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Barnes brings hometown knowledge to UCCE in Lake, Mendocino counties
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 University of California Cooperative Extension director for Lake and Mendocino counties. He will guide and support research, outreach and education activities to meet the area's agriculture, natural resources, and youth and community development needs.
Since starting in May, Barnes has been getting a crash course from UCCE advisors and staff on viticulture research, pest management practices, 4-H camps, and a host of other projects and programs – while also meeting with local communities on the region's most pressing challenges.
“What I've been doing – and will continue to do – is just to listen and learn, and when I can add value to a conversation or project, then I'll do that,” Barnes said. “But leadership to me starts with the relationships we build – with our staff and with the community.”
Bringing a range of experiences in youth programs, social services
One area in which Barnes will certainly add value is developing youth and community programs. During his time with Boys & Girls Club of the Pomo Nation, it was one of only three Boys & Girls Clubs established on tribal land in California. In that role, Barnes faced the unique challenge of integrating the Boys & Girls Club curriculum into a community for which it was not originally designed.
By adapting the curriculum to include culturally relevant topics, Barnes transformed the program into a model that eventually aided in the creation of a Native American-focused branch, Boys & Girls Clubs of America Native Services.
“This initiative now serves as a national standard for Boys & Girls Clubs on tribal lands,” Barnes said.
He later became a director of California Tribal TANF (Temporary Assistance for Needy Families), a direct cash assistance and supportive services program for Native American families in 17 counties across the state.
During his decade of TANF work, Barnes launched career development programs, alcohol and other drug counseling programs, and cultural revitalization initiatives. Some of the programs are still running and serving communities to this day.
“The trick is making those programs something that participants can see the value in,” Barnes explained. “And to do that, you go into the communities and talk to people and listen to what they need – instead of you telling them what they need.”
Barnes' experience partnering with Native American communities is just one of the many strengths he will bring to UCCE and UC Agriculture and Natural Resources.
“We're very excited to have Matthew join the UC ANR family,” said Lynn Schmitt-McQuitty, UC ANR's director of County Cooperative Extension. “His personal knowledge of Lake and Mendocino counties and his previous work with Indigenous populations will be a tremendous asset to extending and elevating our work.”
Immediately prior to joining UC ANR, Barnes served as director of Lake County's Upward Bound program, which helps students from three local high schools experience and prepare for higher education.
“Overall, what drives me personally is the opportunity to make an impact on communities, on youth, and on people in general through program development and management,” Barnes said.
Inspiring young people as a mentor
Barnes' passion for youth development – and the impetus for his bachelor's degree in social work from Cal Poly Humboldt – can be traced to his AmeriCorps experience while he was attending Mendocino College. For two years, he worked as a tutor for young people, in Lake County and then in Sonoma County, and saw firsthand the difference educators and mentors can make in their lives.
“You could say I kind of caught the bug – just seeing the light bulbs go on when you're helping a youth of that age,” Barnes said.
From there, Barnes took a position directing teen programs for the Boys and Girls Club of Healdsburg, where he began to fully appreciate the importance of trusted adults simply “being there” for young people as a listening ear for whatever they want to talk about.
Among the many teens Barnes worked with, “Rodrigo” was a middle schooler who was pegged by his school and community as someone who could “slip through the cracks.” Rodrigo was the last to go home at the end of each day, and Barnes would chat with him – answering his questions about life or just talking about a new rap album.
“I realized I was ‘that person' for him – that person outside his house, outside his school,” Barnes said.
Even after Barnes left the Boys and Girls Club, Rodrigo – bound for university – invited him to his high school graduation. Barnes said it is tremendously gratifying to know he had a “small role” in shaping the path for Rodrigo – and countless others.
“Their success is still theirs; it's not necessarily because of me,” Barnes added. “My job is to do what I can in the moment to hopefully plant some seeds that may sprout in the future.”
Settled in Middletown, not far from his hometown, where he and his wife are raising two children, Barnes is now positioned to help nurture a flourishing Lake County and resilient Mendocino County.
“I feel like my past experiences, both in life and my career, have prepared me for this,” Barnes said.
Reminder to complete our mailing list and interest survey
Attention Mendocino & Lake Ranchers, Farmers, Forest Land Owners:
Attached is a flier about our survey that some of you may have received. It is very important that you take the time to fill out the survey as it helps us help you. It also help us justify Advisor position requests that will serve Mendocino & Lake Counties. The information we collect is completely confidential and will be used to clean up our client database and give us direction for the types of programs and research you want. If you have children of 4-H age or know others that might be interested in 4-H we will use that part of the survey results for contacting you about participating. If you want ranch, forest or farm visits with our Advisors we will follow up with you to schedule.
Thanks so much for completing the survey!
Sincerely,
John Harper
UCCE Livestock & Natural Resources Advisor, Emeritus
UCCE Programs Interest and Mailing List Sign UP Survey
Homeless people cultivate food, better health while gardening in Alameda County
Fresh fruits and vegetables are essential to a healthful diet, but it's hard to keep perishable foods on hand if one doesn't have a refrigerator or a home. To enhance the health of homeless people, the CalFresh Healthy Living, UC Cooperative Extension team in Alameda County has partnered with the South County Homeless Project to grow fresh produce for people staying at the emergency housing in Hayward.
For the past seven years, CalFresh Healthy Living, UCCE Alameda has been delivering nutrition lessons to residents of the South County Homeless Project, part of Building Opportunities for Self Sufficiency. The classes include Rethink Your Drink, Food Safety, Making Every Dollar Count, Eat Healthy Be Active Community Workshops, and Fresh from the Garden.
The South County Homeless Project facility houses 24 people for up to a year. With the help of the CalFresh Healthy Living, UC Cooperative Extension team, its existing garden was refurbished and redesigned. The large outdoor garden behind the facility offers therapeutic gardening opportunities to residents and provides food for their meals.
"I love the garden and when the cook cooks the vegetables, they taste amazing,” said one resident. “I am thankful for this garden and for having the CalFresh Healthy Living team.”
At one time, South County Homeless Project's backyard featured a flower garden. After years of neglect, weeds overtook the garden.
In 2022, CalFresh Healthy Living, UCCE Alameda proposed getting residents involved in growing food by resurrecting the garden with edible plants.
“Not only could we continue to engage residents in nutrition education classes, but we could also work together to reinvigorate their neglected garden,” said MaxFairbee, nutrition educator withCalFresh Healthy Living team,UCCE Alameda.
More than 15 varieties of herbs and vegetables planted
Residents and staff set out to replace the weedy beds with a vegetable and herb garden.
“We worked with South County staff and residents on the design, clean up, planting, harvesting and ultimately incorporating food from the garden into the kitchen for residents to enjoy the fruits of their labor,” Fairbee said.
For gardening expertise and support, Fairbee enlisted the UC Master Gardeners of Alameda County's Community Garden Team to help. While the CalFresh Healthy Living, UCCE staff continued providing nutrition classes, the UC Master Gardener volunteers trained the residents on the basics of gardening.
In April, after heavy rains, the group planted 50 seedlings, half donated by the UC Master Gardeners. They planted two varieties of lettuce,arugula, four varieties of tomatoes, zucchini, kale, onions, cucumbers, green beans, Swiss chard, kale, basil, cilantro, tarragon, thyme, parsley, rosemary, oregano and mint.
From garden to table
“In May, we harvested lettuce and in June, we harvested green beans, cucumbers, kale and onions,” Fairbee said.
The fresh vegetables and herbs were used to prepare salads, sandwiches and pasta dishes for the residents. Fairbee and the other educators have also used the fresh produce for cooking demonstrations and tastings as part of their Fresh from the Garden class.
"We have been able to use many of the veggies as sides or to go in the salad," said one of the South County Homeless Project cooks.
"One of the chefs used the zucchini in the pasta sauce, it was so good! I didn't really know you could use it that way!" said a resident.
After tasting summer squash andgazpacho made with tomatoes from the garden, a South County resident namedSelina said, "I was surprised how good the raw summer squash tasted and how the flavor was different after it was cooked. I'll definitely be adding more zucchini to my plate."
Challenges to keeping the garden going
To keep the garden healthy, they faced competition with plant-chewing snails, slugs and aphids and cats digging in the soil. Because the water source is over 200 feet from the garden, they run a long hose across the main path, along the parking lot to water the plants, then unhook the hose and stash it indoors after each use so that it won't get stolen.
Another challenge of maintaining the garden is getting enough residents and staff to volunteer to work on it.
“Although staff are supportive of the garden, none actually have time to work in the garden,” Fairbee said.
The residents harvest, wash and store the produce in the kitchen. Only four to six of the 24 residents are typically interested in working in the garden, pulling weeds and protecting the plants from pests – most are focused on getting a new job and a home. South County residents usually leave the temporary housing within a few months.
For more consistent garden maintenance, Fairbee is looking to other community groups for volunteers. He is also hoping to persuade the county government to install a water spigot close to the garden so they can install drip irrigation to water the garden.
“We'd like to work with the UC Master Food Preservers to teach residents how to preserve herbs and vegetables,” Fairbee said.
He hopes South County Homeless Project residents will continue gardening in their new homes to grow fresh vegetables so they can enjoy a more nutritious diet and better health.
Beyond the fresh food, the South County Homeless Project residents and staff enjoy the ambience of the garden.
"It's really nice to go back there and just sit, it's really peaceful," said one staff member.
A resident added, "(The garden) relaxes me from stress. I love the garden."
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.
Organic Ag Institute begins forming knowledge network, assessing needs
Cal OAK Network to build on, grow connections between UC and organic community
After pioneering the organic movement in the 1970s, California now leads the nation in number of organic farms, total organic acreage and overall organic crop value. Attaining this status was no small feat, and largely driven by resourceful growers who developed and refined the wide range of novel organic farming practices seen in California today.
Now, with the creation of the Organic Agriculture Institute, the University of California will be able to leverage its vast capacity for research, extension and education to further improve the sustainability, resilience and profitability of organic agriculture in the state.
In its first major public initiative, the Organic Agriculture Institute – a program of UC Agriculture and Natural Resources – is conducting a statewide needs assessment for organic agriculture, as well as forming a knowledge-sharing network that connects UC experts with growers, processors, producer organizations, certifiers, crop consultants, community groups and state agencies.
“This network will be a sustainability partnership that enables learning, innovation and cooperation among organic agriculture stakeholders,” said Houston Wilson, director of the Organic Agriculture Institute, which was established in January 2020. “As facilitator of the Cal OAK Network, the Organic Ag Institute will serve as an intermediary that fosters communication among stakeholder groups, organizes discourse, forges new collaborations, and generally enhances coordination of stakeholder activities.”
By creating closer connections between the UC and the organic community, the Cal OAK Network will foster ongoing feedback cycles of knowledge and best practices, and in doing so help create the conditions and momentum to facilitate the development and adoption of organic production practices.
“The Cal OAK Network will better connect the organic community with UC technical and training resources, while at the same time providing a mechanism for that community to feed information back to the UC that helps us shape our programs at the Organic Ag Institute,” said Wilson, noting potential contributions in areas such as pest control, weed management and crop nutrition.
In the first 18 months of the Institute, Wilson has been charting the current landscape of organic agriculture in California, listening to the needs of stakeholders and working to position the Institute in a way that best uses the UC's unique research and extension capacities to support and augment existing efforts by growers and other groups.
The Institute recently received a planning grant from the National Institute of Food and Agriculture to conduct a formal needs assessment through summer 2022. In surveying growers and other stakeholders, the Institute seeks to identify their primary research and extension priorities, as well as gain a better understanding of the key people and organizations they currently rely on for information about organic production.
Through this process, a map of nodes and connections in the organic community will also take shape – and the roster of members for the Cal OAK Network will continue to grow. As Wilson points out, it is only through a diverse and robust information-sharing system that California organic agriculture will successfully adapt to challenges like climate change.
“We're trying to create a resilient infrastructure for engagement with organic stakeholders,” he said. “When we talk about sustainability in agriculture, part of that is having sustainable institutions that function well and can be flexible and dynamic as new challenges arise down the road.”
To learn more about and join the California Organic Agriculture Knowledge Network, visit organic.ucanr.edu and contact Wilson at hwilson@ucanr.edu.
