Analyze

Indigenous farmers - creating food forests that focus on native crops (though they do include non-natives that serve a purpose or simply taste good) and fostering biodiversity/sustainability, also support Hawaii's ability to be self-sufficient (85-95% of food is imported) and the return of native species of animals

Japanese farmworkers - first arrived in 1860s, particularly influential in coffee industry

Filipino farmworkers - 6,000 arrive in 1946

International Longshore and Warehouse Union - includes sugar plantation workers - 1946 28,000 workers strike; again in 1958, 1974 (pineapple workers strike 1947, 1968, 1974)

Agrochemical transnational companies, e.g. Monsanto, Pioneer, Novartis, Cargill - environmental destruction, disregard for regulations on use and disposal of hazardous chemicals, off-site releases of hazardous chemicals from Maui research facility, political lobbying against regulations for GMOs and pesticides

Historic stakeholders - cattle ranchers, monocrop plantations - less common today but their effects on the environment are still very visible

• Cattle ranching begins in 1809
• Coffee plantations begin in 1830s (peaks in 1957)
• Sugar plantations begin in 1850s, peaks in 1933 and again in 1966
• Pineapple plantations begin in 1880s (Dole plantation established in 1901; peaks in 1955)
• Many plantations close in the 1990s

Tourism - economic control

Beyond Pesticides - national organization with programs in Hawaii

Maui County Department of Agriculture - newly created to invest in food sovereignty, help move the island away from monocrop pasts by rehabilitating the environment and creating jobs

Sources:

https://grist.org/agriculture/the-farmers-restoring-hawaiis-ancient-foo…

https://www.mauinews.com/opinion/columns/2022/03/changes-to-agricultura…

https://hdoa.hawaii.gov/wp-content/uploads/2013/01/HISTORY-OF-AGRICULTU…

Significant pesticide usage from industrial agriculture:

• "[Hawaii] became the biotech GMO capital of the US after agrochemical transnationals were welcomed to open research fields with fewer restrictions on potentially toxic pesticides."
• Legacy contamination from past monocrop plantations
• Research facilities owned by agrochemical companies like Monsanto - potential illegal dumping, off-site releases of chemicals

Runoff from agriculture (even if it contains just sediments and no pesticides) is harmful to coral reefs

Sources:

https://grist.org/agriculture/the-farmers-restoring-hawaiis-ancient-foo…

https://www.hawaii.edu/news/2017/03/02/cooperation-is-key-to-reduce-sed…

I am a (science) education researcher and look at most things in the world through the lens of education. On disaster (or anything else), the questions I ask are - e.g., why should we teach about it? What should we teach about it, and how? How can we support teachers to teach about disasters in their classrooms? My training in educational research has equipped me with the theories, tools and methods that can be utilised to approach these questions. I am hoping that these knowledge, experiences and skills can cross-fertilise with EcoGovLab's expertise in anthropology, SPS and environmental governance.

I want to build my familiarity with a wide variety of different cases (in the room right now, we have people with expertise on: Austin, Louisiana, London, Orange County/Santa Ana, La Puente, and Delhi, among others) and my ability to think about how these cases can give insight on the places I am interested in.

Our Purpose

One of our greatest responsibilities is to prepare the next generation to meet the challenges they will face in the 21st Century, with a deep commitment to the rights and responsibilities of U.S. citizenship. We have a unique opportunity for a community dialogue about the civic values, knowledge, and skills that K-12 students should learn and practice in our public school system. We will create strong community support for our schools to provide effective civic education for students to be successful in college, career and citizenship.

OUR MISSION

The mission of the Civic Education Center is to restore civility in America by creating opportunities for youth to learn and practice civic values and democratic skills.

About Us – Civic Ed Center

Civic Education Center | Fresno CA | Facebook

Goals

• Teach the vision of the Founders and the triumphs and tragedies of our history.
• Teach civil dialogue on controversial issues and democratic deliberation.
• Integrate science, technology, literature, media, arts and math with civic projects.
• To promote teacher understanding of connections with the State Seal of Civic Engagement, Social Emotional Learning, and Ethnic Studies.

Summer Institute – Civic Ed Center

The Mission of CV YEA is "Our mission is to fight environmental injustices in the Central Valley through connecting like-minded individuals". 

CV YEA is based in Fresno, CA and led by Executive Director Kamryn Kubose (interview), who we met during our visit to Golden Charter Academy. CV YEA takes part in Clean Vehicle Empowerment Collaborative. The board consists of master's students and environmental activists based in California.

Some residents of flooded homes in Three Rivers/Woodlake blame new housing developments that replaced orchards and a creek bed for recent flooding

Farmers drove pickup trucks loaded with dirt into a breached levee, then covered the trucks with dirt

Schools and colleges have stepped up to provide skilled manufacturing training

Fresno County offers employee training through the New Employment Opportunity program, which reimburses companies that hire through the program

Economic leaders/local government: bringing in diverse occupations and companies to the valley, including a medical complex in Clovis, which will house the first medical school in the valley