and one mouth, so listen twice as much as you speak and you'll be fine,'” Barnes recalled. “And that's definitely stuck with me.” That approach is continuing to guide Barnes in his new role as...
Paper highlights how climate change challenges, transforms agriculture
![Of the farmers surveyed, roughly two-thirds agree climate change is occurring and requires action. Farmers said they are managing water resources, maintaining soil health and using renewable energy sources to adapt to the changing climate. Of the farmers surveyed, roughly two-thirds agree climate change is occurring and requires action. Farmers said they are managing water resources, maintaining soil health and using renewable energy sources to adapt to the changing climate.](http://ucanr.edu/blogs/food//blogfiles/107854small.jpg)
As the climate continues to change, the risks to farming are only going to increase. That's the key takeaway from a recent paper published by a team that included UC Merced and UC Agriculture and Natural Resources researchers. The paper dives into what those challenges are, how farmers are working to address them and what should come next. "Climate Smart Agriculture: Assessing Needs and Perceptions of California's Farmers" was first authored by Samuel Ikendi, academic coordinator, with Tapan Pathak, UC Cooperative Extension climate adaptation in agriculture specialist, as a corresponding author. Both are based at UC Merced. Pathak is also a project director of National Institute of Food and Agriculture-funded project "Multifaceted Pathways to Climate-Smart Agriculture through Participator Program Development and Delivery," which supported this study. The study appeared in the open access journal Frontiers in Sustainable Food Systems. The needs assessment was designed to...
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