Sustainable Systems Research Foundation
Image designed by Lauren Reed
“Designing and building a sustainable and just civilization…through pragmatic, well-designed, replicable, and scalable implementation of sustainable systems policy, education, research, and infrastructure”
The Sustainable Systems Research Foundation is a 501(c)3 non-profit green think tank and eco-project incubator for the Monterey Bay Area and Central Coast of California.
SSRF seeks to create a sustainable Central California Coast through local, participatory community development of sustainable systems and practices.
SSRF develops active collaborations with organizations, public agencies, funders, donors and small private companies that share our interests and goals.
Our philosophy is that the best form of activism is that which benefits the community, is reproducible, scalable and easily adopted and adapted to other places.
Our projects and programs go beyond vision to actual deployment–to function as models that can be replicated in other cities in California, the United States and the World.
Click on the headings above or the projects in the sidebar to learn more.
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NEW(S) from SSRF
Protecting Soil and Water Quality with Compost Applications on Small Latine-operated farms on the California Central Coast Our latest project, funded by the Central California Coast Water Quality Control Board and the Rose Foundation, seeks to measure and monitor nitrate leaching into groundwater after the application of compost. Read the project proposal here.
Regenerative Farming Workshops: SSRF conducted a third round of Regenerative Agriculture workshops for 2023-24. With the support of USDA and the California Department of Food and Agriculture, these Spanish and English hands-on workshops on management skills, regenerative agriculture, and agricultural technologies and practices for small farm operators in Santa Cruz, Santa Clara, Monterey and San Benito Counties ran from October 2023 to June 2024 at sites around the Central Coast. We have received funding from USDA to conduct another round of workshops in 2026-28. Stay tuned for further information.
Regeneración – Alianza Latine en Agroecología y el Sistema Alimentari/ Regeneration—Latina Alliance for Agroecology and Food Systems is a startup fiscally sponsored by SSRF that serves both rural and urban Latine farmers and Latine agricultural professionals in California providing technical assistance (business, financial, food safety, pest management, crop planning, soil health improvement, irrigation, etc.) and service providers (advocates, educators, on-farm staff, cooperative extension specialists and small farm advisors, federal or state government agencies that work with small farmers, and any other professionals throughout the supply chain.)
Marigold Collective: Cultivating Tradition, Community, and the Land/ Colectivo Cempoalxochitl: Cultivando Tradición, Comunidad y la Tierra supports small-scale, organic Latine marigold growers in San Benito Monterey and Santa Cruz counties.
Community Solar Strategies is an on-line discussion and action group seeking to “move the noodle forward” on community and distributed energy resources in California. The California Public Utilities Commission and the state’s investor owned utilities are making the deployment of independent microgrids and community energy systems difficult, if not impossible. This group is developing strategies and tactics for getting around those obstacles. Calls take place every 2-3 weeks. If you’d like to join, please email to sustainablesystemsresearch@gmail.com. Resources and records can be found at https://drive.google.com/drive/u/3/folders/1TcajVYupAP88MSWbmBRC6IUjGqJo4M6C (the page is open access)
Other news
Resources on the “Solar Cost-Shift” Debate
Resources on Community Solar & Renewable Energy Strategies
Housing: Maybe It’s Time to Revisit ADUs
Solar Dividends: Solar energy can convert a temporary guaranteed income pilot program into a permanent program. Tune into this webinar to hear more from Robert Stayton and the Sustainable Systems Research Foundation. Video here: https://youtu.be/4KaoFCN6u0c; Audio here: https://tinyurl.com/bdhrf3ua; Transcript here: https://tinyurl.com/m886jhcw