Blog#3 Potrero Nuevo Farm

Potrero Nuevo Farm

Eight miles south of Half Moon Bay is the Potrero Nuevo Farm. It’s an 300 acre private farm that is perfect to grow healthy organic produce. Without spraying chemicals, The farm benefits from breeding different kinds of cattle such as cows, to fertilize the land. Recently they got protected by the Peninsula Open Space Trust (POST), an organization that protects and cares for open spaces around the peninsula. They both share the same values and vision.

Potrero Nuevo Farm is an organization relies heavily on volunteers. They provide a constructive activity for volunteers to help plant and harvest crops. Not to mention the farm enjoys donating the use of its land, seeds, harvest support, and farm equipment to charities. Also, they partnered with Table of Plenty and Half Moon Bay Catholic Worker, two non-profit organizations that feed people in need. Together with volunteers, they donate and serve food for poor and low income families and communities. It shows how citizens can engage with their communities by harvesting the field and deliver healthy, fresh produce to poor families and homeless people. Additionally, the organization also hosts a U-Pick program for locals. From June to November, members of that program come to the farm and pick up their own produce. Organic, fresh and nutritious vegetables, berries and several kinds of herbs. Moreover, they also have educational programs for kids in high schools.

Blog#2: Why is there tension between the state and local levels of government? In what ways is this tension healthy for our political system overall?

The Tension Between State and Local Governments

The relationship between States and their localities in many cases is strained. State government gives their local governments life, they create the laws for them. However, throughout history, state governments have not treated their localities as they suppose to. That is why the National Conference of State Legislatures (NCSL) stated on the state-local relation “Legislators should place a higher priority on state-local issues than has been done in the past. The time has come to change their attitude toward local governments.” They want the state governments to see localities as partners in the federal system.

It is the state that can decide the amount and type of authority a local government could have to operate effectively and efficiently. The state government holds all legal powers, and the amount and type of authority are varied. Some states give their localities the power to restrain themselves, but other more conservative states force them to wait for the legislators approval so they can act. A rule was established and laid down by Iowa judge John F. Dillon in 1868 called “Dillon’s rule.” The rule was to limit those powers that granted by the state to those localities. The U.S. Advisory Commission on Intergovernmental Relations (ACIR) on the relations between the states and their localities, “The laws and constitutions of each state are the basic legal instruments of local governance.” The ACIR believes in the importance of the distribution of the power between both the state and its jurisdictions, which goes with Dillon’s rule.

Money mostly is the reason for the tension between state governments and their localities. Local governments enjoy their own revenue such as user fees and property taxes, however, they depend on their state to give them a proper income. 40% of the state goes to its localities. Local officials want their state to fund them and give them the ability to decide what is good for them. Not only this, but also they want to take control over how they want to spend it. For example, the state of North Carolina transfers about 7% of the state corporate tax revenue to its localities for school capital costs only. Also, many local officials seek the Second-order Devolution, so they can shift the power from the state government to them.

State mandates are also a reason to create a big friction between states and local level of governments. When a big problem happens in the local officials, states tend to come up with a solution. For example, in Florida, they saw the problem with solid waste management, so they legislate a new law requires counties to set up a lot of recycling programs. Not only that, but also counties were required to achieve at least 30% recycle rate.

I do not see how this tension between state and local governments can be healthy for our political system. It creates problems and sometime people will start losing their trust in their governments. In my opinion, I feel that the local government should have the ability to set their budget. In addition to that, they need to be empowered by their state governments to legislate new laws, without waiting for the state legislators to approve it. It also depends on the importance of that law if it will help improve the life in that jurisdiction or not.

Acterra and its Stewardship Project (Pearson-Arastradero Preserve)

Acterra

Acterra is a non-profit organization founded in 1970 based in Palo Alto. It provides many programs about the environment. The organization has more projects for educational purposes too. From what I read about Acterra’s projects, It creates a great atmosphere for people to work together to restore our natural habitat. Members of that organization along with volunteers gather in a park and help each others to achieve a clean and lively environment. It has a program called Stewardship where volunteers help clean parks and open spaces.

One project that really interest me called Pearson-Arastradero Preserve Stewardship Project. The preserve is owned by the City of Palo Alto. The project covers a 662-acre in the foothills of Santa Cruz Mountains. It involves members and volunteers to help keep the preserve healthy. The main purpose of that project is to remove invasive plants from Pearson-Arastradero Preserve and plant some native plants instead.

As you might read from my last blog that I love taking care of plants. Plant and water them makes me feel like I give back what the environment keep giving me. It gives me a fresh air to breath, and nutritious produce that I enjoy every time consume them. I’m so excited to be a part of that project and help keep our world healthy.

Franchise’s Garden at Notre Dame de Namur University

Francoise’s Garden

I read about Francoise Blin de Bourdon. A noblewomen from France. One of the Sisters of Notre Dame de Namur. Francoise worried that people will not be able to get access to fresh and healthy food. She observed the peasants who worked for her family have food insecurity, comparing to the upper French classes family back in the 17th century. Francoise believed that all people should have access to nutritious food. Fresh and clean. 21st century urban farm enthusiasts and gardeners shared her worries and believe and make it a tradition. In this Founders’ week. our university will make a project in the its garden to honor that tradition. I am so excited to try this tradition for the first time this year.

When I was little, my mom used to encourage me to help her plants around the house. We used to have a small garden in the backyard. We planted tomatoes, herbs and other edible plants. I still remember how seeing those plants grow made me excited and at the same time nervous. Nervous that one day these plants could die and perish because I didn't plant them right. But I was a kid back then. I also enjoyed helping my father mowing the lawn using a lawn mower equipment, and making it short and beautiful. Now I think you know why I am dying to try to do it with others who share the same interest. I love gardening, and this activity will make me use this passion to help other people get fresh produce. In addition to that, it will make our university’s campus beautiful and a lot healthier.

Can not wait for the founder’s week to come so I can experience this activity and see how people in America doing during that event.

My Reborn

Yay, I did it !