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In honor of Black History Month, we encourage our readers to learn from Black environmentalists with the following resources from Intersectional Environmentalist.
Articles:
Podcasts/Media:
Books:
Organizations to consider supporting:
- NAACP – The National Association for the Advancement of Colored People is the nation's first and largest grassroots-based civil rights organization.
- Black Lives Matter – BLM was founded in 2013 with the mission to eradicate white supremacy, build local power, create space for Black innovation, and center Black joy.
- Color of Change – A social campaign network that empowers Black folks and champions solutions to move the community forward.
- Sustainable Brooklyn – Works to bridge gaps between the sustainability movement and targeted communities through various modalities, including education and events.
- Celsious – An eco-friendly laundromat in Brooklyn to provide a more sustainable way to do laundry to the community.
- Outdoor Afro – Celebrates and inspires Black connections and leadership in nature by organizing outings, trips, and adventures.
- Black Women's Blueprint – An organization that works to empower women of African descent.
- Black Alliance for Just Immigration – Educates and engages African American and Black immigrant communities to organize and advocate for racial, social, and economic justice.
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Institute Partners with Fruit Tree Foundation to Fight Food Insecurity
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In partnership with the Fruit Tree Planting Foundation (https://www.ftpf.org) and CSUN Physical Plant Management (PPM), the Institute for Sustainability has planted a new community food forest and orchard adjacent to the Sustainable Food Garden. The new 1/4-acre orchard features a variety of 50 fruit trees. It will also act as a "regenerative urban ecosystem" lab that will include California native perennial plants, niche experimental crops like coffee, and teaching areas with community gathering spaces that will host workshops, urban farming classes, and urban biodiversity seminars.
The orchard has a variety of fruits that will be available to students such as citrus, plums, peaches, apples, pomegranates, and coffee. The fruit will be donated to the CSUN Food Pantry in our fight against food insecurity.
A recent study from CSU Long Beach found that 41.6% of undergrads reported instances of food insecurity in the last month (Crutchfield et al., 2018), and this number could be increasing due to the pandemic. Growing food is not only a social justice issue but environmental as well.
Growing fruit and nuts that we can eat has the potential to help the planet. Researchers in Europe modeled various agroforestry systems and compared them to pasture and herbaceous farmland. They found that orchards and agroforest systems sequestered more carbon, and more efficiently limited soil erosion and nitrogen leaching (Crous-Duran et al., 2020).
The orchard will be a living, breathing habitat. The understory will be filled with coastal sage scrub and oak woodland native plant species, that will attract native pollinators and parasitoid insects that will hunt and kill orchard pests.
This understory will also act as a cover crop, holding in moisture and preventing erosion. When the trees take in air, they absorb carbon which becomes wood, and when they exhale, they fill the air with the oxygen we depend on to live. Native plants and non-native plants can co-exist and thrive, benefiting the air and biodiversity, but Las Pilitas suggests some careful planning in terms of where water tolerant and intolerant plant species are being placed in proximity to orchard trees (“How to Design a Vegetable and Fruit Garden with California Native Plants”, 2020).
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In the News: U.S. Rejoins Paris Climate Accord
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Clement Martin/Sipa USA via Associated Press
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During his first few days in office, President Biden signed an Executive Order for the United States to rejoin the Paris climate agreement, the largest international effort to curb climate change. Although it will take 30 days for the U.S. to officially rejoin, its targets and demands are higher than ever.
Behind China, the U.S. is the second-largest producer of carbon emissions and, according to NPR, "has contributed more to global climate change over time than any other country." In 2017, transportation surpassed electricity generation as the largest source of GHG emissions in the U.S.
Biden's decision to rejoin the Climate Agreement was meant to signal to the world that the United States is serious about mitigating climate change, but many argue that our window of time to take action continues to narrow.
In his first days in office, he also created an Executive Order to create a White House Council on Environmental Justice. The Council will suggest ways that the federal government can address the environmental impacts of systemic racism and put environmental justice at the center of addressing the disproportionate health, environmental, and economic impacts on communities of color, especially the communities of brown, Black, Native American, poor whites.
Another notable environmental action already taken was canceling a permit to build the Keystone XL pipeline which would have transported crude oil from Alberta to the Texas Gulf Coast. The proposed pipeline threatens climate, ecosystems, drinking water sources, and public health.
Source: NPR
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Matador Eats: Sustainable Partnerships
Matador Eats is proud to partner with both Rainforest Alliance’s Sustainable Certified Coffee and S&D Coffee &Tea, to provide our campus community with quality products that we can feel good about purchasing.
Rainforest Alliance Sustainable Certified Coffee
By purchasing through Rainforest Alliance, our campus community is supporting workers who practice sustainable farming that helps protect wildlife and conserve biodiversity.
- The Rainforest Alliance Certified Seal ensures that forests, rivers, soils and wildlife are conserved, workers are paid decent wages and their families have access to education and medical care.
- The Rainforest Alliance Certification ensures continual improvements on the farms and connects responsible producers and traders with innovative companies and better markets.
S&D Coffee & Tea
S&D Coffee & Tea is a leading innovator of beverage solutions that are rooted in impact and how they can continuously improve the environment, economic and social impact of the beverages they craft and their industry, as a whole. Their key focal areas over the past several years includes engaging their partners with purpose in the workplace and world, and ensuring their beverages were crafted with care for the planet.
S&D Coffee & Tea engages employees, partners and supports a supply chain model with a purpose to create positive impact around the world. Through investment and action, they aim to empower
individuals, improve communities and foster a culture of respect, safety and inclusivity. When it comes to crafting with care for the planet.
S&D Coffee & Tea is a leading innovator in the beverage industry as it pertains to their environmental impact. Here are some of their environmental highlights:
- $153,555 savings in reduced fuel consumption (2017 & 2018)
- 40,000 gallons of water saved in equipment refurb center (recycling water from QA process)
- 2018 Greenhouse Gas Measures
To learn more about S&D Coffee & Tea’s sustainability efforts, visit sdcoffeetea.com/sustainability.
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Community Spotlight
Armada Unified: Empowering LA's Underserved Communities
Armada Unified provides leadership development and resilience training to active and aspiring social justice leaders in LA’s underserved communities.
Founded by Erin Harris and Emanuel Thomas in response to Covid-19, this non-profit organization offers social justice and urban farming training to those who seek to bring food security to their communities.
CSUN has partnered up with Armada Unified and Dean Searcy from the College of Social and Behavioral Sciences to develop curriculum focused on community empowerment, leadership, and justice.
The curriculum is meant to carry out Armada Unified's "Teacher Training" program, including topics such as local food systems; finding, cultivating, and actuating your life's purpose; social justice leadership; and regenerative farming.
To learn about Armada Unified, click here. To support Armada Unified, click here.
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The Farmer Ken: Food Equity and Community Gardens
Kenneth Sparks, most commonly known as "The Farmer Ken," is an incredible and inspiring food justice advocate, farmer, and garden educator.
With a family history of gardening, a Masters of Education from the University of Illinois at Chicago, and years of experience implementing community gardens, Farmer Ken has dedicated his work to providing accessible food for under-resourced communities and families in Ohio, Illinois, and Los Angeles.
His current space features two vegetable gardens, herbs, a patio pond garden, nature garden, a food forest, and his own chickens. His company provides garden consultation, installation, and education. Farmer Ken also provides fresh produce from his edible farm at Farmer's markets and his Etsy shop.
Among his many initiatives, Farmer Ken is hosting a fundraiser to build free community garden spaces and empower communities through education, tools, programming, and resources. Click here to visit his GoFundMe to learn more and support community gardens.
Some of his recent features include LA Times, ABC 7 News, Modern Farmer Magazine, Voyage LA, and the San Diego Tribune. If you'd like to support Farmer Ken, check out his Instagram, Facebook, or Twitter.
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Garden Harvests and Updates
What's growing in the garden?
Here at the Sustainable Food Garden, winter season consists of much-needed rain and leafy greens like butter crunch lettuce shown on the right. This also includes cilantro, chard, kale, and spinach.
Sustainability in the Garden
While the plants in the garden love water, we have turned off our irrigation systems to allow for mother earth to do its job. This allows us to save water which is more sustainable. We encourage you to do the same in your yard or garden!
If you would like to learn more about the garden, feel free to follow us on Instagram @CSUNsustainablegarden or click here.
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Fellowships for Intersectional Environmentalists
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CAPAL's scholarship and internship program includes the following opportunities:
- DC Public Service Internships
- Public Service Field Internships
- Public Service Scholarships
CAPAL strongly encourages and seeks applicants from people of color especially Native Hawaiians and Pacific Islanders; people with disabilities; and people of all gender identities and sexual orientations.
The deadline to apply is February 15. Click here to learn more or apply.
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Sustainability Fellowships pair exceptional undergraduate and graduate students from UNH and universities across the country with municipal, educational, corporate, and non-profit partners in New England to work on transformative sustainability initiatives.
Undergraduate UNH Cohort: $5,220 ($13.05/hour for 400 hours)
Graduate NATIONAL Cohort: $6,500 ($16.25/hour for 400 hours)
The deadline to apply is February 15. Click here to learn more or apply.
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Student Research Opportunity
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Upcoming Events: February
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Resource: CSUN with A HEART
CSUN with A HEART is a component of the CSU Basic Needs Initiative and seeks to provide students with the following various resources:
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Click on the button above to send us any sustainability-related news, events, resources, or career/volunteer opportunities that you would like to be included in The Footprint!
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Sustainability is a key priority at California State University, Northridge, integrated into all aspects of the university from operations and infrastructure to outreach, education and research. We’ve taught thousands of students how to grow their own food, to rethink “waste,” to conserve energy and water, and to take what they learn at CSUN back to their communities.
We rely on the generosity of donors to expand CSUN's sustainability leadership - from academic learning opportunities for students to cutting-edge research and engagement that benefit our campus, state and planet. Please consider giving to the Institute for Sustainability. Your tax-deductible contributions help support our mission and invest in our students, faculty and staff who make a difference both on campus and in the community.
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