(soft music) - So many communities out there are struggling with a legacy of environmental injustices.
- It's important to listen to the communities because they know best.
They are the experts on the ground.
- We've definitely faced our own challenges in the spaces that we occupy.
- If there's a way that I can use my technical expertise to help elevate voices of community members, that's a day well spent.
- [Narrator] Bay Area Bountiful is about agriculture.
It's about feeding us.
It's about land and water.
It's about the health of our planet.
It's about stories that matter.
Bay Area Bountiful, cultivate, celebrate, connect.
- [Announcer] Bay Area Bountiful is made possible in part by Rocky The Free Range Chicken and Rosie The Original Organic Chicken, the Sonoma County Agricultural Preservation and Open Space District, Made Local magazine and Sonoma County Go Local, and through the generous support of Sonoma Water.
- [Narrator] With mid-term elections around the corner and so much going on in the world, it might be helpful to pause and think about how we can move forward with hope.
Sometimes taking a moment to recognize the leaders we see doing exactly that can be encouraging.
- I would describe her as an extraordinary leader, as someone that leads gently.
- She's so slay.
She's so cool.
I say she's the swaggiest person I know.
- Well, I like that she's like another woman in STEM.
- [Narrator] They are an inspiration and they are creating a wider path for all of us.
The main goal is producing science that people can use for the benefit of themselves and others.
At the UC Davis Bodega Marine Lab, we meet Dr. Alyssa Griffin.
As the Principal Investigator of the Coastal Health and Nearshore Geochemistry Laboratory, Dr. Griffin uses marine geochemistry to study changing ecosystems, build climate resiliency and serve others through science.
- Change Lab studies changes in coastal marine environments, and those can range from natural changes to changes that are induced by human activities.
And we're really interested in looking at how those changes are impacting water quality and water chemistry, and in turn, how that's impacting the ecosystems and the marine organisms that live within them.
Salinity 33.89 and pH 7.665.
The main goal is producing science that people can use for the benefit of themselves and others.
Calcify and what conditions they prefer to calcify under and if there's any stress involved.
So I'm the daughter of a Sri Lankan immigrant.
And for me, starting off as a young scientist, I didn't see a lot of folks that looked like me.
I never really saw myself as a scientist and wanted to actually go to college and be an opera singer.
And I did one year of college as a music performance major and decided it wasn't for me and felt really lost.
But I was required to take a science course and the science course that I chose to take was an Introduction to Geology course.
And honestly, I took it because I heard it was easy.
And so I took the geology course and I just absolutely fell in love with it.
That's called a vein and it's probably a vein of...
I just thought it was amazing that even though we are just this tiny little speck in terms of geologic time and space, we're still able to influence something as large as the Earth's climate.
And so that really led me to be increasingly interested in studying carbon and studying climate change and really trying to understand not only the processes that are driving climate change, but also what are the impacts and what are the potential solutions that we can find?
And so one of the projects that I'm working on currently is looking at sea grasses, that sea grass' ability to store carbon is extremely high.
Additionally, there are certain chemical processes that can happen in the sediments that flush carbon out of the system into the open ocean.
And that could be a mechanism of carbon storage.
Have you ever heard of net negative emissions?
- [Student] No.
- It's little terrifying.
The challenges that we're facing, we're simply not going to be able to address them if we don't have diverse talents and perspectives and lived experiences at the table.
All of the models have shown us that even if we stopped emitting carbon dioxide into the atmosphere, it still wouldn't be enough for us to curb some of the worst outcomes of climate change.
We've already missed.
We have to remember no matter what approach you're using to your science, you're always going to have this lens over it.
You're going to have your own perspective and your own experiences.
Being able to acknowledge that we have that bias and that we're operating within a framework that's informed by those legacies is really important when we're talking about moving forward with our science and progressing with our science in a way that's equitable, in a way that's inclusive, and in a way that's actually going to serve the people around us.
- We are within half a mile of the federal Superfund sites at the Hunters Point Shipyard.
Dr. Griffin and a group of UC Davis scientists were contracted to do some select shoreline sediment testing.
- You can see that the very finest stuff dried out.
I don't go into communities unless I'm asked.
But if there's a way that I can use my technical expertise to help address some of those injustices, then I want to be able to do that.
- People's body is causing the radioactive cancers.
I want people to understand how dangerous dirty development of a federal Superfund system is to people living and working 50 feet away from where heavy equipment operations and deep soil excavations are undergoing.
- I've always been driven by doing science that helps people.
And I think part of that is helping others do science.
Yeah, that's good.
Great job.
High five.
Every step of my career that I made, I really tried to make the path behind me smoother and easier.
All right.
So this is the Bodega Ocean Acidification Research Lab.
So in this facility we measure carbon in seawater.
So we have a bunch of different instruments that are capable of measuring different... - I feel like sometimes I question myself and maybe if I should be here, because in my life there's not really anyone in my family that has any background in science.
And so it's really nice when you have someone that has a very strong understanding of science and they're willing to support and help you and understand the concepts and kind of bring you into that world.
- When it's done running, it should just pop out a pH value for you.
- [Narrator 2] In addition to mentoring students in her lab, Dr. Griffin also co-founded the DIVERsity Fellowship Program.
The fellowship provides students with support, mentorship and financial resources to be able to pursue their scientific diving interests.
- I'm really trying to create an environment where students can pursue their own interests because that's what really drives progress.
When we write a paper on this, you and Cameron will be invited to be co-authors.
- She told us about the whole experiment that she's working on.
And she's like, "So if there's any part that you find particularly interesting, we can definitely talk about that more."
- I love geochemistry.
It's mentoring and teaching and research.
And if I can make the path towards becoming a scientist, just even a tiny bit easier for someone else, then I would consider myself successful.
- [Narrator] Not too far from the marine lab is another leader working to uplift the next generation, Magalli Larque.
Magalli supports and mentors youth at the nonprofit organization, Latino Service Providers in Santa Rosa.
- Hello, my name is Magalli Larque.
I am the Program Manager here at Latino Service Providers.
I have my master's in public health.
And what motivates me to do the work that I do is simply our youth.
I am very passionate about working with tomorrow's leaders, sharing my experiences, being for them what I didn't have growing up, and really giving them all the tools that they'll need to be successful in whatever they choose to do in their future whether it's in their academic journey or in their professional journey.
The party people tonight, hi.
We're a nonprofit organization in Santa Rosa, but we serve all of Sonoma County.
I'm the Program Manager of an internship.
I have a small department of four individuals who are so amazing.
We hold an internship program for youth ages 16 to 25 that focuses on four different tracks that encompass mental health, civic engagement, specifically surrounding housing and housing policy, emergency preparedness and environmental education.
- I think it's a really good experience to learn more about the environment and the connection it has with our mental health.
I think Magalli is a very good role model because she is first of all, Latina as well, and she just got her masters, so woo.
Yeah, she's a really good role model and kind of an inspiration that we could keep going and that we're not closed off.
We have the same opportunity as others.
- Environmental education is an umbrella and climate change is just one of those pieces that fall under that umbrella.
But I think it's very important, especially with our youth, to first bring them into nature, and learn about nature, and be embedded in it, and find empowerment in it, and connect to your cultural roots before you can start advocating for change.
We can't advocate for something that we don't know about or something that we're not passionate about.
So that's why it's really important to first get your feet on the ground so to speak, get your feet in the grass, hug trees, speak to others who maybe have the same passion or the same curiosity as you do, and then talk about climate change and talk about the other forms of environmental education that exists out there.
I love everything about my job.
I know that sounds cliche, but I wouldn't be doing the work that I'm doing if I didn't love it.
I often say that all of us here at Latino Service Providers, we do this work because maybe we haven't had it easy in life.
We've definitely faced our own challenges and our own barriers in the spaces that we occupy, and working with our youth every single year, we learn that maybe our experiences aren't so different, but the ways that we cope and the ways that we work on being better can be different.
(upbeat music) - I think it's such an amazing program and it opens so many other doors to so many other opportunities.
I'm in the "Verdes" track where we learn about the environment.
And I love it so much because we learn so many things about how to help the environment and what's affecting the environment.
And I think that's really important to learn for future generations because if we don't advocate for it, then no one will.
What I think about Magalli, she's one of my biggest inspirations in this program because her enthusiasm and what she brings to the program just makes everything so exciting, and it makes you excited to learn about it.
- I would say the most rewarding experience is hearing back from our students after they've graduated from our program.
I have one student in particular who I'm thinking of this year.
She is a freshman at Cal Poly Humboldt, which is where I went to school.
And she actually texted me last night, pictures of her in these spaces on her first day of school.
And what was really exciting for me was that she was in my first classroom studying the same thing that I'm studying with one of my favorite teachers, and I actually started crying because I was so excited.
This is a student that I've had multiple conversations with about her educational journey.
And she's shared so many times that she would not be where she was today had it not been for the work that she was able to do at Latino Service Providers, and that just warms my heart and makes me so happy.
- I think that it's definitely an important experience for me so far as it's very applicable to my life as a Latina and especially growing in this generation, I get to learn new things and get to destigmatize a lot of things that I didn't even realize were issues or that I now get to express in a more inclusive environment.
In terms of environment issues and LSP, I definitely think that they're doing something great because it's always important to grow and to be able to learn and teach other people as well.
As I'm learning, I'm teaching my family and I get to teach friends and it's just an overall great learning experience.
As for Magalli, she's so slay.
She's so cool.
I say she's the swaggiest person I know and I've only known her for four months, maybe.
- What I hope for the future is just I just want people to be happy.
I just want people to be happy, and that happiness really is going to stem from equitable opportunities, equitable resources, equitable pay, and just giving people the things that they need to lead healthy and resilient lives.
And we say the word resiliency so often, but after resiliency really comes care, taking care of our people, those who are resilient need to be cared for the most.
And that's really what I want to see for the future.
- [Narrator] Violet Saena is another change maker who offers care and resources to her part of the Bay Area.
Violet and her team at Climate Resilient Communities ensure that the historically underserved residents of East Palo Alto, Belle Haven, and North Fair Oaks have the information they need in order to adapt to our changing climate.
- I've seen the impacts of climate change.
I've seen how people's lives have been destroyed.
Every time I walk in somebody's home to do an energy audit, I see how it is hard for them.
We work directly with communities to provide support to residents by building capacity, enabling residents to respond to climate change.
One of our goals is to ensure that communities' voices are at the table.
I was born and raised in Samoa.
When I was growing up, there was a lot of natural resources to live by.
You have everything there.
It was also those times where you don't feel ashamed to ask the neighbor for salt or sugar if your family doesn't have any.
My first job was with the government of Samoa and my job was biodiversity officer.
I was out in the village, working with the villages, the chiefs, to draw up the boundaries of marine protected areas, and also looking at how communities can lead the management.
Three months later, I was assigned to lead the coordination of climate change related projects for the government.
To be honest, I was scared when they assigned the role to me.
But the great thing was is that there was an opportunity for me to go and get more training, which is why I truly believe in capacity building.
After the training, I had to go out to the community to collect data and start communicating to the whole country what climate change is.
And at the time, the stories were different.
Pastors were saying, "Why am I talking about climate change?
This is God's creation, God's doing.
Only God can control it."
You have to remember we didn't have baseline data.
A lot of the information in the stories were with the community.
What really worked was ground truthing, that listening what people are saying.
Imagine going out in the village and you see how villages are being washed out.
You started seeing trees with roots.
People are talking about cyclones and flash floods and how they will see their cows and pigs and chickens washed out the ocean because the ocean is right there ready to swallow their livelihoods.
And all these people have had all this experience, but never had the opportunity to share it as a community.
As soon as they opened up to share their story, that's when our opportunity to talk about the science, connecting those dots.
I got married and I decided to move to the United States because my husband is from here.
And I was very surprised to learn that most of the residents in East Palo Alto that I surveyed, and this was back in 2015, didn't know much about climate change.
They can all talk about long periods of drought and how that affects their living, but when you ask them about climate change, most of the residents couldn't connect the dots as well.
If communities don't understand the threat to their lives, don't understand the impact of climate change, they won't be able to respond or plan for it.
Morning, Papa.
That is why we focus on adaptation.
It's those who need the most is who we want to help the most.
My way into the communities were through community leaders that people trust.
Oh, I see.
- [Mama Dee] Hello.
How are you?
- [Violet] I'm good.
- [Mama Dee] Good.
- [Violet] It's all about building relationships.
- We have to come together and find a common ground to build a very successful community.
When Violet talked to me about this program, I shared with Violet the need of awareness.
- [Violet] One of the things that we built was Climate Change Team.
- [Speaker] About the air quality in Belle Haven is about 25% worse than Menlo Park just a mile away.
- Where the community leaders and those who are passionate about climate change work and sea level rise, and passionate about protecting their communities and advocating for community needs, can gain education, awareness and information.
- Turn our eyes to the future, figure out what project we're going to be working on next.
- Through that climate change community teams, community leaders are actually at the table working with cities and counties, being the voice of the residents when planning for climate change work.
- Doing something that affects them personally, it's actually kind of more important and I'm sure most people in the community would want to know how dangerous it is indoors as well as outdoors.
So to me, that was a project that I thought would... - They tell us what is needed and we move by their leadership.
- I have the timeline and how integrated this team was in that process.
I would say back in April when we met, the conversation we had in this room was the most important one because that really formed the basis of the survey and hopefully everyone felt like- - Those are the key things to be able to respond to climate change.
Because if you are fully aware of the risk and you have the capacity to respond, you'll be able to adapt.
Saving money is a way that I can help people.
And it's mostly because I know of programs and government incentives that were created specifically for low income families.
And so what we do is we connect families to resources.
We connect families to our partners.
(speaking in foreign language) Building community work, it's all about gaining trust and owning up to what promises you're making to the community so that you don't just go in, collect and leave.
- So Karen, how are the improvements working out for you?
- Solar is helping me definitely.
- [Violet] You stay on and continue working by their sides.
- It's a big difference when you can jump from $150 down to $65 or $69.
Yeah.
That's it.
- Doing this work, help the community understand, yes, someone's paying attention to you.
I think we're going to get a lot more people involved because we're now really trusted messengers.
- We bring people to together and even draw attention to actions that are not being seen.
- I didn't really know about North Fair Oaks, Belle Haven or East Palo Alto, but once we explained the struggles people go through, they were very interested.
- You want to hear, okay, what is this person thinking?
What is their lived experience?
And then how can you help them understand the other person's perspective?
Because at the end of the day, the actions are towards one thing, to be able to live better, protect your families, provide for your families.
Hopefully we can all learn from each other so that we can come up with solutions, community-based solutions, community-led solutions.
(people applauding) - I'm a relatively new mom and so I want to work towards a future that's livable and thrivable, not just survivable.
- I just want people to be happy, and that happiness really is going to stem from equitable opportunities.
- Now that motivates me because I'm in a place where I can help, but again, we need to work together to get the services to those who need it.
(light orchestral music)