Project Clearinghouse

Calabasas Elementary School Community Farm Rainwater Catchment Project

Sustainability Problem and Proposed Solution: 

Bucolic and verdant fields around us obscure the reality of the labor force that represents the foundation of the agricultural industry in Santa Cruz, Monterey and Salinas Counties: farmworkers, many of whom are Spanish speaking (and increasingly monolingual speakers of indigenous languages), migrant, food insecure, low-income, marginalized and vulnerable. Community gardens, and the grassroots efforts that empower them, offer a means of local, healthy, affordable, and culturally-salient foods.

Jump to: Contact | Project Description | Funding Sources | Metrics for Success | Results
Project Categories: 
Buildings & Facilities
Food
Awareness, Education & Engagement
Social Justice
Water
Project Status: 
In Progress
Project End Date: 
06/01/2016
Campus Organization: 
Colleges Nine and Ten
Affiliated Department, Unit or College: 
Colleges Nine and Ten
Project Location: 
Both on and off campus

Calabasas Elementary School, Watsonville


Stakeholder Contacts: 
Contact NameEmail AddressContact NumberDepartment
Flora Lu
floralu@ucsc.edu
831-459-3214
ENVS, C9/C10
Funding Sources: 
Carbon Fund, Blum Center

Project Description: 

Nestled in the heart of conventional agriculture in Watsonville, Calabasas Elementary School sits in close proximity to acres of strawberry fields, a migrant farmworker camp, and a waste landfill. The majority of families at Calabasas Elementary are farmworker families, speak primarily Spanish at home, and qualify for the Second Harvest Food Bank's Food for Children program (designed to address childhood malnourishment and the paradoxical problem of hunger and obesity). Many of these families live in apartments or housing that do not allow them to have gardens of their own. Colleges Nine and Ten, working with Calabasas Principal Todd Westfall, have established a community garden on the elementary school campus where families can grow produce, foster community, and have the opportunity to teach their children about cultivating meaningful foods. The soil is ready to be divided into individual plots and cultivation can begin Spring 2016. However, because of the drought, it is important to find innovative ways to conserve water and also reduce the costs of irrigation (which would need to be passed on to local partners). This project establishes a rainwater catchment system in the community garden, which can not only provide water for growing food, but a means for teaching science and math at the school (e.g.,incorporating the flow meter, sensor and instrumentation into lessons).

Metrics for Success: 

The metrics of success are as follows:
- Reduce the amount of potable water used at the community farm;
- Demonstrate to the community and other schools the concept of rainwater harvesting as an effective water conservation measure;
- Provide an opportunity for community and UCSC campus collaboration that provides tangible, ecologically-minded results while providing our students an opportunity to hone their cultural competency, critical thinking, and problem solving skills.

The project supports the mission of the Carbon Fund by fostering student education and engagement on the topics of water and energy conservation. Calabasas community members will learn from the interpretive signage how they can incorporate water conservation measures into their households. Household water conservation will lead to reduced water bills, water savings, energy savings related to the pumping and treatment of water, and avoidance of GHG emissions related to energy savings.

Result Categories: 
Infrastructure/Built Environment
Education/Outreach
Results: 

The project will install a 5,000 gallon rainwater harvesting system adjacent to the Calabasas School community garden. Dr. Tiffany Wise-West from EcoShift Consulting, a UCSC alumna, is working on the design and a group of UCSC undergraduates will assist Calabasas staff and parents in installing the rainwater system.