Both Governor Gavin Newsom and First Partner Jennifer Siebel Newsom spoke to members of the community at the University Farm to recognize Chico State as a leader in sustainable agriculture in California on Tuesday.
They visited in celebration of Earth Day and to promote sustainable agriculture, along with Siebel Newsom’s initiative California For All Kids. The program intends to raise awareness of healthy food choices in California schools.
Chico State has partners and programs that directly align with the initiatives set forth by the Governor’s Office and California’s First Partner. These initiatives include:
- Center for Regenerative Agriculture & Resilient Systems
- North State Planning and Development Collective
- North Valley Food Hub
- 530 Food Rescue
- Center for Healthy Communities
California is the first state in the country to offer two free school meals to students regardless of financial status. The California Farm to School program works with the California Department of Agriculture to provide California schools with healthier food options, emphasizing locally grown produce and a farm-to-table approach.
Speakers at the event included:
- California Gov. Gavin Newsom
- California First Partner Jennifer Siebel Newsom
- Karen Ross, secretary of the California Department of Food and Agriculture
- Raquel Krach, recent graduate with a master’s in interdisciplinary studies with emphasis on regenerative agriculture and regenerative farmer
- Marissa Stevens. director of Food and Nutrition Services for Red Bluff Joint Union School District and 2023-24 Farm to School grantee
- Steve Perez, Chico State President
“California has been a leader, and so have you, Chico State,” Newsom said. “We’re here at an institute that’s first in the nation – regenerative [agriculture], focus on sustainability, low-carbon green growth, to preserve for generations, to pass the proverbial baton. And it doesn’t surprise me that it happened here first, because that’s what California is. The future happens here first. We are America’s coming attraction.”
Newsom also highlighted the environmental roots of Earth Day and its ties to California.
“… I’ll remind you, Earth Day itself — the modern Earth Day movement — started in California,” he said. “It was because of the tragedy of those oil spills in Southern California, in Santa Barbara in 1969, that the next year the world came together.”
He continued by emphasizing the state’s longstanding environmental leadership and bipartisan roots.
“The California Air Resources Board … was established by Republican Gov. Ronald Reagan in 1967. In 1970, not only was the first Earth Day established, but the EPA [Environmental Protection Agency] [was created] by a republican president, Richard Nixon … a bipartisan endeavor. They cared about Mother Nature. She bats last, and she bats a thousand.”
Newsom closed by expressing appreciation for the university’s role in leading sustainable agricultural efforts.
“We are here to celebrate your success, to highlight it, to thank you [Chico State] for your leadership and stewardship,” he said.
The Chico State University Farm has pioneered sustainable agriculture for many years with groundbreaking ag science. While regenerative agriculture was the focus of the event, the farm also supports a wide range of agricultural initiatives, including orchards, beef and sheep units, swine and mushroom units, greenhouses, an organic dairy, an irrigation training facility, aquaponics and organic vegetable projects.
(C.N.Kepler)
Cynthia Daley, director of the Center for Regenerative Agriculture and Resilient Systems, collaborated closely with Siebel Newsom over the past year to bring greater visibility to the center’s work.
Ashley Gebb, chief of staff and executive director of university communications, noted the broader impact of the event on the campus community and the state’s future.
“It was an incredible opportunity for us to put Chico State on the radar of Gov. Newsom and First Partner Jennifer Siebel Newsom and to showcase what we are doing to lead the way for the planet and our communities,” Gebb said. “Our campus community worked tremendously hard to make this event a reality and to be the best possible showcase of campus as it could be and we are very grateful.”
Christian Kepler can be reached at [email protected]
