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San Diego’s Space for Innovation: How Aquillius is Building a Resilient Startup Ecosystem

Consistently ranked as one of the top biotech cities in the United States, San Diego is home to giants like Illumina, Thermo Fisher Scientific, Genentech, Bristol Meyers Squibb, and seemingly countless more – many of which are fed from a rich pipeline of science graduates from UCSD, SDSU, and USD.

However, not everyone interested in biotech wants to go to the giants. Some think that they’re the ones who can create the next big thing.

And that’s where Aquillius comes in.

A biotech and MedTech incubator, Aquillius is a biotech startup founder’s dream – they provide a space for extremely early-stage startups to develop and grow. With 25,000 feet of lab and office space, they offer a physical place (and access to a vibrant community!) for lab-heavy startups to research, prototype, network, raise capital, and more.

Their mission is to accelerate the integration of life sciences and engineering to create innovative solutions that can improve human health, by focusing on streamlining product development and early R&D in the biotech and MedTech industries.

Or, to say it another way, they want to make the next generation of San Diego’s innovative science companies more successful – by making them more resilient.

In this interview, you’ll learn about the importance of providing space to fledgling companies – whether it’s physical, educational, or mental. You’ll learn about just how Aquillius matches resources with the startups they work with. And, most importantly, you’ll learn what they’re doing to set the next generation of scientists and entrepreneurs up for success.

If you’d like to learn more about Aquillius, you can check them out on their website. (I’d also recommend you take the tour!)

I’d like to give a big thank you and a shout out to Leah Villegas and Austin Strain for their time and help on this interview.

Aquillius provides office and lab space for burgeoning BioTech companies.

I’m chiefly interested in the concept of resilience – personal, communal, and societal. What does the concept of resilience mean to you and Aquillius?

Leah Villegas: I believe resilience means persisting, unwavering in your commitment to your business, regardless of the challenges encountered. In our environment, we engage with many early-stage startups and companies just setting out to make their mark in their respective markets. It’s a demanding journey. As entrepreneurs ourselves, my team and I face these challenges too. I see resilience as the key. There will be numerous obstacles and setbacks along the way, but pushing through and surviving these challenges is what truly cultivates resilience and shapes the character of every founder.

Startups, especially the early-stage startups that you focus on, are notoriously prone to risk. How have you worked to build resilience within Aquillius to continue to identify and overcome potential setbacks when dealing in that scene? How do you work to make the startups who use your spaces more resilient?

LV: We serve to provide the foundation or provide a safety net of sorts. We’ve methodically worked out potential paths these startups could take, identified needed resources, and even identified common challenges that startups might encounter, and we work to tackle these challenges head on.

We address these challenges before the startups themselves confront them, and then work to make all the necessary resources available to them to give them the best chance.

Most of these startups are in the biotech and MedTech realms. From what we’ve seen, regulatory and IP complexity are the two main major challenges that these startups face. So, we’ve identified and paired up certain resources and subject-matter experts in those realms, like different law firms and regulatory experts, to help them navigate those challenges.

San Diego’s biotech scene is world famous. How do you see yourselves positioned in this space? How do you see yourself contributing to building resilience both within the scene and within the broader San Diego community?

LV: We see ourselves mainly as a resource provider in the biotech space. Our physical space is critically important – we have a nice tech lab and a nice wet lab, which those companies need the most. This sort of sets the biotech companies apart, since they really need that physical lab space. For example, during COVID, we didn’t really feel as affected as other people who worked from home, since we actually couldn’t work from home – we needed to be in the lab!

Basically, our niche is now being a resource provider for biotech startups.

A peek inside the lab!

You guys provide physical resources such as lab space, but you also host a lot of events that provide space for companies, founders, and people interested in that whole scene. So really, it seems like your main resource is providing space?

LV: Yes, we provide those events, and a lot of events on the educational side. We also provide a lot of networking opportunities. That’s a pretty important thing as well, we’ve found, especially for young startups that are fundraising.

What projects are you most proud of?

Austin Strain: What I feel is most impactful is our Catalyst program. When I got a chance to actually talk to the people and participants who went through that, to see how much they learned and grew, it was absolutely remarkable.

Our Catalyst program is basically a ten-week program for students of all levels – undergrads, graduates, PHDs, postdocs- to get entrepreneurial training and to get a hands-on opportunity to solve real-world problems. Throughout those 10 weeks they learn how to set up a business, and then, at the end, get to pitch that business to experts, investors, and other people who can give them feedback on how well their entrepreneurial journey went.

I personally know how important this is. I studied entrepreneurship in school, and I also took part in a startup summer program. I saw how much that helped me personally with my own career growth. So, getting to meet all the participants at the end of our own Catalyst program and some of the older participants as well was really nostalgic and gratifying for me, because I remember when I was exactly where they were! I remember getting to that pitch day and how nervous and exciting it is! And then hearing what they have learned, and recollecting what I personally learned was just so impactful. It was like you could literally see a bright future.

LV: We do this cohort every summer. And in the beginning, it’s always the same – they’ll come up with their one-minute elevator pitch and they’re very timid and shy, saying things like “I don’t know how to talk about myself.” And then just 10 weeks later, you see so much growth! They’re no longer that timid, they’re outgoing and putting themselves out there and pitching their companies and projects. It’s just incredible.

So, another one of your major resource spaces is just giving others the opportunity and mental space to grow?

AS: Yes, yes, for sure! So, if you’re interested, we’re offering our next one to the broader startup community next year.

Can you talk about the biggest obstacles you’ve overcome so far? How have you worked to build resilience within your own company and culture, or those you serve?

LV: Honestly, the biggest one is providing access to capital. These are very, very early-stage companies, just trying to find traction in the world. They need people, they need institutions, and they need capital to help get them to the next level.

We will be rolling out with more programs this coming year to help them do that – to raise capital and get to that next level.

In addition to lab space, Aquillius also provides offices.

What are the biggest opportunities that you see in the biotech scene in San Diego? What role do you play in filling these gaps?

LV: San Diego is a huge biotech hub in and of itself. But even though it’s so large, it has the potential to grow.

When it comes to investing in these projects, San Diego has a pretty big angel investing scene – the venture capital scene still seems to be up and coming. But I think that we’re going to see some growth in that sector in the coming year.

The whole investing scene has been very slow really, because of the pandemic and the slowdown in the economy the past few years. But I think it’s coming back, and I think it will be a pretty vibrant scene going into 2024.

So, do you see yourself playing a role and filling the access gap to venture capital?

LV: Absolutely! So, we’re hoping to have a fund ready to go by next year that can invest in these companies. And we will be rolling out those programs that I talked about earlier. We’re going to hold more pitch days and things like that, centered on different themes and industries to attract those VCs to be a part of all of it as well.

AS: In addition, we work to reduce access gaps wherever we see them. We host a number of events around women in investing, women in science, and trying to encourage women, or others who are normally not as active in the science and founders community, to be involved. That focus is very important to us – it’s another way we build a more resilient future, by making sure everyone has access to the tools and resources they need to succeed. Really trying to empower women to be involved in the ecosystem.

So not only are we filling a gap for capital in the biotech space, but we’re providing a leg up for groups and communities who might need it most. And that’s definitely something different and important that we do.

Looking to the future, what do you see as the future for Aquillius? Are there any specific opportunities and risks that you are looking to navigate in the future, both near and long term?

LV: As far as growth goes, we’re just getting started! We’ve built out the lab space, we’re trying to attract companies to come in here, build, and be part of our community, and then just see where it goes!

We do have longer-term plans, such as growing to more locations, but those are definitely long term. We’ll see how this current model works in 2024. We just want to be able to provide more resources to the broader startup community, even beyond just San Diego!

What are the best ways for people to learn more about, or get involved with, Aquillius?

AS: The easiest way is to just check out all the information on our website. If you’d like a brochure, we have those too. But realistically, the best way is to book a tour! Come see it firsthand and say hi! We’ve found tours really spark the types of questions that we like to answer, that aren’t necessarily found on our website.

But yes, the best way is to book a tour, or come to a networking event!

Want to learn more? Go more in depth here:

Aquillius Website

Book a tour

Upcoming events

Aquillius Catalyst Program

Aquillius LinkedIn

November 13, 2023
Innovative Ocean Intelligence: A Dive into Seatrec’s Sustainable Technology with Dr. Yi Chao

I was delighted to have the opportunity to speak with Dr. Yi Chao, Founder and CEO of Seatrec, a startup that designs and manufactures products that generate electricity from the temperature fluctuations in the ocean.

When I first heard about this technology, it almost sounded like magic! A way to generate energy just from the naturally occurring ocean changing temperature? Wow!

It turns out that it’s actually not that new of an idea – the research has been around since the 1970s, but generating enough energy from these fluctuations to, say, power the energy grid, is remarkably expensive.

This is where Seatrec is different. They’ve scaled this technology down to essentially provide infinite, sustainable energy to power research instruments, like undersea robots. Currently, these robots have to completely rely on the dwindling charges of battery packs, brought to them by researchers on ships – making research costly, difficult, and primarily close to shore. Thanks to Seatrec’s technology, researchers are no longer beholden to voyaging out on ships, and can gather more data from autonomous robots that can endure missions for much longer in harsher conditions – sparking the next generation of ocean data insights.

You’ll learn about how Seatrec uses this technology to power ocean research all around the globe, how Yi’s science background made him more resilient for the business world, and some of the major research successes that this technology has enabled.

It was a great interview with a company on the cutting edge of energy and ocean research. If you’d like to learn more, you can explore Seatrec’s website!

The Founder and CEO of Seatrec, Dr. Yi Chao (right)

I’m chiefly interested in the concept of resilience – personal, communal, and societal. What does the concept of resilience mean to you and Seatrec?

For us at Seatrec, we’re primarily concerned with societal resilience, since we deal with the planet’s resources. We’re totally ocean focused. There’s only so much land on earth, but over 70% of the planet is covered by the ocean. So it makes sense to turn to the ocean to find solutions to problems that we can’t solve by land!

Everyone knows about traditional ocean industries like shipping, but there are a lot of interesting things being done with resource exploration in the ocean – whether it’s oil and gas, offshore energy, offshore wind farming, or even growing our own protein instead of fishing. The ocean is becoming more and more important – and as it becomes more important, it’s also in more danger.

Seatrec was formed so we can understand the ocean in a deeper way, manage our resources, and protect our ocean. We’re bringing new and innovative technology to study the ocean and collect data.

Really, when it comes down to it, our mission is to digitize the ocean and capture the ocean’s data, so we can better understand and predict the ocean – all so we can better protect this vital resource.

I feel when people think about the ocean and generating energy, most people think about waves. However, you generate energy from the ocean’s temperature fluctuations. Can you talk about how you’re solving that problem, and the approach you’re taking?

Sure! So the concept of OTEC (or, ocean thermal energy conversion) is actually not that new.

The first wave of dealing with renewable ocean energy, including OTEC, was back in the 1970s. A lot of research was done back then that pioneered the whole field – studies were done with ocean thermal energy, ocean waves, ocean wind, everything. A number of different governments spent a lot of money on renewable energy to support the innovation, but when the oil crisis ended, everyone just went back to gasoline like nothing had happened. A lot of the research only started to come back in the recent decades.

The technology for ocean thermal energy conversion is relatively mature, but it’s very costly. You have limited geographic distribution since you have to work in the tropics where the water is warm. You then have to pump cold water up from the deep ocean. Converting that small difference into energy is rather costly, and is just unrealistic to use that energy to supply the power grid.

This is actually why you’ll hear a lot more about offshore wind when it comes to the ocean. Ocean waves are still in the early stages of commercialization as well.

Where we come in is, we decided to utilize ocean thermal energy to power sensors and underwater robotics, not the power grid. We want to focus on ocean sensing, to provide ocean intelligence, and this can support other forms of energy – like providing data for the offshore wind energy market, and to help those companies optimize the planning, the sights, quantify impact, monitor their operations. And that’s a unique angle.

So, would it be fair to say that your technology is like a recharging battery pack that could go on measurement instruments, allowing those instruments to stay out longer and be more self-contained?

Yes, that’s correct!

Essentially, we deliver the first self-charging underwater subsea robot. There are a lot of robots on the surface. They can be powered by solar, wind, and waves. But ours is the first that can power itself underneath the water. We can go as deep as 1000 meters today, and, if we want to, even as deep as 2000 meters in the near future! Today’s subsea robots are powered by batteries with limited lifetime and capabilities. When the battery runs out, we need to send ships to replace those dead batteries or the robots fall to the bottom of the ocean. If you want to collect data far offshore, you need to use a bigger ship. This causes a huge carbon footprint, there need to be lots of people onboard, and it’s just extremely costly. Ship time starts to cost tens of thousands of dollars a day!

Our robot can recharge its batteries without the need of ships, and therefore be scaled up. Today, there are thousands of subsea robots in the ocean. In the next decade, this number will go up tenfold or even hundredfold.

When I was researching this company, I see that you’re the rare oceanographer who stays far away from the ocean due to seasickness! I’m glad to see that didn’t stop you.

I was trained as an ocean scientist, and I have a Ph.D. in oceanography from Princeton University. I then worked at NASA’s Jet Propulsion Lab in Pasadena for many years. And even though my work was related to the ocean, I tried to stay away from the ocean as long as I could! For example, I developed a satellite to measure salinity on the surface of the ocean, from hundreds of miles away, using remote sensing technology – so I studied the ocean from space!

Through my work, I continued developing computer models of the ocean and studying it that way. And eventually I thought, if I can develop robots that go to sea, I don’t have to physically go on ships! As long as I can measure the water, I think I’ll be happy.

Seatrec’s technology generates power through the ocean’s temperature differences.

Startups are notoriously prone to risk. What are some ways you’ve worked to build resilience within your company?

The biggest risk for any startup is cash flow. How do you stay alive? How do you find just enough capital to help you grow? You don’t want to grow too fast, because you may not have the right product that fits the market. And then, of course, you always have to make payroll at the end of every pay period. Cash flow is the challenge we are constantly struggling with.

The ocean market is very fragmented. It’s not as well-defined as other areas like consumer products, or startup categories like fintech or agtech. The market is emerging. It’s still new. My goal, the biggest challenge, is finding the product that fits the market, so we can raise the capital and grow. How do you get your product to take off?

That’s my job, mainly. Opening up new markets, coordinating different sectors of the market, defining the market, and product market fit. Then, finding the right time to scale. Raising money from investors and then growing and scaling our technology in the marketplace!

You have a significant background in engineering and oceanography. Has there been any surprising crossover from the science world to the business world? Anything that’s been a particularly good fit?

I think as a scientist, you automatically build resilience. I do experiments, and they often fail. But then, eventually, you pick a new way, and make it right the next time! And you keep trying and trying to get it right. That’s my mentality, and I think that will carry through my entrepreneurial career.

Being a first-time entrepreneur, I’ve read lots of books, talked to lots of mentors and different people who have experience to grow from 0 to 1 and implement deep tech successfully in the commercial market. That’s helped guide me day to day, and helped me keep looking forward and following my vision into the future, but at the same time staying focused on the present enough to continue making payroll and scaling the company.

San Diego’s biotech scene is well-regarded. And Seatrec seems to be especially relevant to the San Diego area, poised to take advantage of engineering and oceanography pipelines from universities like UCSD and Scripps. How would you describe the San Diego business scene? Are there any pros and cons that you see about being in San Diego?

We actually moved to San Diego for precisely that reason! Los Angeles is great for certain areas of tech, like consumer tech and aerospace. But I think that San Diego is one of the few ideal locations in the country to grow a blue tech company!

As you mentioned, we have the Scripps Institution of Oceanography, all the engineering out of UCSD, a big naval presence, and access to supply chains. You have the port, coast guards. Even the border. I see all of these not just as adding to our intellectual capacity, but as an opportunity with many stakeholders and potential customers – not just from the research side, but from the defense and military side.

We also have a great investor ecosystem – there are lots of investors in San Diego that support our industry. Really, San Diego is the perfect place to grow into our next chapter.

Seatrec’s latest product, the InfiniTE float.

Have there been any major successes that Seatrec has celebrated?

Yes! Recently, one of the biggest successes we’ve seen is opening up a new market and making the customer very happy. We were able to enable the customer to do something that they were not able to do in the past.

For the first time, we were able to add an acoustic hydrophone, an underwater listening device, to our robots. This was impossible before due to power limitations. We deployed our robots in the ocean out in Monterey and we heard whales singing! It’s tough to see what’s happening under the water, but sound provides a way to discover what’s going on. In fact, when it comes to the ocean, it’s all about sound.

This hydrophone was really cool. It provides almost like a natural fingerprint of all the activity of the ocean, from the natural sounds of the wind and waves, to the manmade sound of the ships and other vessels, then the marine mammals and the rest of the ecosystem. We can learn how all of these groups interact together.

It was very interesting – traditionally, those hydrophones have to be powered by ships, and the surface is extremely noisy, so you couldn’t hear very well. Our robot, on the other hand, can dive much deeper where it’s much quieter. You can hear for miles and miles. It’s a lot like how if you were building a telescope, you’d want to build it on the top of a mountain. That’s the same principle with this ocean robot!

So that’s really our major milestone – our customers can now do something that’s never been done before. We get to enable other technologies too. We can build our business model around these early customers and early technology adopters. And this makes us very excited to grow and make our investors happy about the total available market.

Looking ahead, what do you see as the future for Seatrec? Are there any opportunities or risks you are working to navigate?

In the near term, well, we launched our product early this year. We’ve been going to a few trade shows, getting customer feedback. We’ve been very encouraged about the traction so far, and there is product market fit. Ocean tech is hard – it’s taken years of engineering and commercialization efforts, but we have a strong differentiator to sell! We have some significant sales so far, and we interest for increased sales targets for next year.

We hope to break even on our current operation next year, that’s our main milestone. And then, further out, we want to take the opportunity to scale. We’re planning to fundraise our Series A next year to put some more fuel in the fire. We want to take Seatrec to the next level.

Then, in addition, we also have a really interesting project called Project FIND. This project is really about providing this cutting edge technology, and our robots, to researchers and customers who traditionally can’t afford them or don’t have the opportunity.

We launched this project two years ago, hoping to provide cutting edge technology, like the same type of technology a researcher at Scripps would have, to countries and researchers who normally can’t access it. The ocean is global, it affects everybody. So everybody should be able to study and protect it. And we hope that, if people are interested, they can reach out to us, be a part of it, and can help out.

So through Project FIND, you provide your technology to different countries to help foster more scientific exploration?

Yes!

Our end-to-end product with the platform and sensors sells for between $50,000 -$75,000. That’s what we sell to universities, researchers, nonprofits, and the government. But we’ve been able to provide one to Mexico already, as well as Brazil and South Africa. We’re working on two more for Sri Lanka and Ghana. They’re very interested in the hydrophone I mentioned earlier. A lot of researchers in Sri Lanka, for example, monitor whales. They have conservation programs, they understand the ocean. But they have to use binoculars to identify whales! If we can provide a hydrophone robot to them that lets them hear for miles, they can expand their search area and better understand whale behavior protect their part of the ocean.

What are the best ways for people to learn about, or get involved with, Seatrec?

You can certainly check out our website, or follow us on LinkedIn or Twitter. We have some interesting projects coming up!

Want to go more in depth? Learn more here:

Seatrec website

Seatrec technology

Project FIND

November 6, 2023
Planting an Urban Forest: An Interview with Tree San Diego

When you think of city management and design, do trees come to mind?

The good folks at Tree San Diego think so, and think that you should too!

Tree San Diego is an urban forestry nonprofit who works to increase the quality and density of San Diego’s urban forest — and they have some thoughts about the importance of urban trees and how they contribute to a resilient community.

Trees, and by extension, the “urban canopy” (the layer of leaves, branches, and stems of trees that cover the ground in an urban environment when viewed from above), have an important role in city design. They make cities cooler, quieter, more desirable, more efficient, and safer — and therefore, more resilient. San Diego has recently announced a plan for a dramatic increase in our urban canopy in hopes of reaping some of these benefits — and I turned to the experts at Tree San Diego to find out more.

In this interview, you’ll learn all about why we need to have trees in our urban spaces, not just on our trails, as well as the number of benefits that urban trees and urban forests provide! You’ll also learn how Tree San Diego works to select their species, how they account for disease and pests, and the role of trees in urban planning.

If you’d like to learn more about Tree San Diego and their mission, you can check them out on their website. I’d also like to give a special thanks to Elekra Fike-Data, Chris Klier, Chuck Morgan, and Kurt Peacock from Tree San Diego for their help and expertise with this interview.

What does the concept of resilience mean to you and Tree San Diego? And how are urban trees part of a resilient community?

Resilience is the ability to recover from problems or conditions that are not ideal. We at Tree SD are choosing tough, low to moderate water-use tree species to better prepare for the warming, drier climate we will face in the coming years.

San Diego hopes to increase their urban canopy to 35% of the city by 2035. Can you talk about the benefits of having such a large, developed urban canopy, and what that would mean to the average resident?

Hitting the 35% cover target will improve the quality of life for everyone in San Diego! Some of the immediate benefits include lowering temperatures, reducing pollution and storm water runoff, blocking ultraviolet light more effectively. Residents will want to be outdoors more, more active in recreational activity and lowering heating and cooling bills, which burns less fossil fuels.

Community Planting Day! (PC: Tree San Diego)

Many folks associate San Diego (and, more broadly, Southern California), with palm trees — which are actually a non-native species! Can you talk about your process of choosing which trees (and where) to plant?

Palms may be iconic, but they do not provide the ecological benefits that broadleaf or evergreen trees provide. They require annual maintenance which makes them more expensive to maintain than other trees.

We base our tree selections on the soil volume available and the utility situation, such as overhead wires, to prolong the useful life of trees. Microclimates can also affect what we select — we need to keep in mind dimensions like sun vs. shade, soil grade, and proximity of buildings and other fixed infrastructure to the site, ultimately striving to maximize the size of any tree in a given site. The bigger the tree can grow, the more benefits it provides!

San Diego is known for being an extremely biodiverse area, and there are a number of extremely unique environments in the county — from desert, to mountains, to ocean, just to name a few. Can you talk about the importance of wilding the urban environment? Have you received support from the outdoors community for your initiative?

Wilding and rewilding our urban environments are important since it improves health, provides areas for recreation and relaxation, improves biodiversity, and expands our wildlands and ecosystem restoration. Here in San Diego, we see examples of this in our local estuaries from Carlsbad, to Carmel Valley, and Imperial Beach. Balboa Park is another example, which has both wilderness areas and more formal, landscaped areas. The various cities within San Diego are focusing now on more “plantscaping,” and adding trees to our urban areas. In fact, in small open areas around the city, local officials are now looking to create pocket parks!

Planting an urban tree in Caesar Chavez park! (Photo: Tree San Diego Facebook)

Water use is always a major concern for any SoCal resident. How does planting more trees affect a city’s water and usage?

Planting trees uses a lot of water, especially during the establishment period. However, I believe the benefits gained with planting more trees far outweigh the additional water needed. For example, a tree cover will save 11,000 tons of soil annually in a medium sized city. A tree-shaded, air conditioned home can improve its efficiency by 10% and saves up to 34% of annual costs. Trees planted in the right place for a home can reduce heating costs up to 25%. Trees are natural air conditioners, cooling the air through transpiration (how plants evaporate water). Trees improve real estate value by 1% of sale price. Trees reduce and mask noise with white noise. One acre of trees will provide enough oxygen each day for 18 people to breath, while, at the same time, absorbing pollutants and filtering particulates. Trees planted in parking lots can reduce the ambient temperature by 3% and car interior by 30%. 100 mature trees intercept 210,000 gallons of water per year, allowing cities to spend less money on storm water control and keeping water pollution out of our estuaries, rivers and ocean. The list of benefits goes on and on!

On the campus of UC San Diego, there are 27,000 trees. These trees sequester 7,560 tons of CO2 annually, and remove 6,210 pounds of pollutants from the air. A study conducted by the human-environment laboratory of the University of Illinois at Urbana Champaign concluded that a tree-filled community recorded a lower incidence of violence and vandalism than a community that was less forested. Additionally, trees can lower stress and help provide speedy health recovery. The benefits are monumental!

Meanwhile, the city of San Diego is working to be water independent by recycling water. By the end of 2035, nearly 50% of San Diego water will be provided by taking waste water and purifying it to high-quality drinking water, and will actually cleaner and safer than our present drinking water. You can learn more about this initiative here. So there are a lot of things at play!

You also run a project that diverts end-of-life urban trees away from the wood-chipper/landfill and towards other products. Can you talk more about the success of this program, and the difference between what happens to a tree in this program vs a normal urban tree?

The Treejuvenation project was a small pilot that really started when we realized how many exotic trees are grown in the temparate San Diego climate. Once these trees reach the end of their life, they can be collected for their viable wood. The urban forester now thinks about what trees should be planted on a longer scale — not just thinking of planting the tree for now, but thinking about the end of life, and planting trees that can eventually turn into desirable lumber. As another benefit, the tree care industry strives to ensure that urban trees grow as straight as possible which makes them ideal for harvesting for lumber as opposed to being cut up and dumped in the landfill or chopped into firewood!

What do you see as the future of the tree in urban planning and design? Have you seen an uptick in support from governments and planners in including more environmental elements such as trees in new developments?

Trees are only increasing in importance for urban planning as we move forward into a changing climate. Many new developments have trees and environmental elements as a focal point, rather than an afterthought. This is a trend that we expect to see throughout urban planning, especially with support and funding opportunities from government and other stakeholders.

How are you helping build resilience into Tree San Diego? What is a major obstacle that you have overcome?

Tree San Diego is building organizational resilience through diversifying funding sources, strengthening partnerships, and growing to meet growing needs. While not unique to our organization, limitations related to COVID-19 were a major challenge. Tree San Diego prides itself on connecting and working with the community, but during the height of the pandemic we were unable to work face-to-face with folks. Instead, we adapted our programs, conducting our training virtually and delivering trees to be planted at individuals’ homes rather than community planting events.

(Photo: Tree San Diego Facebook)

Can you talk about your biggest success so far as part of Tree San Diego? What helped you achieve it?

Tree San Diego was recently awarded a federal IRA Urban Forestry Grant to continue planting trees, training candidates through our Treejectory workforce development program, and building a regional urban forestry management plan. This $2 million grant award will allow us to bring the benefits of trees to thousands of people while empowering communities in priority populations zones to grow and care for a newly planted urban forest.

I know you partner with a number of groups around San Diego. Do you have plans to partner with urban forestry groups outside of San Diego?

Yes, we will work alongside the US Forest Service, CAL FIRE, and other NGOs in California to achieve our goals of building a greener future.

What is next for Tree San Diego?

Tree San Diego will embark on a path to expand our impact, influence, and statewide partnership. As our team plans to celebrate the organization’s 10th anniversary in 2024, we are currently building models to broaden our shared urban forest and plan for sustainable urban forestry management throughout the region.

What are the best ways for people to learn more about, or get involved with, Tree San Diego?

Get involved and stay in contact with our team by joining the TSD Leaflet Newsletter, signing up for Tree Steward training, becoming a Terrific Tree Member, and donating to the cause.

Want to learn more? Go more in depth here:

Tree San Diego Website

Urban Tree Canopy Overview

City of San Diego’s Forest Management Programs

Get a Free Tree from the City of San Diego!

City of San Diego’s Tree Canopy Plan

October 23, 2023
Brewing a Better Future: How Pure Project is Redefining Craft Beer with Sustainability

San Diego is renowned for our flourishing craft brewing scene. With well over 150 craft and microbreweries in the city, it’s become difficult to for breweries to stand out and differentiate themselves — but one brewery has stood out to me not just for their beer (which is excellent) but for their mission as well.

Pure Project Brewing has a unique niche in the San Diego beer scene. The founders decided to start Pure while hiking in a national park — and wanted to create a brewery dedicated to sustainability, using local and organic ingredients, and using beer as a force for good. Since 2013, as a 1% for The Planet company, they’ve donated hundreds of thousands of dollars towards preserving open spaces across the United States.

I caught up with Spencer Higgs, Pure Brewing’s Community Brand Manager, to talk about Pure’s environmental efforts, the pros and cons of being in such a saturated market, company culture, and, perhaps most importantly, where to find their beer!

I’m chiefly interested in the concept of resilience — personal, communal, and societal. What does the concept of resilience mean to you and Pure Brewing?

Resilience and sustainability go hand-in-hand, and of course, we have a heavy focus on sustainability. For instance, when we decide to brew a new beer, we start with the ingredients, not the style. We source ingredients — whenever possible — by what’s local, in season, organic, and grown regeneratively. This invests in sustainable agriculture and distances us from reliance on foreign or unhealthy ingredients that are subject to everything from supply chain issues to health risks to geo-political unrest. We’re also committed to long-term sustainable business goals that build company resilience, like solar powering our breweries and minimizing water use in the ever-drier southwest.

Can you talk more about your sustainability efforts?

For starters, Pure Project was founded on the concept of making beer a force for good. We focus our sustainability efforts on reducing our impact as a business; sourcing ingredients, products, and services with sustainability in mind; and donating to environmental non-profits that conserve, regenerate, and legislate to protect our planet.

As previously mentioned, we brew our beers with an ingredients-first approach. We’ve also significantly reduced waste and emissions at multiple points in our brewing and hospitality operations. While we do our best, we recognize that we’re not perfect. So, whatever we can’t eliminate, we offset through verified programs.

But we want to effect change beyond our brewery doors too, so as a 1% For The Planet member we donate one percent of gross sales to environmental nonprofits, among other donations. I can give you a keg full of other examples, but those are the big ones.

San Diego has a world-renowned craft brewing scene with hundreds of craft breweries in the area. Does your commitment to sustainability differentiate you from other breweries in the scene? Do you think that other breweries are trending towards sustainability?

Yes and yes. I think it sets us apart in three ways: firstly, a lot of people in the community appreciate that we go to such lengths to do business in a better way. And, because our ingredients are of such high quality, we feel it leads to an overall better-tasting product than otherwise. Lastly, our attention to detail comes out in our taproom environments as well, where we’ve created spaces reflective of the clean, natural environment we’re trying to protect.

Industry-wide, other breweries are moving in a similar direction, be it for their business or the environment. I think brewers in certain areas recognize that sustainability can help increase customer loyalty, reduce expenses, and stay ahead of environmental policies.

Can you talk about any pros with being in such a large, mature craft brewing scene? Are there any cons?

There are both pros and cons. With north of 150 breweries, there’s a lot of competition in San Diego. You really have to be on top of your game here; you need to be good at brewing and at business. On the other hand, the beer scene is very collaborative and supportive. We’ve been able to make a lot of beers with other breweries we admire, swapping recipes and brewing methods, and helping each other reach new beer fans. San Diego is a bottomless well of brewing inspiration.

Resilience is more than just environmental. Can you talk about any obstacles that Pure Brewing has overcome? How has Pure Brewing worked to build resilience into the company culture?

Pure Project focuses on building and maintaining a strong company culture which has certainly made the company more successful and resilient. Management has a knack for finding people who fit with our team exceptionally well. I’ve been very impressed with the synergy here — everyone is very skilled, passionate, and collaborative. Successes are celebrated and there’s a genuine sense of ownership and pride, which has helped us expand from a single location in Miramar to five taprooms throughout San Diego County.

Can you share any examples of how Pure Brewing has responded to challenges or disruptions in the brewing industry?

The pandemic certainly brought about a huge disruption for everyone, not limited to the brewing industry. Luckily we were able to shift our offerings to meet both the lockdown orders and changes in consumer behavior by offering to-go options and statewide shipping direct to customers.

Can you talk about the biggest success that you’ve had with Pure Brewing? Any large milestones?

I think everyone considers the sheer amount of money we’ve been able to donate to environmental non-profits as a massive success. To date, we’ve donated about $400,000, which has helped conserve coastlines, rivers, and natural habitats throughout the country.

Photo credit: Pure Brewing

Craft brewing touches a lot of environmental areas — from water (and wastewater), to agriculture, to the use of bottles and cans, to name a few. Where do you see the biggest gains still to be made for the brewing scene? Where have gains already been made?

Advancements are needed across all of those areas, and every brewery is ahead or behind in certain ones. Ultimately, I think where we have the most ground to gain is simply not cutting corners. We have a maxim at Pure Project: do what’s right even if it costs more. That’s a hard thing for a lot of breweries (and people in general) to do, but it’s necessary and usually profitable when done efficiently.

What do you see as the future of craft brewing?

If you ask a brewer, a beer fan, and an economist, you’ll likely get three different answers! But we’re really excited to see what feels like a growing interest in new ingredients (including new hop strains), new styles, and streamlining operations. I think the latter will be where a lot of breweries turn to increase monetary savings.

What’s next for Pure Brewing?

We have a lot of awesome beers on our release calendar. You’re going to be stoked, I promise! We’re also increasing our distribution so that we can get Pure Project beers to more people in more places.

What are the best ways for people to learn more about, or get involved with, Pure Brewing?

Swing by a taproom for the full Pure experience. Our beertenders are incredibly knowledgeable and can guide you to the perfect pour or a flight of truly unique beers. And when you see how we’ve designed each location, you’ll understand exactly what I mean about how our taproom environments reflect the natural environment. And sign up for our newsletters to stay atop events and special releases!

Want to learn more? Go more in depth here:

Pure Brewing Website

Pure Brewing Origin Story

Pure Brewing Tap Rooms

Pure Brewing Instagram

Pure Brewing Blog

How San Diego Breweries are Offsetting Craft Beer’s Water Footprint

October 23, 2023
Refilling Resilience: An Interview with Lowell Jooste of LJ Crafted Wines

How can you get rid of a wine bottle?

Lowell Jooste, of LJ Crafted Wines, is searching for that answer.

Using his patented technology to serve his wines in refillable growlers, Lowell Jooste has saved over 154,000 single-use glass wine bottles from the landfill — and is changing the way San Diegans drink wine.

In the interview below, we explore topics such as the importance of team culture, building sustainability and environmental resilience into the wine industry, and the challenges of opening and operating a business.

I’m chiefly interested in the concept of resilience — personal, communal, and societal. What does the concept of resilience mean to you and LJ Crafted Wines?

I think just being focused on our concept, ensuring that it works, and having a good helping of determination. My wife Anne is the same way when it comes to the business. At the same time, we’ve had fantastic staff and a fantastic team, and they’ve all become part of it!

Putting a great team behind it all is so important. In the beginning of the business, we were just constantly fixing problems — and now, with our team and their experience, we’re able to look ahead and get ahead of issues.

So the team, the culture, and your experience helps you stay resilient?

I believe so. You can take out insurance and whatnot, but that doesn’t really give your resilience. If something goes wrong, you need to have faith in your product and your team.

Good point. So, let’s get into your product!

San Diego is primarily known for our craft beer scene, not necessarily our wine. How has your wine been received, not just in San Diego, but in the overall scene? Do you feel that there is there any competition with the beer scene?

I’d say that we have a bit of a different demographic to a brewery. The people who come to us come to enjoy their wine in a chilled-out atmosphere. It’s very different to a brewery where you have televisions going, sports on, and things like that. Our demographic is actually probably primarily a female demographic, whereas in the beer industry it’s more male.

I think the wine has been very well received! We’ve been fortunate to be able to get very good grapes up in Napa Valley, and we’ve had very good quality control.

Honestly, I see beer as another form of beverage. I don’t really see it as direct competition. We do offer some beer for customers who prefer it, but we go through very little beer.

LJ Crafted Wines’ totally reusable bottles!

You have deep experience in the wine scene. Can you talk about the move from owning and working a vineyard to owning and working an urban winery?

I’d say it’s very different! Previously we were growing the grapes, making the wine, and then afterwards packaging it, selling it locally, and also walking the streets of the entire world trying to sell it. Whereas now, we are really just selling to a community in a small radius. It’s definitely a big change.

For myself, the biggest change is that I am no longer managing a reasonably big team. I’m much more hands-on now, doing things that I’d ask other people to do previously. And I’m really enjoying it — I’m much more hands-on with the wine itself.

Does that create a deeper connection with you and the business?

I think it’s just very different — but I’m enjoying using my own hands!

You moved from South Africa to La Jolla in 2012, and opened up LJ Crafted Wines in 2015. Can you talk about how opening the business went? What lessons did you learn?

Well, obviously, as new immigrants to the US, things worked a little bit differently here. All the laws regarding alcohol are different, and every country’s got its own way. It was really a way of figuring out where we wanted to end up and how to get there. We hit a few bumps along the way, I’d say the first one was about a year after we made our first wine. We had about 60 barrels of Cabernet Sauvignon, Chardonnay, and Pinot Noir up in Napa, and then the earthquake came in August 2014. It was devastating. Exactly half of everything was destroyed.

And then I think our other problems might have been even bigger. During our tenant improvement, we ran into all sorts of issues being on a slope and dealing with disability rules. We had to fix up a sloped sidewalk in front of us and change the levels of the floor inside our building, which tripled the cost of the tenant improvement budget we had originally set.

But, you know, once you’re into it, you just have to finish it off. At first, we had reasonably high staff turnover, but luckily now, among the eight or so staff, I think we have a turnover of maybe one staff member a year. So that’s made us much more solid as a business and given us more resilience in dealing with adversity. And it’s nice not having to train the whole team again!

And then I think the other side of it was trying to get a brand new concept going that hadn’t been seen in the wine industry and educating staff about it. The idea of using refillable glass bottles instead of normal wine bottles with a capsule and cork is quite different, so that posed a challenge.

I like what you just said — once you’re in it, you just have to see it through! That mindset has held true for you guys throughout owning the original winery, and now LJ Crafted Wines?

Yes — we’re determined to make this a success! It’s very exciting to work on something that makes sense both sustainably and economically.

Can you talk about the biggest success that you’ve had with LJ Crafted Wines? Any large milestones?

The biggest success is simply showing how many single use bottles we’ve saved using our proprietary technology, the Wine Steward®! If we look at LJ Crafted Wines, the concept is actually pretty old. People would go to the local winery, fill up their container, and take it home. That’s what we are doing, except now we’re using some modern technology that we’ve developed. In the old days, the container that the wine would’ve come from would’ve eventually gone bad because it would’ve oxidized. And with our new technology, the airspace that’s in the barrel has no oxygen in it, so that the wine will always stay completely fresh until the barrel is finished. We’ve also made a lot of strides in sanitation, obviously. But otherwise, it’s just finally improving on an idea that’s been around for centuries.

Lowell Jooste pouring a reusable growler, using his patented barrel technology!

Can you talk about the process of developing your wine technology, the Wine Steward®? Was it something that you’ve always been interested in creating, or did you one day just realize it was a niche that needed to be filled?

I think it was just about filling a niche. Honestly, I always felt that wine tasted better just straight out the barrel — after it comes out of the barrel in a normal winery, it’ll go through filtration and preservation, a bunch of things like that. And every time you filter a product, you remove character.

I felt that would be really great if we could just offer the wine as it is, directly out of the barrel. And the other side of it was, if we could copy a bit of what the beer industry does, and somehow use refillable bottles. We saw that as the goal, and then it was a matter of saying, “How do you get there?” and working backwards.

So it wasn’t just a fluke, we actually worked backwards to get there!

While you’ve avoided using over 154,000 glass bottles using your from-the-barrel technology, there’s still a long way to go in the wine industry. Do you still see single-use glass bottles as the primary elephant in the room? Are there other areas you see that the wine industry (whether in production, farming, etc) that the wine industry can make strides in sustainability?

The wine industry has witnessed remarkable developments, particularly concerning vineyard practices. There’s a growing sensitivity towards using fewer spray materials, and significant efforts are being made to explore more organic farming methods. From an environmental perspective, studies have revealed that nearly half of the wine industry’s carbon footprint is attributed to glass bottles — a substantial concern we need to address. While some argue that glass bottles can be recycled, this process doesn’t substantially reduce their carbon footprint, as collecting, melting, and redistributing them requires considerable energy due to their weighty nature.

Prior to COVID, around 70% of wine bottles in the US were imported from China, which involved shipping heavy bottles across oceans for single use, which is an environmentally unsound practice.

However, despite these challenges, I believe there’s room for change. Many wineries would like to explore alternative packaging options, but there’s concern that deviating from the traditional glass bottle might affect their brand’s image. Yet, we can initiate changes on a smaller scale — starting from the wineries themselves. For instance, tasting rooms could use refillable bottles for all wines consumed there, and wineries could consider using refillable bottles for events and functions they host. By highlighting the environmental benefits and offering simple explanations to customers, such initiatives could gain traction.

While it may require some logistical adjustments, starting with a few wines at a winery could be an excellent trial. If one approach doesn’t work, there’s always room for trying something else. Overall, it’s a doable and worthwhile endeavor that has the potential to make a positive impact in the wine industry.

Do you plan to roll your wine technology out to other wineries?

Well, we would like to do that in the future. At the moment, we’ve been too involved in just our little business here and living in the community. I haven’t really gotten out there yet.

I can totally see wineries benefitting from your technology — I think about the wine tastings I’ve been a part of, and looking at how many bottles those wineries go through is incredible!

It will definitely save them a lot of money! Those tasting rooms can tell you how quickly their empty bottle bin fills up. They could do it with reusable bottles so easily!

The refillable bottles at LJ crafted Wines support a zero-waste lifestyle — and the wine is darn good, too!

How do you balance the demands of running a business with the desire for sustainability? Do you see more economic difficulties or economic benefits for LJ Crafted Wines associated with your green efforts?

The benefits have been significant! We’ve been able to streamline our entire operation, making it run a lot more smoothly. Our winemaking process in Napa and the transportation of barrels down here have been great. We’ve also been fortunate to receive strong support from the local community, and the wine club and refill bottle club have played a vital role, especially during the challenges of COVID. They were a source of immense support during that time.

Additionally, with the recent surge in glass prices worldwide and availability issues, we’ve noticed that many bottles are kept in garages and homes. We’ve encouraged people to bring back their bottles, and we are offering refunds for their deposits. We actually had to send out an email to ask for our bottles back. As far as we know, we might be the first to ask for bottles to be returned!

What’s next for LJ Crafted Wines?

We’re actually about to start a direct to consumer shipping business and use cans! We are rolling out some 750 ml screwcap lightweight cans. These will be single-use, but will be easy to recycle and in an environmentally friendly container.

Interesting. I feel like I’ve been seeing more wine in cans around.

I definitely think we will be seeing more wine in cans. The problem is, the market right now is generally the cheaper end of the wine industry. No one puts up-market wine in a can, and I think for many consumers it’s a tough thing to overcome. People just like to have a bottle and cork!

Although, we’ve already overcome that perception once. When we started, no one had really seen wine in growlers. We used an elegant bottle, and said, “This is a 1Liter bottle for the same price as a 750ml bottle — you’re getting an extra 250ml since you’re not paying for all of that packaging!” Everyone seemed to like the growler after that!

It probably also helps that your quality is good — the wine speaks for itself!

I completely agree. We’ve had great quality control up in Napa and the community has definitely started to appreciate that. I’m proud of the wines we serve people, and think they will stand up with any other wines in Napa.

What are the best ways for people to learn more about, or get involved with, LJ Crafted Wines?

Come and visit us — and join the wine club!

Want to learn more? Go more in depth here:

LJ Crafted Wines Website

The Wine Steward® Bottle-Free System

Interview with VinePair

October 23, 2023
Harvesting Resilience in San Diego County: An Interview with the San Diego County Farm Bureau

Recently, I got the opportunity to speak with the San Diego County Farm Bureau — a non-profit organization tasked with fostering San Diego agriculture through education, public relations, and public policy advocacy. As someone who’s primarily lived in the urban parts of San Diego, I was shocked to learn that San Diego is ranked #1 in the United States in part time farmers, nursery crops, and avocados — and is home to more small farmers (less than 10 acres) than any other county!

In this interview, you’ll learn how farmers, large and small, contribute to San Diego’s local economy, communities, and food production. You’ll learn about the problems farmers are facing and how they’re striving to overcome them, and how you can support the farmers, large and small, in our community.

If you’d like to learn more and connect with the San Diego County Farm Bureau, you can connect with them on their website.

I’m chiefly interested in the concepts of resilience — personal, communal, and societal. Farms are such an integral part of a community’s health and economic development. What does the concept of resilience mean to you and the San Diego Farm Bureau?

Farmers are the most resilient people when it comes to doing their job, which is providing the community with fresh produce, flora, and fauna. In order to do this, they need to have the persistence to overcome and face the many challenges of farming. Some of these main issues they face include water pricing, pests, labor, and the overburdening of regulations at the local, state, and national levels.

What are some ways that the San Diego Farm Bureau works to build resilience through the San Diego region and the San Diego farming community? What are some ways that farms contribute to resilience within a community?

Farms contribute to all civilized societies because they produce the essentials of life. SDCFB helps famers with regulatory compliance, public education, political advocacy and technical training.

How would you describe the unique character and strengths of the San Diego farming community? What makes it different from other agricultural regions in California and the United States? Can you talk about how San Diego’s small farmers contribute to the local community and food systems?

Our farming community is vastly different than any other region in California or even in the US — we have a lot of growers who do more with less land. The average acreage size in San Diego County is less than 10 acres, and we have more “small farmers” than any other county! San Diego’s Mediterranean-like climate makes it an ideal place to grow agricultural crops and livestock products. More than 3 million people live in San Diego County, and around 5,000 farmers call it home and use the land to make their living. The direct economic output from agricultural production totaled $1.7 billion in 2021.

The high cost of water and land make farming here expensive, so San Diego farms have specialized in integrating agricultural activity and urban living by growing crops that optimize limited acres. San Diego far surpasses its fellow top-producing counties in terms of average dollar value per acre with an agricultural production more valuable than other urbanized areas of California, such as San Francisco, Orange County, and Los Angeles combined!

San Diego has more small farmers than any other county! (Photo Credit: SDCFB)

Can you talk about the integration between urban living and agricultural activity in San Diego County? Are there any programs in place to continue growing this integration? How does this contribute to community resilience, particularly with food systems?

The integration between urban living and agricultural activity in San Diego County is simply due to the availability of farmable land. In many ways it can be more of a hinderance, especially when the neighboring residents do not understand certain farming practices. For others, it might provide an educational aspect. We always hope for the latter for our farmers!

For the farmers who grow and have a farm stand, it is a great way to know where your food comes from and be able to see the fields right next to you — or maybe you see the fields on your way to work every morning, and consumers can develop that relationship with their local farmer. Another interesting wrinkle is that many growers in the county grow nursery and cut-flower wholesale products, so that face-to-face interaction can sometimes be tough.

Other than that face-to-face interaction, there are many other opportunities to provide education to the public, especially through the education system. There is a program called San Diego Ag in the Classroom that is run with the support of Farm Bureau that provides resources to teachers wishing to add agriculture programming to their curriculum. It seems that people are starting to be a little more knowledgeable of where their food comes from, and want to connect with local farmers. We also host a few events that are geared towards both public and legislative outreach.

What are some of the challenges facing San Diego’s agricultural industry currently? What are the opportunities?

There are always the staple issues: water (both availability and cost), invasive pests, labor (it’s increasingly difficult to find labor), and increasing regulation.

However, there are also definitely opportunities! For example, people are becoming more aware of local farming and its importance. Some look to support their local farmers, which is great! There is also a large movement in Ag Tech (agricultural technology) and there will soon be more opportunities for people to become involved in agriculture without necessarily having to be a farmer. This would also create additional ways for farmers to utilize new ag-tech tools.

Certain industrial farming practices, such as large-scale monoculture farming, have come under fire recently for what critics say prizes efficiency and profits at the expense of food quality and human, animal, and environmental health. How can farms balance economic viability and growth and food production with environmental concerns?

As we established earlier, San Diego County farming is small in acreage size yet there are so many crops that can be grown in the climate — there are over 200 crops grown in our region! So “industrial farming practices” are not necessarily something that our farmers participate in, simply because our region doesn’t support that type of farming.

However, I think it is important to point out that most farming operations nationwide understand that without a good product, you can’t make a profit. Farmers are often perceived as using too many pesticides, yet all the farmers I know are extremely conscious of their usage because they don’t want to be wasteful, and pesticide overuse will affect your bottom line. Similarly, a rancher won’t put their animals through harmful processes, since that isn’t compatible with the goal of producing a product that people will purchase.

The question of balancing economic viability, growth, and food production with environmental concerns is something that farmers face every day, and I’m afraid there’s not a simple answer to that.

It appears that sustainable, “alternative” farm methods, such as the concept of permaculture, have been gaining traction in the media. What are some examples of sustainable and regenerative farming practices that are being used by San Diego farmers? Have you seen an increase in these practices?

The words “sustainable” and “regenerative” have definitely created a buzz. However, these are not new practices — they have been around for centuries! Farmers in our region plant cover crops and utilize mulch to rebuild soil health. We have cattle operations that utilize regenerative grazing practices. Similar to what was mentioned above, no farmer wants to harm their land, which is their livelihood and their legacy. These regenerative practices are important to them and will continue to be.

Occasionally, there are new studies that come out, or new farming practices that come to light, that are beneficial for the environment and for the crops. For example, there were many farmers who shifted to high density avocado farming — the farmers gain more product with less space, and irrigation is easier since the plants are closer. The trees actually become healthier and grow more efficient canopies and root systems.

It’s also interesting to note that our avocado growers and cut flower producers utilize space that is often otherwise deemed unusable for other purposes, since their crops are typically on steep, rocky hillsides.

What do you see as the future of farming and food production?

The future of farming and food production can sometimes look difficult for producers in California due to increased regulations and legislative rulings that affect the way people farm. It has gotten increasingly difficult to be a farmer in today’s climate. We don’t see a lot of farmers in San Diego who use farming as their main source of income, they work multiple jobs in order to make it feasible. However, as mentioned, it seems that the public are becoming more conscious of the scene and are more interested in supporting local.

When in doubt, try to support your local farmers! (Photo Credit: SDCFB)

Water use is always a hot button topic in Southern California. How does water use factor into agricultural practices in San Diego? What do you see as the future of water use and resource conservation when it comes to farming and food supply?

Water in San Diego County is very expensive, and the cost causes real economic hardship for our farmers in North County. We expect the cycles of drought and water abundance to be more extreme in the coming years, and conservation alone is not going to solve the water problems farmers face. Public policy should include funding for water storage and infrastructure so that rainfall can be captured, and water storage can be maximized.

Interestingly, conservation regulations are driving the cost of water even higher, which in turn causes more economic hardship, more farm closures, and subsequently reduced consumption and higher prices in a vicious cycle.

What are some ways that others can build resilience in their own life, especially with regards to food security and food systems? What advice would you give to others exploring the idea of growing their own food for the first time?

Farming is a lot harder than people think — and I bet a lot of people’s house plants could help illustrate this point!

There are a lot of local garden centers that are willing to help point interested parties in the right direction, and there is also the San Diego Master Gardeners Association. They have great information on caring for gardens. Luckily, there are a ton of resources out there!

How does supporting local farms (small, part-time, and full-time) contribute to building resilience in the local food system? What are some ways that consumers can support these farmers?

Our local farmers contribute $1.7 billion economically to San Diego County. The San Diego County Crop report details the importance of our local food system and economy. Checking out local farmers markets and CSA programs (community supported agriculture), buying direct, farm stands, and agritourism operations are all great ways to be more connected to your food system.

Buying local produce is a great way to support local farmers, keep money in your community, and ensure you’re consuming a high quality product. (Photo Credit: SDCFB)

How are you working to communicate the value of San Diego agriculture and educate the general public on the importance of San Diego farms? What are some ways that the local, non-farming community can get involved in your efforts?

We publish farming news via our magazine, newspaper, email, social media, and website, and proactively seek out media opportunities and speaking engagements to share local agricultural news and successes with our community. We plan events such as “Graze at the Fields” and work with the San Diego Fair to spread the good agricultural word. We host meetings that bring stakeholders together and demonstrate the value of agriculture and the value of working together for the common good. Finally, our membership committee is currently working on a membership level that will be more geared towards public involvement and provide resources to be involved in the local farming scene.

What are the best ways for people to learn more about the San Diego Farm Bureau, your events, the farms that you support, and the local farming scene?

We encourage people to visit our website to learn more about what we do and the events we host. We also have tabs that list the farmers markets in the county. We support all farmers within the county. Farm Bureau also teamed up with the UC Cooperative Extension, and you can find some great information on agritourism at San Diego Agritourism Storymap.

Is there anything that you’d like to talk about that I didn’t ask?

Farmers are no longer a significant part of the population, but are very significant to the overall economy and the health and welfare of any advanced society. It is vitally important for the non-farming public to understand the issues and challenges of farmers and support a healthy and growing farming foundation for their community.

Want to learn more? Go more in depth here:

San Diego Farm Bureau Website

Thank you to San Diego Farm Bureau County Manager, Taylor Reese, for her help with this interview!

October 23, 2023