For over five hundred years, indigenous communities across the Americas have demonstrated immense resilience and resistance in the face of violent efforts to separate them from their land, culture, and each other. They remain at the forefront of movements to protect the earth and the life it sustains. GrizzlyCorps acknowledges that public recognition and collaboration are necessary steps towards honoring these regions - beginning with careful reflection of the type of service GrizzlyCorps hopes to encapsulate. As we work to bring awareness of and give a platform to other voices, we remember that tribal territories have long fought to have their voices not only heard, but included in the creation of this society. 

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GrizzlyCorps recognizes that the University of California, Berkeley sits on the territory of xučyun, the traditional ancestral homeland of the Chochenyo Speaking Ohlone people, the successors of the sovereign Verona Band of Alameda County. We celebrate the continued vitality of the Muwekma Ohlone Tribe and members of the flourishing community who persist today. Establishing new traditions with an obligation towards remembrance is critical to sharing these voices, histories, and legacies of all the places in which we serve. GrizzlyCorps moves forward in advocacy for the healing of these lands and waters, while demonstrating our commitment to creating a real relationship with the local Ohlone and Indigenous communities across the state. 

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​The fellows of GrizzlyCorps live and work on the ancestral, contemporary, and unceded territory of Indigenous people across the state, encompassing what is now known as California. For our  current members, these lands include those of the Graton Rancheria, Tuolumne Band of Me-Wuk, Mountain Maidu, Patwin, Chumash, Yana, Winnimem Wintu, Paskenta Band of Nomlaki, Tachi Yokuts, Nisenan, Yurok, Popeloutchom (Amah Mutsun), Awaswas, and Pomo peoples. We honor the land and those who have been the original stewards of these regions since time immemorial, and commit to forming deeper partnerships to address past and ongoing land-based injustices through our work.

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We come together to acknowledge what our service means, to be humble and listen to the voices that speak, to hear the Ohlone and countless others on this land who speak. Imbuing this thinking in how we partner with different communities and organizations all over the state is critical in defining respectable allyship. This acknowledgement, brief and in no way complete, aims to celebrate the traditional stewardship practices on these lands from generations past.  Nothing will remedy the historical traumas of these lived experiences, but it is with intent and meaning that we pay homage to a better future.

Project Title: Expanding Community Relations and Measuring Impact​

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Goals & Needs

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The mission of the Marin Resource Conservation District (Marin RCD) is to conserve and enhance Marin County’s soil, water, air, vegetation, and wildlife. The Marin RCD is a founding member of the Marin Carbon Project and offers carbon farming programs to plan, design, permit and implement carbon beneficial projects in Marin County.  

 

Our GrizzlyCorps member will join Marin RCD staff and participate in an elaborate partnership network, consisting of colleagues from Marin Agricultural Land Trust, Point Blue Conservation Science: Students and Teachers Restoring a Watershed, USDA Natural Resources Conservation Service, Point Reyes National Seashore working on the greater issues of climate change, resiliency, and mitigation on our agricultural landscapes. Specifically, our GrizzlyCorps member will work with board, staff and partners as we learn and explore the issues of Diversity, Equity, Inclusion and Justice within our ag-focused partnerships. We expect our GrizzlyCorps member to assist with the following:

•    Making connections to Marin’s agricultural farm worker community by investigating potential new partnership organizations within the Latinx community.
•    Researching and interviewing Marin organizations in their DEIJ work within the ag community and identifying areas of collaboration.
•    Identifying ways in which the Marin RCD might establish new partnerships and strengthen internal programs to benefit a wider community. 
•    Identifying ways to measure impacts within a wider community. 

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Our GrizzlyCorps member will connect with our partners through farm visits and meetings in addition to social media and website messaging established by the previous member. Communications with Marin’s farmers and ranch workers will be key. Furthermore, our GrizzlyCorps member will assist the Marin RCD, consultants, and staff with the development of Marin RCD’s GIS and RCD Project Tracker database to track overall impact within the county. The Marin RCD will be revamping an internal GIS platform with a consultant and refining their public facing project tracking database (https://www.rcdprojects.org/ )This collection of information will be used to identify areas of existing and proposed work in addition to the documentation of natural resource impact. 

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Organizational and Community Highlights

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The Marin RCD is run by a five-member Board of Directors who are agricultural landowners within the district and is staffed with 6 people: Agroecologist, Conservation Program Manager, Urban Streams Manager, Soil Health Hub Coordinator, Bookkeeper and Executive Director. The Marin RCD’s office is in Point Reyes Station, which is a quaint town adjacent to the Point Reyes National Seashore, one hour northwest of San Francisco. Marin County is the third wealthiest county in the nation which presents cost of living challenges for ranchers, ranch workers and residents. Many folks commute from nearby Sonoma County or work remotely.

 

The agricultural landscape in Marin County consists of small family farms, primarily of livestock and dairy producers, who are marketing to Bay Area customers. Marin’s agricultural producers are quite innovative and are the first in the nation with carbon farm plans. Program availability is directed primarily toward Marin’s agricultural landowners however the Marin RCD is re-evaluating its carbon farming program to understand and explore a wider community audience and impact.

The Marin RCD thrives on partnerships and works well with local, state and federal partners to apply restorative and regenerative practices on farms and ranches. It is through this teamwork that programs such as the Marin Carbon Project was initiated and remains viable today. This partnership works collaboratively daily to enhance carbon sequestration in rangeland, agricultural and forest soils through research, demonstration and implementation in Marin County. This position will be an exciting opportunity to work with core partners who developed this nationally recognized program.

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Project Title: Capacity building with MESA and partner organizations to increase and diffuse resources for socially disadvantaged emerging farmers in the San Francisco Bay Area, California and around the United States in areas that begin with agroecology, farming and food pathways.

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Goals & Needs ​

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Our flagship program, MESA’s Global Exchange offers a rare opportunity for beginning and established farmers from different cultures to spur innovation, champion agricultural heritage, and transform our global food system. Awarded U.S. Department of State training and cultural exchange program designation in 1996,  MESA sponsors training visas for eligible beginning international farm Stewards. MESA and our global partners carefully screen Steward candidates, matching them with U.S. host mentor farms and agricultural organizations for up to 12 months of on-site training and cultural immersion.
 
MESA’s newest Agroecology Food and Farming Pathways (AFFP) program is open for U.S. residents, and proudly features the collaboration of three esteemed California partner organizations. This USDA-supported program is specifically designed for socially disadvantaged beginning farmers and ranchers who live in the U.S. AFFP launched in September 2020 and will support hundreds of socially disadvantaged emerging farmers.  As students move through our program there will be additional opportunities that involve gaining land access, micro-enterprise/ business development, training and mentorship.
 
The Grizzlycorps Fellow will:

• Support the development of resources and tools through direct and indirect program support for program participants.

• Assist with the AFFP program, as well as supporting our global exchange program participants as they navigate resources and opportunities in the United States.

• We are also excited to explore with Fellows their interests to create a mutually beneficial project.

• The work environment will be a balance of office and field work in collaboration with local and US partners.

 
Our programming focuses on knowledge and skill development for resilience in the areas that address regenerative agriculture needs locally and globally.  The growing disconnect our communities have with our food system requires intentional interventions and strategy to address climate change issues facing communities in the United States, but more importantly globally.  Our aim is to provide alternatives to industrial agricultural practices and support communities that are systematically and actively being disconnected from their food system. 
 

Organizational and Community Highlights

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MESA is based in the San Francisco Bay Area (SFBA), and is made up of 9 counties with a total population well over 7 million people.   It's hard not to think about California and not think about the abundance of fresh food and diverse global cultures that make up the most diverse cuisines anywhere in the United States.  The SFBA maintains a mediterranean climate and generally experiences  cool summers and rainy winters.  However, given the regional microclimates, the weather can change several times a day and vary greatly between countries (getting cooler as you move toward the Ocean, and much warmer as you go east toward the Sierra Mountains).  There is ample public transit (bus and train), as well as a strong bicycle culture.  Day trips to the ocean, mountains, rivers, wine country, or numerous outdoor recreational activities makes California appealing to those who enjoy nature.
 
MESA’s is an organization with deep roots in the community, with over 12 key partner teammates throughout California, and a few more global partner teammates based in Latin America and East Africa.  MESA’s core team is currently only 4 individuals members, leading direct programming impacting over 80 students and fellow’s monthly.  Given numerous roles everyone in MESA supports, we rely on internal and external professional development opportunities.  Every core teammate has a lot to offer, and this also provides a lot of space to grow and explore established and new skills to explore.  Team and 1:1 meetings are a core component of how we build and maintain culture at MESA.

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Project Title: Forest Health Fire Safe and Resilient Landscape Outreach

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Goals & Needs

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The Sonoma Wildfire Awareness Outreach Coordinator will serve all of Sonoma County in increasing community resilience in the face of increased wildfire risk. The position will housed at the Gold Ridge Resource Conservation District (Gold Ridge RCD) and work in partnership with Fire Safe Sonoma and the Sonoma RCD. Gold Ridge and Sonoma RCDs were established in the 1940s to promote soil conservation and have continued as a local leader in environmental conservation for climate adaptation, water quality improvement, wildlife habitat enhancement and agricultural sustainability.

Fire Safe Sonoma is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit whose mission is to increase awareness of wildfire issues in our county and help local residents and firefighting agencies to achieve improved wildfire safety. Formed in 1998, Fire Safe Sonoma has been instrumental in helping to educate residents about wildfire prevention and safety. Fire Safe Sonoma and the RCDs are working together to increase access to information around wildfire awareness. This position & project will build upon and execute :

• help engage and organize communities to be more resilient to wildfires and other adverse effects exacerbated through our changing climate.

• an outreach and coordination plan around wildfire awareness to improve Sonoma County resident’s adaptation to increased wildfire risk in our area.

• perform one on one communication with the community, as well as the staff and boards of Fire Safe Sonoma in partnership with Gold Ridge and Sonoma RCDs.

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Organizational & Community Highlights

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The Gold Ridge RCD is located outside of the small towns of Sebastopol and Graton. We have 10 experienced, kind, and thoughtful staff. Our office is in an old farmhouse situated on an orchard and vineyard property down a gravel road. There is not regular public transportation to our office, but many staff enjoy biking to work. A Fellow placed with us will have a great opportunity to network with not only dozens of different community organizations but many professional individuals and community members as well. Sonoma County is beautiful with a great need to improve engagement with under-served populations and innovative land managers.

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Project Title: RCD Climate Communications Associate

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Goals & Needs

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1. Gold Ridge RCD promotes soil conservation and is a local leader in conservation--for climate adaptation, water quality improvement, wildlife habitat enhancement and agricultural sustainability. The Carbon Cycle Institute (CCI) is a nonprofit organization founded in 2013 working at the intersection of climate science and agriculture.

2. The RCD Climate Communications Associate will serve all CA RCDs participating in climate programs and/or utilizing the RCD Project Tracking tool https://www.rcdprojects.org/. The position will be housed at the Gold Ridge RCD office and work in partnership with CCI and RCDs across the state participating in climate mitigation and adaptation initiatives.

   1. The Fellow will assist in managing and expanding use of an innovative, open source project tracking database designed to aggregate the ecosystem service benefits, including climate regulation, associated with the project level work of RCDs and their partners. As of October 2020, the RCD Project Tracker is tracking 291 conservation projects associated with 177 partnering organizations and agencies, capturing a total conservation investment potential of $42,968,230.

   2. In order to accommodate the rapid growth in utilization of the site and to support needed integration with California’s wildfire mitigation and prevention efforts, climate action planning, and carbon accounting at jurisdictional scales, there is a pressing need for additional staff support in formalizing rules and procedures for system use and expansion, including producing webinars on how to use Project Tracker for different types of project, collect ideas for system improvements, support development of a business plan and governance structure, and conduct outreach to agencies, county planning departments, and legislators on the tool, possible applications and systems integration.

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Climate and carbon cycle literacy is still greatly lacking in the general population and among many elected officials and resource agencies tasked with mitigating climate change, protecting biodiversity and the ecological health of California’s natural resources. The same is true for many local and regional food systems supporters and organizers as well as those working in the environmental justice movement.

• The position will work with the Gold Ridge RCD and the Carbon Cycle Institute in the development of communications systems that allow us to better track, document, and share carbon farming activities, initiatives, and successes from around the state.

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Organizational and Community Highlights

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The Gold Ridge RCD is located outside of the small towns of Sebastopol and Graton. While housed with Gold Ridge RCD and CCI the Fellow will be working with RCDs statewide. There are more than 90 RCDs across the state who work together and independently to solve natural resource issues across the state. The Fellow will be working with all interested RCDs in communicating the benefits of their work both through utilization of the RCD Project Tracker and in partnership with CCI in their support for RCDs implementing carbon farm plans. RCDs are nimble, collaborative, innovative hubs of conservation allowing Fellow access to a wide range of supportive stakeholders. Gold Ridge RCD has 12 experienced, kind, and thoughtful staff. Our office is in an old farmhouse situated on an orchard and vineyard property down a gravel road. There is not regular public transportation to our office, but many staff enjoy biking to work. A Fellow placed with us will have a great opportunity to network with not only dozens of different community organizations but many professional individuals and community members as well. Sonoma County is beautiful with a great need to improve engagement with underserved populations and innovative land managers.

 

CCI provides a unique organizational niche among nonprofits by supporting and working with a diverse group of strategic partners, including farmers and ranchers, public agencies, university researchers and students, and mission- aligned organizations and businesses. We are committed to diversity and equity in our workplace and the communities we serve. Our staff of six provides scientific and technical expertise, planning assistance, training and educational services, policy development, and advocacy work on behalf of our mission and partners. Our home office is located in Petaluma, CA. This position can be remote, in person or a combination.

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