[New post] Mary Kimball educates Yolo County’s future farmers | ‘Yolo County Hero’ nominee
Gerardo Zavala posted: "There aren't many places where the word hero is as easily defined as it is in Yolo County. That's because the county has many examples of hometown heroes present all around us who are often unaware of the effect they've had on the people around them. " Daily Democrat
There aren't many places where the word hero is as easily defined as it is in Yolo County.
That's because the county has many examples of hometown heroes present all around us who are often unaware of the effect they've had on the people around them.
The Woodland Daily Democrat aims to fix this by highlighting them in a joint project with a dozen other north-state newspapers that are part of the California Newspaper Partnership. We asked our readers to nominate someone they know and admire to be our first "Yolo County Hometown Hero."
Five nominees who have proven to be heroes to the community in one way or another have been selected to show what it means to be a hero in Yolo County.
Many of Yolo County's heroes are those who grow the foods we eat and maintain the lands that provide them.
The county has a rich agriculture-based economy that relies on its farmers, growers and environmentalists whose work has allowed businesses and individuals to thrive throughout the region.
However, this strong agricultural economy would not be possible without the education provided by the professionals who have lived and farmed in the region for decades.
Mary Kimball is one of these professionals and her work for the Center for Land-Based Learning has educated entire communities on the importance of farming and environmentalism while also providing avenues for success for aspiring farmers and environmentalists.
Mary Kimball was named Yolo County Woman of the Year by Congressman Mike Thompson in March for her role in creating the center's California Farm Academy. (Courtesy)
"I grew up on a farm here in Yolo County, so I come from an agricultural background," Kimball said.
However, Kimball noted that her parents were themselves beginning farmers when they first moved to Yolo County in the 1970s. This gave her an insight into the difficulties of starting a farm and the "need for an organization in this region to take a leadership role with regards to not just training, but helping to support new farmers over the long term."
"I grew up with my parents constantly looking for resources, networks and assistance," she recounted. "If there was an organization that was there to help support folks like my parents, that would've made a big difference to a lot of other people's lives."
Kimball noted that she became the center's first employee in 1998 five years after it was created when it was only running its FARMS – farming, agriculture and resource management for sustainability – Leadership Program, which served the region's high school students.
"I realized I had access to agriculture, to the environment, to nature but so many people don't, so it was about, how do we open up those opportunities for everyone, or at least as many people as possible," she recounted.
The leadership program made this possible by introducing, training and recruiting high school students for college and career opportunities in agriculture and environmental sciences.
"We certainly have not solved all our problems," Kimball stressed. "There's continually new problems. Everything from climate change to challenges with our agricultural land that we lose to development."
To address these issues in Yolo County, Kimball and the center have created several programs – some more visible than others – that aim to not only feed the county's food-insecure but also create opportunities for residents to be able to provide for their community.
"The County of Yolo and the city of Woodland have committed money to expand the Mobile Farmers Market," Kimball stated. "We just hired our first Woodland Farmers Market coordinator and she's working with local community members… to find where the communities are in Woodland that can use this."
The ability to move the mobile farmers market around has also allowed the center to operate strategically in West Sacramento's Broderick/Bryte neighborhood, which is designated as a low-income/low-access community by the USDA.
The center also sources the produce and food sold at its mobile farmers market from the city's urban farms, which are or have been a part of the center's farmer incubator program.
Beyond what she called the center's "super visible" programs, she argued that their high school programs have likely had an even larger impact.
Kimball with a group of Florin High School students at Bobcat Ranch in Yolo County for a SLEWS Program field day. (Courtesy)
"We've been serving high school students from Woodland and from Yolo County for 30 years," she emphasized. "We're talking thousands of high school students that have gone through our high school education programs."
Kimball stressed that the center and other environmentalist groups have certainly not solved all of their problems, which range "from climate change to challenges to our agricultural land that we lose to development."
"There's always challenges so to me it's the glass half empty versus the glass half full because there's so many exciting and interesting things for people to help solve, and we need as many people's heads and perspectives and ideas as possible," she argued.
That's why Kimball believes agriculture and the environmental sciences need to continue to expand their reach from the standpoint of diversity.
"You look across the country, most of the people graduating in those majors are white, and that's been the case for a really long time," she warned. "A lot more women now, so we've really made a difference from that diversity standpoint, but we're not going to solve the problems of today without a lot more diversity in our agricultural workforce at all levels. We want to celebrate all of the voices and all of the different kinds of ideas and decisions for the future."
Kimball's work in supporting new farmers through the center's California Farm Academy led Congressman Mike Thompson, D-Yolo, to choose her as Yolo County Woman of the Year in March.
"Mary Kimball has devoted her life to serving the people of Yolo County," Thompson said in March. "Her work through the Center for Land-Based Learning has been essential in supporting new farmers through the creation of the California Farm Academy, which trains prospective farmers. I am proud to recognize her as the 2023 Yolo County Woman of the Year."
Linda Henigan, former executive director for Woodland's Dinner on Main, nominated Kimball for her commitment to Yolo County.
"Mary has been an invaluable partner for Woodland's Dinner on Main serving via Center for Land-Based Learning as our fiscal receiver and advisor for our inaugural dinner, offering the invocation at several dinners, being a leader in the Yolo Delivers HOPE campaign and friend of our dinner," Henigan stated.
Kimball said she and Henigan have worked together and known each other for a long time and have tackled many of the same kinds of projects over the years.
"I really appreciate that Linda feels that way and that we've been able to work together for the community," Kimball emphasized. "She's my hero too for the same reason."
When asked what it would mean to win, Kimball said she was just happy to get to meet and learn from the other nominees.
"To me, it's just being part of the celebration of what people can be doing for their community at all different levels," she argued. "It doesn't have to be elected office, it doesn't have to be a CEO of an organization. There's all these different ways that people can be heroes and it's great to celebrate all of that."
No comments:
Post a Comment