SAREP Funds New Graduate Research Projects, Educational Events
By Bev Ransom, SAREP

Children participate in garden workshop at UC Davis. (photo by Carol Hillhouse)

Seven graduate students and 26 educational events have been granted a total of $37,240 in the ninth funding cycle of SAREP’s Sustainable Agriculture Graduate Awards (SAGA) and Educational Events grants programs. The SAGA grants program, which was initiated in 1992, encourages new researchers to explore areas that address the goals of sustainable agriculture. This year brought a record number of proposals from six California universities.

“This was really an inspiring group of proposals,” says Mark Lipson, one of the SAREP Program Advisory Committee (PAC) members who reviewed the proposals. “Lots of upcoming talent! What a great investment.”

Funding recommendations were made by a sub-committee of two PAC and three Technical Advisory Committee (TAC) members.

The Educational Events grants program, which also began in 1992, continues to reach hundreds of participants throughout the state with events that provide practical information on a broad range of topics supporting sustainable agriculture. Event coordinators are funded to conduct workshops, field days, or other instructional events.

Titles of the funded graduate student projects and educational events, award amounts, and contact information are listed below.

Graduate Student Awards
(7 projects; $18,540)

• Emily Blanco, “Investigation of Nest Trapping as a Means of Suppression of Argentine Ant (Linepithema humile) Populations,” $3,000. Department of Entomology, UC Davis. (530) 752-9977, etblanco@ucdavis.edu
• Peichen Chen, “Analysis of Virulence in Root-Knot Nematode (Meloidogyne hapla) that Impacts Durability of Host Plant Resistance,” $2,890. Department of Nematology, UC Riverside. (909) 787-4436, peichen@ucrac1.ucr.edu
• Yolanda Chen, “Evaluating the Efficacy of a Native Parasitoid on its Lepidopteran Host on Wild and Domesticated Sunflower, Helianthus annuus,” $2,650. Division of Insect Biology, UC Berkeley. (510) 642-3989, yoche@nature.berkeley.edu
• Eileen Cullen, “IPM Decision Support to Reduce Reliance on Organophosphates for Stink Bug Control in Processing Tomatoes,” $3,000. Department of Entomology, UC Davis. (530) 752-4785, emcullen@ucdavis.edu
• Nicholaus Madden, “Conservation Tillage and Cover Crop Systems for Organic Processing Tomatoes,” $2,000. International Agricultural Development Graduate Group, UC Davis. (530) 754-8993, nmmadden@ucdavis.edu
• Theresa Ward, “Riparian Grazing Project: Identifying Riparian Grazing Management that Works,” $3,000. Department of Agronomy and Range Science, UC Davis. (530) 754-8988, taward@ucdavis.edu
• Keith Warner, “From the Outside Looking In: Perspectives on California Sustainable Agriculture Movement from Key Policy Makers and Opinion Leaders in the State,” $2,000. Department of Environmental Studies, UC Santa Cruz. (831) 635-7302, keithdw@cats.ucsc.edu

Grants for Educational Events
[16 grants (26 events); $18,700]

For more information about a particular event use the telephone number or email address listed below. To learn more about SAREP’s educational grants program, call David Chaney at (530) 754-8551, dechaney@ucdavis.edu

• John Anderson, California Native Grass Association. $1,200. “Techniques and Strategies for Using Native Grasses and Graminoids in Restoration Projects: A Practical Training Workshop.” Dates: 2-day workshop to be held in September 2000. Location: San Diego. (530) 759-8458, hedgefarm@aol.com
• Janet Brown, Marin Food Policy Council. $1,200. “Marin Food Policy Council Facilitated Process for Revision of the Marin Countywide Plan.” Date: 1-day workshop to be held on a Friday or Saturday in July 2000 TBA. Location: San Dominico School Conference Center, San Anselmo. (415) 488-9464, janet@ecoliteracy.org
• Ken Churches, UC Cooperative Extension, Calaveras County. $700. “Calaveras GROWN Farm Conference.” Date: 1-day workshop to be held on February 17, 2001. Location: Calaveras High School, San Andreas. (209) 754-6477, cecalaveras@ucdavis.edu
• Bill Frost, UC Cooperative Extension, Amador County. $600. “Noxious Weed Management in Amador County,” Date: 1-day workshop to be held in January 2001. Location: Amador County Fairgrounds, Plymouth. (530) 621-5509, wefrost@ucdavis.edu
• Elaine Hiel, San Diego Hunger Coalition. $2,400. “Sustainable Home and Community Gardens.” Dates: 1-day field trip to be held in September 2000 and workshop series (6 days) to begin in September or October 2000. Location: Chula Vista. (619) 692-8390, ehiel@aol.com
• Carol Hillhouse, Department of Pomology, UC Davis. $1,000. “Capital Region School Gardens Share Day.” Date: 1-day workshop to be held on October 28, 2000. Location: Sacramento County. (530) 752-7655, jchillhouse@ucdavis.edu
• Stephanie Larson, UC Cooperative Extension, Sonoma and Marin Counties. $600. “Maintaining Sustainable Coastal Beef Cattle Operations by Developing Local, Innovative Marketing Programs.” Date: 1-day workshop to be held late Winter 2000 or early 2001. Location: Petaluma. (707) 565-2621, slarson@ucdavis.edu
• Diane Metz, UC Cooperative Extension, Solano County. $1,200. “Fairfield-Suisun Food Security Harvest Faire.” Date: 1-day workshop to be held on September 16, 2000. Location: St. Mark’s Lutheran Church, Fairfield. (707) 421-6792, dlmetz@ucdavis.edu
• Jeff Mitchell, Department of Vegetable Crops and Weed Science, UC Davis. $1,200. “Conservation Tillage Equipment Demonstrations: Innovative Strategies for Reducing Tillage in California’s Central Valley Row Crop Production Systems.” Dates: Two 1-day conferences to be held in May 2001. Locations: UC West Side Research and Extension Center, Five Points and UC Davis campus. (559) 646-6593, mitchell@uckac.edu
• Richard Molinar, UC Cooperative Extension, Fresno County. $1,200. “IPM, Fertilizantes, y Cosechas para El Agricultor en el Valle.” Date: 1-day workshop to be held on December 12, 2000. Location: Andersen’s Pea Soup, Selma. (559) 456-7555, rhmolinar@ucdavis.edu
• Kris O’Connor, Central Coast Vineyard Team. $1,200. “Exploring Environmental Labeling and Certification Programs for Sustainable Agriculture.” Date: 1-day workshop to be held in Winter 2000. Location: Paso Robles. (805) 462-9431, info@vineyardteam.org
• Kosal Ou, Central California Forum on Refugee Affairs. $1,200. “Community Gardens for Self-Sufficiency and Food Security: Sharing Best Practices and Models.” Dates: Six 1-day workshops to be held from September 2000 through May 2001. Locations: Fresno and Clovis. (559) 681-6603, soulhikr@aol.com
• Steve Schwartz, California FarmLink. $1,200. “Business Planning and Innovative Financing Strategies to Promote Intergenerational Farm Transitions.” Date: Seminar to be held in Winter 2001. Location: Northern California. (916) 443-4225, farmlink@tomatoweb.com
• Cathrine Sneed, The Garden Project. $600. “Open Garden 2000.” Date: 1-day workshop to be held in July 2000. Location: Bay View Hunter’s Point area, San Francisco. (415) 243-8558, cathrinesneed@yahoo.com
• Steve Temple, Department of Agronomy and Range Science, UC Davis. $1,200. “Farming Systems Alternatives: Highlights of SAFS 12 Years.” Date: 1-day workshop to be held July 7, 2000. Location: Agronomy Field Headquarters, UC Davis. (530) 752-8216, srtemple@ucdavis.edu
• Sujaya Udayagiri, UC Cooperative Extension, Santa Cruz County. $2,000. “Insect, Disease and Weed Monitoring and Identification Workshops for Limited-Resource Strawberry Growers on the Central Coast - 3 separate events.” Date: 1-day workshop to be held on March 23, 2001. Location: UC Cooperative Extension Auditorium in Salinas/Watsonville. (831) 763-8040, sujaya@ucdavis.edu