College of Marin’s 2024 Spring Plant Sale is coming soon!

The IVOFG Spring plant sale will take place on two weekends this year:

For the first weekend, we will be continuing our pre-order and curbside pickup system. Place your orders online starting in April and schedule your pickup between 10am-2pm on the following dates: Friday April 26 and Saturday April 27. We are planning to start accepting orders on Friday, April 12, but that date is subject to change, so be on the lookout for updates!

The second weekend will be our in person sale which will take place here at the farm Friday May 3 and Saturday May 4.

All of our plants are grown right here, by staff and students, at the Indian Valley Organic Farm and Garden in Novato. As always, they are certified organic.

https://ivc.farm/

And get ready for our CSA and Farmstand!

We will be starting up our CSA in early June. A CSA is a weekly veggie box subscription, where you get a diverse box of our organic produce each week. Our Farmstand will start shortly thereafter, so stay tuned for more updates!

For more information, feel free to reach out to us at organicfarm@marin.edu

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The LIME Foundation’s NextGen Trades Academy Connects Students With Careers

When he was 17, Marcus Hernandez didn’t know which direction he should take after graduating from high school, a familiar anxiety for kids of that age.

College was an option for the Rancho Cotate High School junior, but Marcus wasn’t thrilled about spending more time in the classroom.

“I realized that I really loved working with my hands, and that college wasn’t really a route for me,” he said. “I really wanted to get into construction, but I wasn’t sure how to get into the industry.”

One day in wood shop class, Marcus’ teacher handed him a flier for the NextGen Trades Academy, a new program designed to give young men and women the knowledge and skills to build careers in fields such as construction, roofing, plumbing and more.

Letitia Hanke, the founder and CEO of Santa Rosa-based Alternative Roofing Solutions, Inc., started the academy in 2017, to give young people an alternative to college. The academy itself if part of a larger nonprofit, the LIME foundation, also run by Hanke.

Having overcome childhood racism and sexism in the roofing industry, Hanke wanted to support youth who faced similar adversity.

After signing on for the first academy class, Marcus received training in the proper use of tools, job site safety and how to write a resume and prepare for a job interview.

He also met directly with local contractors, one of whom would eventually hire him out of high school.

Now 24, Marcus owns Empower Building Solutions, a general contracting business he started in 2023 with help from his family.

His mother, Crystal Bowen, owned a solar company bearing a similar business name. Prior to that, she was one of the few women working as a pipe fitter on the Golden Gate Bridge.

“It’s been really exciting,” Marcus said of carrying on the family’s working-class traditions. “One of the best times of my life.”

Years of supporting county youths

The trades academy is a program under the LIME Foundation, the Santa Rosa-based nonprofit Hanke founded in 2015 to bring vocational training to youth, help seniors live more active and healthier lives and connect at-risk youth to music, theater and dance.

Hanke has been the recipient of numerous awards, including The Press Democrat’s North Bay Spirit Award, the North Bay Journal’s Nonprofit Leadership Award and a California Small Business of the Year Award.

But her recognition doesn’t stop there, a photo of her with Gov. Gavin Newsom appears on the Lime Foundation’s website and Hanke has also been featured on the Kelly Clarkson Show as well.

Hanke openly shares the challenges that motivate her to support youth.

When she was five, her family moved from Berkeley to Hidden Valley Lake, where her father, Aaron Turner, had built a home on property he inherited from his dad. At the time, the Turners were among the few Black families residing in the gated community.

“It was supposed to be this beautiful thing,” Hanke recalled. “What they (her parents) didn’t know was how much hatred and racism existed there.”

When Hanke reached middle school, a music teacher encouraged her to learn an instrument, as much to spark an interest in music as to give Hanke an escape from the harassment.

Hanke discovered she had an aptitude for playing the trumpet and singing. After graduating high school and enrolling at Sonoma State University, she flirted with a career in the arts.

But when money got tight, she dropped out of college her senior year and started working as a receptionist for a roofing company.

Paying it forward with support

Working in the trades came naturally to Hanke, whose father was a union pipe fitter. Her mother, Gloria, worked in medical billing.

Hanke quickly worked her way up the ladder, and after four years, the roofing company’s owner asked her if she wanted to purchase the business. Feeling she needed more experience, Hanke did the actual work of repairing and replacing roofs.

Another four years went by.

After earning her roofing contractor’s license in 2004, Hanke finally felt ready to start her own company. But many lending institutions refused to loan her money.

“I was a Black female roofer coming out of nowhere,” she said.

Hanke finally secured the $250,000 business loan with help from the North Bay Black Chamber of Commerce.

But as ARS Roofing grew, Hanke still felt dismissed by some of her fellow contractors. She also detected racism in customers backing out of jobs once they met her in person, or in their refusal to shake her hand.

Hanke pushed past these slights. Her roofing company now employs 24, many of whom have been with her for years, notable for an industry with a high rate of turnover.

Hanke’s message of not letting others define her is one that resonates with many of the youth who are supported through the LIME Foundation.

NextGen academy graduates include those who were cycling in and out of Sonoma County’s juvenile justice system. Hanke said many of these young people were told growing up they would never amount to anything.

“They take our class and realize not only that they have the skills, but how brilliant they are, and how they can do something more positive in the community,” Hanke said.

She described one graduate who is now running a crew for a solar company. Another is working for a restoration business and is engaged to be married, with a baby on the way..

And over the years, the academy has really taken off. The program expanded to Marin County last year, and Hanke said she’s hoping to offer it across California and nationwide.

The nonprofit has a staff of four and an annual budget of more than $900,000 with corporate sponsors like Sonoma Clean Power.

Structure of the trades academy

The academy holds eight classes a year with 15 to 18 graduates in each class. To date, 247 graduates have moved through the program who are 11% female, 76% male and 13% non binary/unspecified. The graduates identify as 3% Asian, 29% White, 49% Hispanic/Latino, 7% African American/Black, 10% multiracial and 2% Native American/Indigenous.

Last year, 51 students graduated from NextGen Trades Academy and the next in-person session will be held at Elsie Allen High School this spring.

Students attend two weekday classes and all-day Saturday sessions during the three-week academy.

One of the more unique sessions features students building and painting birdhouses, in which they plant fresh succulents. The idea is to teach them about eco-friendly vegetation.

The birdhouses are also popular auction items at the LIME Foundation’s annual Believe in the Dream fundraising galas.

At the conclusion of the academy, graduates receive a free set of tools.

Students are not charged to attend the academy. The LIME Foundation covers the entire cost, which is $2,800 per student, according to Hanke who also diverts up to 5% of each roofing job from Alternative Roofing Solutions, Inc., to the foundation. The costs are also covered by donations that go directly to the program.

Elian Hernandez, who has no relation to Marcus, went through the academy as a junior at Petaluma’s Casa Grande High School. At the time, he was working part-time at a grocery store while going to school and trying to figure out his next move after graduation.

Elian is now employed by Hanke’s roofing company. On a recent weekday afternoon, he was with a crew in the city of Sonoma, cleaning gutters from the rooftops of condominiums.

“I wasn’t bad at school,” Elian said. “But ever since I started working, I liked the idea of going somewhere to make money, and making something else of the money, such as investments.”

Building industry relationships that last

Adam Herman, the crew’s 42-year-old foreman from Cloverdale, said he welcomes efforts to boost interest in the trades among young people.

“I graduated high school in 99’,” Herman said. “I took wood shop and metalshop and probably at 15 or 16 years old I was working with my dad doing sign installation. That’s huge, because every little job you learn from here to there is experience you’re building.”

In the trades, relationships matter a lot.

Dorothy Beattie, a Sonoma County real estate agent and president of Santa Rosa’s 6th Street Playhouse who has known Hanke for years, recently contacted Hanke to ask if any NextGen academy graduates would be interested in a restoration project at the theater.

Hanke recommended Marcus — with Empower Building Solutions — and Chris Hernandez, who owns Elevated Electric, for the work.

The two men met with Beattie and Hanke at the playhouse recently to go over the work, which is being underwritten with a $16,000 grant from the city of Santa Rosa.

“I just really love the work they are doing, and I love the work we are doing,” Beattie said of the LIME Foundation and the playhouse. “We are sharing the theater with youth, and youth are learning the trades. It’s a beautiful merging of missions.”

As if Hanke weren’t busy enough, she’s planning to expand NextGen with an auto academy this year, and launch a culinary academy in 2025.

She also is planning to move back to Hidden Valley Lake, where she and husbandplan to live next door to Hanke’s parents.

Returning to Lake County would be something of a victory for Hanke, who didn’t let childhood indignities stop her from reaching the heights of a career in the roofing business, and in life.

“I’m an African-American female roofer. Don’t give up,” she said. “Keep on pushing. Don’t stop. That’s the advice I can give right now, and what I have lived every single day of my life.”

https://www.northbaybusinessjournal.com/article/specialsections/santa-rosas-nextgen-trades-academy-connects-students-with-careers/?utm_campaign=trueanthem&utm_medium=trueanthem&utm_source=linkedin

Buck Institute Scientists Discover a Potential Way to Repair Synapses Damaged in Alzheimer’s Disease

A new study proposes a strategy for reversing the memory problems that accompany Alzheimer’s disease and related dementias, exploring an alternative to the laser-focused approach of big pharma to target toxic tau proteins known to go hand in glove with these diseases.

Rather than remove the damaging compound, scientists at the Buck Institute for Research on Aging aimed to reverse the damage the compound caused using an innate protein found in the kidneys and the brain.

“While newly approved drugs for Alzheimer’s show some promise for slowing the memory-robbing disease, the current treatments fall far short of being effective at regaining memory. What is needed are more treatment options targeted to restore memory,” said Buck Assistant Professor Tara Tracy, PhD, the senior author of the study.

The protein in question is called KIBRA, named because it is found in the kidney and the brain. Along with being produced in the kidney, Tracy and her team identified its presence throughout brain synapses, which are the connections between neurons that allow memories to be formed and recalled.

They also found that KIBRA is deficient in the brains of people with Alzheimer’s and dementia.

“We wondered how the lower levels of KIBRA affected signaling at the synapse, and whether understanding that mechanism better could yield some insight into how to repair the synapses damaged during the course of Alzheimer’s disease,” said Buck Staff Scientist ​​Grant Kauwe, Ph.D., co-first author of the study.

“What we identified is a mechanism that could be targeted to repair synaptic function, and we are now trying to develop a therapy based on this work.”

To figure out how KIBRA affects synapses, the team created a shortened functional version of the KIBRA protein. In laboratory mice that have a condition mimicking human Alzheimer’s disease, they found that this protein can reverse the memory impairment associated with this type of dementia. They found that KIBRA rescues mechanisms that promote the resilience of synapses.

The team next wanted to measure the levels of KIBRA in the cerebrospinal fluid of humans to understand how it changed along with other key markers in Alzheimer’s, such as toxic tau protein or beta-amyloid. They found that higher levels of KIBRA in the cerebrospinal fluid, but lower levels in the brain, corresponded to the severity of dementia.

“We also found this amazing correlation between increased tau levels and increased KIBRA levels in the cerebrospinal fluid,” said Tracy. “It was very surprising how strong the relationship was, which really points to the role of KIBRA being affected by tau in the brain.”

The team is exploring this phenomenon further, in hopes that KIBRA could be used as a biomarker of synaptic dysfunction and cognitive decline that could be useful for diagnosis, treatment planning, and tracking disease progression and response to therapy.

“Interestingly, KIBRA restored synaptic function and memory in mice, despite not fixing the problem of toxic tau protein accumulation,” said Kristeen Pareja-Navarro, co-first author of the study. “Our work supports the possibility that KIBRA could be used as a therapy to improve memory after the onset of memory loss, even though the toxic protein that caused the damage remains.”

While addressing the root cause of a disease, in this case the tau protein, would in theory be the more desirable treatment method, almost all pharmacological options for doing so have failed to demonstrate robust success in diminishing the symptoms of Alzheimer’s.

These repeat failures give the impetus for seeking another approach.

Buck Institute Scientists Discover a Potential Way to Repair Synapses Damaged in Alzheimer’s Disease

Redwood Credit Union Names Senior Vice President of Business Services

Redwood Credit Union has hired Steve Ward as senior vice president of business services. In this role, Ward leads a team dedicated to providing exceptional experiences for current and new business members across RCU’s eight-county Northern California field of membership. Ward’s team helps business leaders and entrepreneurs in our communities with business lending, business deposits, cash management, merchant services, payroll, investment services, and business insurance products tailored to meet their unique needs and goals.

Ward brings more than 20 years of financial services experience in business banking, consumer credit, wealth management, and retail banking to his role at RCU. Prior to joining the credit union, Ward spent two decades at Wells Fargo Bank, where he held several senior leadership positions serving communities across the western U.S. He has served on the boards of Renaissance Entrepreneurship Center and Urban Solutions, helping small businesses understand the resources available in their communities.

Ward is a long-time Marin County resident and works out of RCU’s Santa Rosa administrative offices.

About Redwood Credit Union
Founded in 1950, Redwood Credit Union is a full-service financial institution providing personal and business banking to consumers and businesses in the North Bay and San Francisco. With a mission to passionately serve the best interests of its Members, team members, and communities, RCU delivers many ways for its Members to save and build money through checking and savings accounts, auto and home loans, credit cards, digital banking, business services, commercial and SBA lending, and more. Wealth management and investment services are available through CUSO Financial Services L.P., and insurance and auto-purchasing services are also offered through RCU Services Group (RCU’s wholly owned subsidiary). RCU has more than $8 billion in assets and serves more than 450,000 members with full-service branches from San Francisco to Ukiah. For more information, call 1 (800) 479-7928, visit redwoodcu.org, or follow RCU on Facebook, Instagram, X, and LinkedIn for news and updates.

Buck Institute Receives $21 Million Hevolution Foundation Grant

The Buck Institute for Research on Aging and the Hevolution Foundation have announced a novel multi-year partnership. This collaboration will pioneer new scientific initiatives and accelerate discoveries toward therapeutic interventions specifically targeting aging. The partnership centers on understanding and translating geroscience, a term coined at the Buck Institute, which is the interface between the biology of aging and age-related chronic diseases.

“We believe that human health is poised to be transformed through the translation of the last two decades of geroscience research,” says Eric Verdin, MD, President and Chief Executive Officer of the Buck Institute. “Targeting the aging process will set us on the path to tackle the chronic diseases of aging such as Alzheimer’s, Parkinson’s, cancer, atherosclerosis (heart attacks and stroke), and type 2 diabetes. This generous multi-year $21 million grant from Hevolution is critical to our efforts.”

The partnership will focus on three broad areas as the cornerstone for a future Healthspan Center for Translational Geroscience at the Buck Institute. Focused efforts will include discovering innovative therapeutic interventions for aging, identifying accurate biomarkers for measuring intervention effectiveness, and understanding environmental and lifestyle influences on healthspan and lifespan, known as the exposome.

“The Buck Institute is a world-renowned pioneer and global leader in aging research,” says Dr. Mehmood Khan, Chief Executive Officer of the Hevolution Foundation. “This grant reflects Hevolution’s unparalelled commitment to foster innovation in the field of healthspan science and shape a healthier aging future for all.”

The announcement was unveiled at Hevolution’s inaugural Global Healthspan Summit, alongside other announcements for additional funding for AFAR, the American Federation for Aging Research, and for postdoctoral fellowships in Saudi Arabia which will support scientific discoveries targeting unhealthy aging.

About the Hevolution Foundation:

Founded on the belief that every person has the right to live a longer, healthier life, Hevolution Foundation is a global catalyst, partner, and convener on a mission to drive efforts to extend healthy human lifespan and understand the processes of aging. With a focus on aging as a treatable process, Hevolution Foundation aims to increase the number of aging-related treatments on the market, compress the timeline of drug development, and increase accessibility to therapeutics that extend healthy lifespan, also known as healthspan. A global non-profit organization headquartered in Riyadh with a North American hub and an annual budget of up to $1 billion, Hevolution Foundation plans to open offices in other global locations to support a cutting-edge, global ecosystem of talent to propel aging and geroscience research forward and achieve medical breakthroughs to help humanity live healthier, longer. Connect with Hevolution Foundation on LinkedIn, X (formerly Twitter), and at hevolution.com

https://www.buckinstitute.org/news/buck-institute-receives-21-million-hevolution-foundation-grant/?utm_source=Newsletter&utm_campaign=44adbde7b9-EMAIL_CAMPAIGN_2024_02_02_09_09&utm_medium=email&utm_term=0_-44adbde7b9-%5BLIST_EMAIL_ID%5D

New Drug-Like Molecule Extends Lifespan, Ameliorates Pathology in Worms and Boosts Function in Mammalian Muscle Cells

Having healthy mitochondria, the organelles that produce energy in all our cells, usually portends a long healthy life whether in humans or in C. elegans, a tiny, short-lived nematode worm often used to study the aging process.  Researchers at the Buck Institute have identified a new drug-like molecule that keeps mitochondria healthy via mitophagy, a process that removes and recycles damaged mitochondria in multicellular organisms. The compound, dubbed MIC, is a natural compound that extended lifespan in C. elegans, ameliorated pathology in neurodegenerative disease models of C. elegans, and improved mitochondrial function in mouse muscle cells. Results are published in the November 13, 2023, edition of Nature Aging.

The impact of mitochondrial dysfunction in age-related disease

Defective mitophagy is implicated in many age-related diseases. It’s tied to neurodegenerative disorders such as Parkinson’s and Alzheimer’s; it plays a role in cardiovascular diseases including heart failure; it influences metabolic disorders including obesity and type 2 diabetes; it is implicated in muscle wasting and sarcopenia and has a complex relationship with cancer progression. Even though interventions that restore mitophagy and facilitate the elimination of damaged mitochondria hold great promise for addressing these conditions, not one treatment has been approved for human use despite advances in the field.

What’s MIC?

MIC (Mitophagy-Inducing Compound) is a coumarin, which are naturally bioactive compounds that have anticoagulant, antibacterial, antifungal, antiviral, anticancer, and antihyperglycemic properties (among others) as well as being an antioxidant with neuroprotective effects. Coumarin is found in many plants and is found in high concentrations in certain types of cinnamon, which is one of the most frequent sources for human exposure to the substance.

A new mechanism of action in mitophagy

The project started in a mouse model of Parkinson’s disease where researchers in the laboratory of Julie Andersen, PhD, a senior author of the paper, were looking at known enhancers of mitophagy, including rapamycin. “Co-author Shankar Chinta, PhD, started screening natural compounds in neuronal cells and MIC came up as a major hit,” she said.  “Rather than taking MIC immediately into a mouse model we wanted to understand its impact on overall aging and identify its mechanism of action, so we took the work into the worm where we found that MIC is in a different class of molecules that enhance the expression of a key protein, TFEB.”

In an effort spearheaded by Andersen and research scientist Manish Chamoli, PhD, lead author of the study, researchers found that MIC enhanced the activity of transcription factor TFEB, which is a master regulator of genes involved in autophagy and lysosomal functions. Autophagy is the intracellular recycling process whereby cells clean up damaged proteins; it derives its abilities from the lysosome.  Researchers found that MIC robustly increased the lifespan of C. elegans while also preventing mitochondrial dysfunction in mammalian cells.

“This paper helps support the overall notion of TFEB being a key autophagy regulator that extends lifespan, “said Buck professor and Chief Scientific Officer Malene Hansen, PhD, who collaborated on the paper. She added, “Mitophagy is a selective and very significant form of autophagy. The field has recognized TFEB as a player when it comes to quality control in mitochondria. This study provides a possible translational route to induce mitophagy in a TFEB-dependent fashion.”

A link to the brain/gut connection

Mechanistically MIC works upstream of TFEB by inhibiting ligand-induced activation of the nuclear hormone receptor DAF-12 (in worms)/FXR (in humans), which in turn induces mitophagy and extends lifespan.  FXR is best known for its ability to act in the liver and gut to maintain lipid homeostasis, where it acts to regulate levels of TFEB as part of a feed-fast cycle, but recently TFEB was shown to also be present in brain neurons. This provided Andersen with the clue needed to piece together MIC’s potential mechanism of action in the latter. “This study provides another piece of the puzzle when it comes to understanding the brain/gut connection in terms of health and disease,” said Andersen.

FXR is regulated by bile salts which are formed in the gut microbiome. “The gut microbiome impacts the body’s use of bile acids. Aging impacts our microbiome,” said Chamoli. “If levels of bile acids aren’t correct it hinders mitophagy. That’s how FXR can impact neuronal health. Neurons have a lot of mitochondria which makes mitophagy important in terms of neurodegeneration,” he said, noting that experiments are underway to explore neuronal FXR as a therapeutic target for Alzheimer’s disease as part of a jointly funded grant shared by the Andersen and Lithgow labs.

MIC as a general geroprotective therapeutic

“There’s a bottleneck in efforts to develop potential therapeutics in the field of geroscience, and the bottleneck is that we don’t have enough molecules in the pipeline,” said Gordon Lithgow, PhD, Buck Professor and Vice President of Academic Affairs and senior co-author. “MIC is a great candidate to bring forward given its therapeutic effect across multiple models and the fact that it is a naturally occurring molecule.”

Chamoli highlighted the direct links between mitophagy and aging, suggesting that drugs enhancing this process could offer treatment well beyond neurodegeneration or muscle wasting.  He added, “All these possibilities can be explored at the Buck where the research environment supports such endeavors”.

https://www.buckinstitute.org/news/new-drug-like-molecule-extends-lifespan-ameliorates-pathology-in-worms-and-boosts-function-in-mammalian-muscle-cells/?utm_source=Newsletter&utm_campaign=44adbde7b9-EMAIL_CAMPAIGN_2024_02_02_09_09&utm_medium=email&utm_term=0_-44adbde7b9-%5BLIST_EMAIL_ID%5D

Buck Scientists Discover a Potential Way to Repair Synapses Damaged in Alzheimer’s Disease

While newly approved drugs for Alzheimer’s show some promise for slowing the memory-robbing disease, the current treatments fall far short of being effective at regaining memory. What is needed are more treatment options targeted to restore memory, said Buck Assistant Professor Tara Tracy, PhD, the senior author of a study that proposes an alternate strategy for reversing the memory problems that accompany Alzheimer’s disease and related dementias.

Since most current research on potential treatments for Alzheimer’s focuses on reducing the toxic proteins, such as tau and amyloid beta, that accumulate in the brain as the disease progresses, the team veered away from this route to explore an alternative. “Rather than trying to reduce toxic proteins in the brain, we are trying to reverse the damage caused by Alzheimer’s disease to restore memory,” said Tracy. The findings appear in the February 1 issue of The Journal of Clinical Investigation.

The work hinges on a protein called KIBRA, named because it is found in the kidney and the brain. In the brain, it is primarily localized at the synapses, which are the connections between neurons that allow memories to be formed and recalled. Research has shown that KIBRA is required for synapses to form memories, and Tracy’s team has found that brains with Alzheimer’s disease are deficient in KIBRA.

“We wondered how the lower levels of KIBRA affected signaling at the synapse, and whether understanding that mechanism better could yield some insight into how to repair the synapses damaged during the course of Alzheimer’s disease,” said Buck Staff Scientist ​​Grant Kauwe, PhD, co-first author of the study. “What we identified is a mechanism that could be targeted to repair synaptic function, and we are now trying to develop a therapy based on this work.”

The team first measured the levels of KIBRA in the cerebrospinal fluid of humans. They found that higher levels of KIBRA in the cerebrospinal fluid, but lower levels in the brain, corresponded to the severity of dementia.

“We also found this amazing correlation between increased tau levels and increased KIBRA levels in the cerebrospinal fluid,” said Tracy. “It was very surprising how strong the relationship was, which really points to the role of KIBRA being affected by tau in the brain.” The team is exploring this phenomenon further, in hopes that KIBRA could be used as a biomarker of synaptic dysfunction and cognitive decline that could be useful for diagnosis, treatment planning, and tracking disease progression and response to therapy.

To figure out how KIBRA affects synapses, the team created a shortened functional version of the KIBRA protein. In laboratory mice that have a condition mimicking human Alzheimer’s disease, they found that this protein can reverse the memory impairment associated with this type of dementia. They found that KIBRA rescues mechanisms that promote the resilience of synapses.

“Interestingly, KIBRA restored synaptic function and memory in mice, despite not fixing the problem of toxic tau protein accumulation,” said Kristeen Pareja-Navarro, co-first author of the study. “Our work supports the possibility that KIBRA could be used as a therapy to improve memory after the onset of memory loss, even though the toxic protein that caused the damage remains.”

Along with other treatments that already exist or will come in the future, a KIBRA therapy to repair synapses could be a valuable addition. “Reducing toxic proteins is of course important, but repairing synapses and improving their function is another critical factor that could help,” said Tracy. “That’s how I see this making the biggest impact in the future.”

https://www.buckinstitute.org/news/buck-scientists-discover-a-potential-way-to-repair-synapses-damaged-in-alzheimers-disease/?utm_source=Newsletter&utm_campaign=44adbde7b9-EMAIL_CAMPAIGN_2024_02_02_09_09&utm_medium=email&utm_term=0_-44adbde7b9-%5BLIST_EMAIL_ID%5D

Sonoma County Winegrowers Announce a Collaboration With John Deere for ‘The Farm of the Future’

Each year, when many of Sonoma County’s 1,800 certified sustainable winegrape growers gather for the Sonoma County Winegrowers’ (SCW) annual meeting, they want to know what is next for one of the world’s most sustainable winegrowing regions.  Today, they learned the answer to their question: Sonoma County Winegrowers will embark on a major collaboration with one of the world’s most iconic brands, John Deere Company.

The collaboration with John Deere will be an addition to SCW’s innovative Farm of the Future, a living lab for the future of agriculture and an innovation accelerator.  Through this living lab, Sonoma County winegrowers and innovative companies can pilot concepts that may eventually result in game-changing solutions that can be shared with farmers across the country and around the world.  John Deere is the latest company to join SCW’s Farm of the Future, joining such renowned companies as Ford Pro and Wilbur Ellis, as well as emerging companies like Agrology and Pellenc.

“I am so excited to announce that we have begun working with John Deere given that our farmers love their tractors. This new collaboration will be one of the most significant developments for winegrapes and other high value crops,” said Karissa Kruse, president and CEO of the Sonoma County Winegrowers. She added, “Companies are drawn to Sonoma County because we are one of the world’s most sustainable winegrowing regions, and our living lab provides amazing real-world applications focused on achieving game-changing solutions.  We want to be the model for the future of agriculture everywhere.  With John Deere, we will be learning together how our farmers can do more with less resources while moving towards more mechanization to increase the longevity of their vineyards.”

The John Deere collaboration was announced as the local winegrapes growers celebrated ten years as the world’s most sustainable winegrowing region.  In 2014, at the Sonoma County Winegrowers annual meeting, Kruse addressed the group and made a bold declaration to the wine world that its more than 1,800 winegrowers were committed to becoming the nation’s first 100% certified sustainable wine region by 2019.  They met that 2019 target and today, Sonoma County has a record-breaking 99%  of its local vineyards certified sustainable.

It has since continued to build on its sustainability leadership as an exclusive participant in the California Land Stewardship Institute’s Climate Adaptation Certification Program which was the first program of its kind available in the world for agriculture.  SCW has also developed a one-hundred-year business plan, established a leadership academy for vineyard employees and more.

Through its efforts, Sonoma County continues to draw the attention from visionary scientists, engineers, financers, designers, manufacturers, and more who see great potential to work together and leverage SCW’s sustainability leadership and a network of climate stewards and forward-thinking change agents.

“Last summer, John Deere participated in Sonoma County Winegrowers’ inaugural Farm of the Future Strategic Summit, and it became immediately clear that we needed to be here in Sonoma County participating in SCW’s Farm of the Future initiative,” said Sean Sundberg, Business Integration Manager at John Deere.  He added, “Our focus is working with a real purpose on real technology to bring about a real impact.  We look forward to addressing some of the biggest  challenges facing winegrowers and farmers of other high value crops by developing solutions that address our customers’ needs. We are excited to work in Sonoma County with these innovative, forward-thinking winegrape growers.”

This year’s annual meeting marked the tenth anniversary of SCW’s commitment to become the first 100% sustainable wine region by 2019.  They not only achieved their goal but today, SCW has become one of the most recognized global leaders in sustainability and regenerative agriculture.  Their environmental leadership has continued over the years and includes the development of the industry’s first 100-year business plan; the establishment of the Center for Ag Sustainability; and a sustainable wine label that appears on more than 3 million cases and 600 different wine SKUs of Sonoma County wine.  Another major milestone of SCW’s sustainable approach — today more than 70% of Sonoma County’s vineyard acres are now glyphosate free.

In 2024, SCW will continue its sports marketing efforts including its partnership with the San Francisco Giants and the Houston Rockets where Sonoma County wines will be featured at more than 120 events at the Toyota Arena including the Rockets’ basketball games, concerts, and more.

“Our sports marketing efforts are proving to be the best intersection to raise awareness and increase accessibility for Sonoma County wines among a critically important younger and more diverse demographic.  It is no surprise that we are talking with more and more sports franchises about taking the Sonoma County wine experience to their arenas and stadiums,” said Kruse.

Kruse also highlighted the efforts of the Sonoma County Winegrowers’ foundation, the Fundación de la Voz de los Viñedos, whose mission is to support local vineyard employees and their families. This year, the Fundación will continue its employee recognition program which has celebrated the efforts and success of 274 employees of the month and 5 employees of the year.  Earlier this month, the Leadership Academy has begun its third year of teaching a variety of skills and trainings to help participating vineyard employees become better leaders in their community and workplace.

Sonoma County vineyard employees have seen their wages increase by 43% since 2017.  Also, Sonoma County winegrowers provide the largest supply of workforce housing in the region.  And there has been a significant shift to full-time employment for 90% of vineyard employees.  Just 10% of today’s vineyard workforce are seasonal employees.

Sonoma County Winegrowers 

Sonoma County Winegrowers (SCW), was established in 2006, evolving from the Sonoma County Grape Growers Association, which was first launched in 1983 by local grape growers inspired to work together to elevate the region. SCW is a marketing and educational organization dedicated to the promotion and preservation of Sonoma County as one of the world’s premier grape growing regions. With more than 1,800 growers, SCW’s goal is to increase awareness and recognition of the quality, sustainability and diversity of Sonoma County’s grapes and wines through dynamic marketing and educational programs targeted to wine consumers and influencers around the world. In 2014, Sonoma County’s winegrowing community embarked on a major initiative to have all Sonoma County vineyards certified sustainable. Today, 99% of the vineyard acreage in Sonoma County has completed certification by a third-party auditor making Sonoma County the most sustainable winegrowing region in the world.  In addition, in 2020, SCW became the exclusive pilot partner for the California Land Stewardship’s Climate Adaptation Certification. In 2022, SCW began envisioning a Farm of the Future which it officially introduced in 2023.  SCW’s sustainability efforts have been recognized with California’s highest environmental honor, the 2016 Governor’s Environmental and Economic Leadership Award (GEELA).  Learn more at www.sonomawinegrape.org. 

Sonoma State University and Others Say California Sea Otters’ Return Shows Conservation Payoff

In a groundbreaking study published today in Nature, scientists reveal that the return of sea otters to their former habitat in a Central California estuary has slowed erosion of the area’s creekbanks and marsh edges by up to 90%.

The resurgence of these charismatic marine mammals — also some of the habitat’s top predators — to the saltmarsh-dominated Elkhorn Slough in Monterey County sparks hope in those dedicated to improving the health of our coastal ecosystems and marks a significant ecological success story.

“This is a solutions-oriented paper that tells us there are manageable actions we can take to produce positive results,” said Christine Angelini, Ph.D., one of the study’s authors and director of the Center for Coastal Solutions at the University of Florida. “In this instance, restoring the otter population was achievable without significant effort, and as a result, we are now unlocking several decades of benefits from that one act of conservation.”

Findings show that the erosion of creekbanks and marsh edges in areas with large otter populations has slowed, mainly because of the sea otters’ insatiable appetite for plant-eating marsh crabs and at a time when rising sea levels, elevated nutrients, and stronger tidal currents should be causing the opposite effect.

“It would cost tens of millions of dollars for humans to rebuild these creekbanks and restore these marshes. The sea otters are stabilizing them for free in exchange for an all-you-can-eat crab feast,” said senior author Brian Silliman, Ph.D., Rachel Carson Distinguished Professor of Marine Conservation Biology at Duke University’s Nicholas School of the Environment.

By documenting for the first time that reintroducing top predators to their former habitat can bring stability to a collapsing ecosystem, researchers raise the question: Could similar results be achieved in ecosystems worldwide?

“Reintroducing the sea otters didn’t reverse the losses, but it did slow them to a point that these systems could restabilize despite all the other pressures they are subject to,” said the study’s lead author Brent Hughes, Ph.D., associate professor of biology at Sonoma State University. “That suggests this could be a very effective and affordable new tool for our conservation toolkit.”

Angelini said that tool is an encouraging sign for her and colleagues as they confront similar threats to Florida’s coastlines from sea level rise, intense storms, and excess nutrients spilling into coastal waters.

“All these challenges can feel unsurmountable,” Angelini said. “This study indicates to us that, if we truly understand the ecosystem and know what levers to pull, we can see significant benefits to the health and stability of these systems.”

To understand the impact the sea otters were having on the landscape, researchers conducted large-scale surveys across 13 tidal creeks, as well as small-scale field experiments at five locations around the estuary over a six-year period. Otters were excluded from some test sites but allowed to recolonize others, using a caging system designed by Angelini.

“As a graduate student in biology at UF, I had been setting up these types of cages and manipulating access to predators and their prey in salt marshes all over the Southeastern U.S., so I had the skill set,” Angelini said. “I’ll never forget building all the cages in the parking lot of the estuary out in California. And all these years later, we now see these amazing results.

“It’s an uplifting story about the benefits of conservation and persistent, long-term research.”

https://www.miragenews.com/california-sea-otters-return-shows-conservation-1164962/#//

Redwood Credit Union Named One of “America’s Best Credit Unions” By Newsweek

Redwood Credit Union has been recognized by Newsweek as one of “America’s Best Credit Unions 2024.” Newsweek’s inaugural study analyzed the financial health, operational performance, and customer evaluations of nearly 4,800 regional credit unions across the U.S. to identify the best 250. RCU ranked in the top 10 of California-based credit unions.

“We’re honored to be recognized by Newsweek as one of the country’s most stable, secure, and trusted credit unions,” said Brett Martinez, President and CEO of Redwood Credit Union. “Their comprehensive analysis confirms that by passionately serving the best interests of our members and helping them achieve their goals and dreams, we can inspire hope and elevate the financial well-being of our communities.”

Newsweek’s Global Editor-in-Chief Nancy Cooper said, “Regional banks and credit unions play a pivotal role in the financial fabric of communities nationwide. Unlike their larger counterparts, these institutions are deeply rooted in local economies, understanding the unique needs of the people they serve. These institutions prove that a community-centered approach can redefine the banking experience.”

For the first time, Newsweek conducted an extensive study, in partnership with market data research firm Plant-A Insights Group, to determine America’s Best Regional Banks and Credit Unions 2024. They used a rigorous scoring model to analyze the overall health and stability of 9,440 regional financial institutions nationwide to identify the best 250 regional banks and the best 250 credit unions.

In addition to this accolade from Newsweek, RCU has been voted “Best Credit Union” in readers’ polls by several publications throughout Northern California, and has been recognized by Forbes as one of “America’s Best Small Employers 2023” and highly recommended as a top place to work.

About Redwood Credit Union
Founded in 1950, Redwood Credit Union is a full-service financial institution providing personal and business banking to consumers and businesses in the North Bay and San Francisco. With a mission to passionately serve the best interests of its Members, team members, and communities, RCU delivers many ways for its Members to save and build money through checking and savings accounts, auto and home loans, credit cards, digital banking, business services, commercial and SBA lending, and more. Wealth management and investment services are available through CUSO Financial Services L.P., and insurance and auto-purchasing services are also offered through RCU Services Group (RCU’s wholly owned subsidiary). RCU has more than $8 billion in assets and serves more than 450,000 members with full-service branches from San Francisco to Ukiah. For more information, call 1 (800) 479-7928, visit redwoodcu.org, or follow RCU on Facebook, Instagram, X, and LinkedIn for news and updates.