Facebook
X (Twitter)
Reddit
Pinterest
Tumblr
LinkedInPosts Tagged: Cooperative Extension
Rachel Surls has cultivated a healthier LA County through gardens
UC Cooperative Extension advisor who promotes school gardens, urban agriculture to retire after 35-year career
A stroll through a leafy, green garden can give one temporary relief from life's harshness. During her career, Rachel Surls has used gardens to cultivate healthier communities, whether they are growing nutritious food or providing science lessons for students.
Over the past 35 years, Surls, University of California Cooperative Extension sustainable food systems advisor in Los Angeles County, has witnessed many changes – such as promoting public events on Instagram rather than typing and mailing press releases. A comforting and consistent presence has been the UC Master Gardener Program, part of UC Agriculture and Natural Resources.
“As I look back, the UC Master Gardener Program has been a constant in my work. It helps so many people,” said Surls, who joined UCCE as a school and community garden coordinator in 1988.
“My new job with UCCE-LA was my dream job. I organized community gardens around the county and supported teachers who wanted to start school gardens,” recalled the Michigan native, who plans to retire at the end of the year. “I had a bachelor's degree in agronomy and was freshly out of a stint with the U.S. Peace Corps in rural Honduras. My work there inspired me to pursue community development work related to gardening.”
Louisa R. Cardenas, trustee of Los Angeles County Natural History Museums, was a UC Master Gardener volunteer for 25 years.
“Among Rachel's many skills and assets are her willingness to listen to and consider ideas from Master Gardeners that eventually reach and empower Los Angeles County residents to grow food that supplements their nutritional needs,” Cardenas said.
To complement the nascent UC Master Gardener Program in Los Angeles County, Surls organized “Gardening Angels,” a cadre of volunteers to work with teachers and students to develop school gardens. She edited a guide for teachers, parents and volunteers to build gardens for children.
“I met Rachel in 1992 and was so blessed to come up through the ranks with her,” said Rose Hayden-Smith, UCCE emeritus advisor in digital communications in food systems and extension education. “We were in neighboring counties, and had many similar programmatic interests, including school gardens. Her research informed my work and was so helpful to me.”
Advancing food security, community nutrition
In 1994, after earning her master's degree from Cal Poly Pomona in agricultural science with a focus on agricultural education, Surls accepted a newly created position: UC Cooperative Extension urban horticulture advisor.
To retain Los Angeles County funding in 1992, the UCCE staff had become part of the county's Housing Authority/Community Development Commission. As the UCCE urban horticulture advisor, Surls was tasked with developing gardens at five public housing sites. At one of these locations, Carmelitos Housing Development in Long Beach, she worked with community partners to select landscape trees, hire a greenhouse contractor and design a horticulture job training program for public housing residents. This site became known as the Growing Experience Urban Farm.
“I'm pleased that 29 years later, the Growing Experience is still an active community farm where UC Master Gardeners offer workshops for the community,” Surls said.
In 1997, when George Rendell retired as director of UCCE in Los Angeles County, Surls applied for the job. For the next 14 years, she oversaw more than 70 employees and local programs, including the 4-H youth development program, which launched afterschool, hands-on learning for children.
Surls, who participated in 4-H herself as a child, worked closely with 4-H funders. She helped secure grants, contracts and gifts for 4-H as well as the UC Master Gardener Program and UCCE nutrition programs for projects that encouraged Angelenos to eat more fruits and vegetables.
“Rachel was incredibly creative and innovative as a leader,” said Hayden-Smith, who served as director of UCCE in Ventura County. “Rachel models a kind of quiet leadership that invites people into the process, honors the group and moves work forward in important ways.”
While working, Surls earned her Ph.D. in higher education administration at Claremont Graduate University in 2008, with an eye on pursuing other leadership roles. Instead, the global financial crisis inspired her return to working directly with Los Angeles County residents on urban gardening to reduce food insecurity.
To focus on outreach, the UCCE sustainable food systems advisor handed her UCCE director duties to Keith Nathaniel, UCCE 4-H advisor, at the end of 2011.
Developing, sharing resources for urban farming and gardens
In 2012, she organized colleagues within UC Agriculture and Natural Resources and community partners to study the needs of urban farmers and begin offering workshops for them. She led the development of an urban agriculture website, with resources covering business management, food safety, marketing and regulations. She served on the leadership board of the Los Angeles Food Policy Council and began advising cities on policies that would make it easier for residents to grow food.
“These have been my favorite and most productive years of my career,” Surls said.
Drawing on skills she began honing as an undergraduate at Virginia Tech as a news writer for the Virginia Extension Service, Surls co-authored a book about the history of agriculture in Los Angeles County, called “From Cows to Concrete: The Rise and Fall of Farming in Los Angeles.” She is currently working on a second book about urban farming in the U.S.
The Grow LA Gardens Initiative – which helps aspiring gardeners start their own gardens quickly – is one source of pride for Surls. Hundreds of people have taken the four-week course and, after participating, nearly 70% planted gardens.
In 2018, Surls was honored with the Bradford-Rominger award by the Agricultural Sustainability Institute at UC Davis for her work promoting community gardens, school gardens and urban agriculture.
With community gardens and school gardens now commonplace, Surls chuckles as she recalls veteran UCCE colleagues advising her to choose a more “serious” academic focus early in her career.
“It's gratifying to see so many people in academia working on farming in cities, school gardens and community gardens,” Surls said.
Advocating for equity
In 2022, while Surls was on sabbatical, she and Cardenas – the longtime UC Master Gardener volunteer – requested and received $100,000 from the Los Angeles County Board of Supervisors to hire an equity, diversity and inclusion coordinator and to fund outreach. This UC Master Gardener project championed by Supervisor Sheila Kuehl specifically reaches underserved populations within the county. “Such a significant achievement would not have been possible without Rachel's encouragement and support,” Cardenas said.
After she retires, Surls plans to volunteer her expertise for online training of UC Master Gardener volunteers statewide. To support their program efforts including outreach to the Spanish-speaking community and scholarships for underserved communities, Surls has pledged to give $5,000 as a matching gift to donations to the UC Master Gardener Program in Los Angeles between Giving Tuesday, Nov. 28, and Dec. 31 at https://ucanr.edu/LAmastergardener.
Valliere brings expertise in restoration ecology
It all started with pumpkin seeds Justin Valliere has been hired to expand the Department of Plant Sciences' reach in the fields of invasion and restoration ecology. Valliere started as an assistant professor of UC Cooperative Extension in July. Valliere seeks ways to restore California's...
Gonzalves begins as new UC Cooperative Extension director for Monterey, Santa Cruz and San Benito counties
David Gonzalves started on Feb. 1 as director for University of California Cooperative Extension in Monterey, San Benito and Santa Cruz counties. UC Cooperative Extension connects communities across California with UC research and science-based solutions through agriculture, natural resources, nutrition and 4-H youth development programs.
Responsible for the overall operation of UCCE educational and applied research programs in the region, Gonzalves also will build and expand partnerships with county and city governments, public agencies and community organizations.
“David brings tremendous expertise in administration, fostering strong relationships, and building effective teams,” said Deanne Meyer, interim associate vice president for programs and strategic initiatives at UC Agriculture and Natural Resources, which administers UCCE statewide. “His track record of engaging local agencies, business partners, stakeholders and community groups will be invaluable as we explore new collaborations to reach and serve more Californians.”
Gonzalves was most recently a campus building official at UC Merced. Beginning his career at the County of Merced as a fire inspector, Gonzalves worked his way up to supervising building inspector and eventually assistant development services director. Then, for the City of Merced, he filled the role of chief building official and ultimately director of development services, leading the city's Building, Planning and Engineering teams. For three years, Gonzalves served as Tuolumne County's Community Resources Agency director.
“David's past experience as an administrator in county government and at UC Merced makes him the ideal candidate for the work we do at UCCE, as he has demonstrated success in being able to successfully negotiate these two worlds,” said Lynn Schmitt-McQuitty, interim director for county Cooperative Extension at UC ANR.
Gonzalves said he looks forward to meeting with county leaders, members of local boards, growers, UC Master Gardener volunteers, 4-H members and community members to learn how UC Cooperative Extension can help meet local needs.
“My big picture goal is to allow UCCE advisors, administrative teams and local county leaders to have a coordinated approach to our local challenges and successes,” Gonzalves said. “Our efforts will concentrate on freeing up our research teams' calendars to ensure they can continue producing cutting-edge accomplishments here in the tri-county area.”
Based at the UCCE Monterey County office in Salinas, Gonzalves can be reached at dgonzalves@ucanr.edu or (831) 392-5916.
Remember "BSI: The Case of the Disappearing Bees?"
Remember the alarm, the anxiety and the agony when news first surfaced about colony collapse disorder (CCD)? Wikipedia defines CCD as "an abnormal phenomenon that occurs when the majority of worker bees in a honey bee colony disappear, leaving behind...
Close-up image of cells in an abandoned hive; colony collapse disorder suspected. Note the bee antenna near the center. And the mold. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)
One of the slides in Eric Mussen's presentation on colony collapse disorder.
Extension apiculturist Eric Mussen briefly explained colony collapse disorder in this slide.
In this slide, Extension apiculturist Eric Mussen explained what sparked the colony collapse disease fury.
Extension apiculturist Eric Mussen detailed final thoughts about colony collapse disorder in this slide.
UC ANR to hire 48 more UC Cooperative Extension advisors
From Del Norte, Siskiyou, and Modoc counties south through San Diego and Imperial counties, Californians will be seeing more University of California Cooperative Extension advisors in their communities.
University of California Agriculture and Natural Resources has released 48 more UCCE Advisor positions for recruitment over the next 12 months thanks to increased 2021-22 state funding. This brings the total to 89 new UCCE Advisor positions since July 2021 when Gov. Newsom and the state Legislature provided a historic budget boost for UC ANR. During the last six months of 2021, UC ANR released 41 other UCCE positions that have been filled or are under recruitment. The full list of UCCE positions is posted online at https://bit.ly/CEpositions2021-22.
Additional UC Cooperative Extension Specialist positions will be announced for recruitment in early April 2022.
“We appreciate the people across the state who worked with UCANR to develop the UC Cooperative Extension advisor position proposals,” said Glenda Humiston, University of California vice president for agriculture and natural resources. “Input from community members and partnering agencies and organizations was critical to informing the prioritization of these UCCE positions. Now we hope our supporters will help us recruit the best scientists to work with California's communities.”
The new UCCE advisors will be providing research-based information to residents about nutrition, community development, crop production, forestry, pest management, water management, youth development, landscape management and wildfire.
In addition to traditional issues, some of the new UCCE advisors will be focusing on climate adaptation for Indigenous farmers, cultural burning and Indigenous land stewardship, repurposing green waste, and community development with Californians who are Black, Indigenous or speak English as a second language.
The following UCCE Advisor positions will be staged for recruitment to avoid overwhelming UC ANR's Human Resources colleagues:
- 4-H Community Engagement & Development Youth Area Advisor for Tulare, Fresno and Kings counties
- 4-H Animal Science Youth Advisor for San Benito, Monterey and Santa Cruz counties
- 4-H Youth Development Area Advisor for San Diego and Orange counties
- Agronomy and Weed Management Area Advisor for Merced County
- Agronomy and Weed Science Area Advisor for Tehama, Glenn and Shasta counties
- Climate Resilient Indigenous Farming and Food Sovereignty Area Advisor for San Diego and Riverside counties
- Community Development BIPOC (Black, Indigenous, and other people of color) Advisor for Alameda, Contra Costa, San Mateo and San Francisco counties
- Community Health and Nutrition Advisor for San Joaquin, Stanislaus and Merced counties
- Community Health and Nutrition Advisor for Shasta, Trinity and Tehama counties
- Community Health, Nutrition and Food Security Area Advisor for Butte, Glenn, Colusa, Sutter and Yuba counties
- Community Health, Nutrition and Food Systems Area Advisor for Siskiyou, Modoc and Lassen counties
- Community Health and Nutrition Older Adult Area Advisor for Marin, Napa and Sonoma counties
- Cultural Burning and Indigenous Land Stewardship Advisor for Mendocino and Lake counties
- Dairy Area Advisor for Tulare and Kern counties
- Entomology Area Advisor for Ventura and Los Angeles counties
- Environmental Horticulture Area Advisor for Fresno, Madera, Tulare and Kings counties
- Environmental Horticulture and Forestry Area Advisor for Placer and Nevada counties
- Environmental Horticulture and Water Resource Management Area Advisor for Alameda, Contra Costa, San Mateo, Santa Clara and San Francisco counties
- Food Safety and Organic Production Area Advisor for Imperial and Riverside counties
- Forestry Area Advisor for Santa Cruz, San Mateo and Santa Clara counties
- Forestry Area Advisor for Shasta, Trinity and Siskiyou counties
- Fruit and Almond Area Advisor for Fresno and Tulare counties
- Horticulture and Specialty Crops Advisor for Humboldt and Del Norte counties
- Indigenous Disaster Resilience Planning and Policy Area Advisor for Amador, Calaveras, Tuolumne and El Dorado counties
- IPM (Integrated Pest Management) Area Advisor for Amador, Calaveras, Tuolumne and El Dorado counties
- IPM Entomology Area Advisor based at Kearney Research and Extension Center
- IPM Entomology Farm Area Advisor for Monterey, Santa Cruz and San Benito counties
- Intermountain Irrigated Grass Systems Area Advisor for Modoc, Shasta and Lassen counties
- Irrigation and Soils Area Advisor for Stanislaus, San Joaquin and Merced counties
- Livestock and Natural Resources Area Advisor for Amador, Calaveras, Tuolumne and El Dorado counties
- Orchard Systems and Weed Ecology Area Advisor for Glenn, Tehama and Colusa counties
- Organic Materials Management Area Advisor for Orange, Los Angeles and San Diego counties
- Organic Materials Management and Agri-Food System Area Advisor for Santa Clara, Alameda, Contra Costa, San Mateo and San Francisco counties
- Pathology Area Advisor for Imperial, Riverside and San Diego counties
- Production Horticulture Area Advisor for Ventura and Santa Barbara counties
- Restoration Ecology and Weed Science Area Advisor for Kern, Tulare and Kings counties
- Rice Farming Systems Area Advisor for Colusa and Yolo counties
- Sustainable Agriculture Systems Area Advisor for Mariposa, Merced and Stanislaus counties
- Sustainable Orchard Systems Area Advisor for Sutter, Yuba, Butte and Placer counties
- Urban Agriculture Food Systems and Environmental Issues Advisor for San Diego and Orange counties
- Urban IPM Area Advisor for Sacramento, Solano and Yolo counties
- Urban Watershed Resilience Area Advisor for Orange, Riverside, San Bernardino and Los Angeles counties
- Vegetable Crops Area Advisor for Sacramento, Solano and Yolo counties
- Water and Soil Resources Area Advisor for Sonoma, Marin, Napa and Mendocino counties
- Water Management Area Advisor for Tulare, Fresno, Kings and Madera counties
- Water Quality-Quantity-Climate Change Area Advisor for Mendocino and Lake counties
- Weed Ecology and Management Area Advisor for Fresno, Tulare and Kings counties
- Youth, Families and Communities Area Advisor for Kern, Inyo and Mono counties
