Tag: AmeriCorps

Building Capacity for the Recreation Economy in the Greater Oakridge Area

Posted on by vbinnin2

By Katie Fields, Outreach Coordinator, South Willamette Forest Collaborative

In early December 2020, the Southern Willamette Forest Collaborative (SWFC) convened its recreation committee for the first time since the COVID-19 pandemic erupted. The meeting, which was held over Zoom, brought together horseback riders, mountain bikers, small business owners, conservationists, and Forest Service staff to talk about what is and will soon be happening in the forest surrounding the Oakridge community.

While this committee has existed off and on during SWFC’s six years of operation, it has struggled to get off the ground due to limited capacity. This summer, surging visitation to the Willamette National Forest in the wake of the pandemic underscored the importance of making this work happen.

Before RARE Year 27 got under way, another Institute for Policy Research and Engagement (IPRE) program engaged with the SWFC to assess the need and feasibility of restarting the recreation committee. This was part of a capstone project to enhance economic vitality in the greater Oakridge area. Students in the Master of Community and Regional Planning program, under the guidance of IPRE staff, conducted surveys, interviews, and workshops evaluating needs for the area’s recreation economy. Restarting the recreation committee was the students’ top recommendation.

In a broader context, many rural communities adjacent to federal public lands have suffered from inadequate funding to maintain recreation facilities that are critical to supporting local economies. With the passage of the Great American Outdoors Act in August 2020, millions of dollars will now be available to address the backlog. But understanding how the Forest Service and other agencies will put those dollars to use and incorporate the perspectives of the public is still unclear. Much of what the recreation committee hopes to accomplish is developing clear channels of communication and an organized effort to ensure that what matters to the communities near the Middle Fork Ranger District is reflected in the projects selected for funding.

RARE makes the recreation committee possible. Year 27 member Katie Fields has taken the lead in planning and facilitating meetings for the committee under the guidance of SWFC Director Sarah Altemus-Pope and in coordination with Forest Service staff. The December meeting was well-attended, and the group agreed that both a planning subcommittee and the full committee should meet monthly. As 2021 unfolds, the opportunities to work together to identify key projects and strategies, organize volunteers, and build lasting relationships are becoming a reality that will bolster the recreation economy and help the community thrive.

Photo of the author wearing a bright blue blouse and black cardigan standing in front of a vine maple just starting to turn from green to redAbout the author, Katie Fields: Katie graduated from the University of Oregon with concurrent master’s degrees in public administration and conflict and dispute resolution. These two degrees advanced her knowledge and experience in the fields of collaborative governance and environmental policy. During her time at UO, she worked as a graduate employee with the Sustainable City Year Program (SCYP). In this role, she supported rural community partners including the cities of La Pine and Silverton in matching UO classes with community projects. Katie also interned with the Southern Willamette Forest Collaborative and the National Policy Consensus Center during her studies. For these internships, she co-authored a stakeholder engagement strategy and the Oregon Atlas of Collaboration.

The Food Hub that Wasn’t…But One Day Might Be

Posted on by vbinnin2

By Abigail Blinn, Procurement Coordinator, Rogue Valley Food System Network and Rogue Valley Farm to School

Photo of a Southern Oregon farm during the winter. An old barn sits behind a field of defoliated vines.

There has been increased attention on access to quality food in the past 10-15 years, and especially this past year with a global pandemic. What has followed is an increase in resources, capacity, and funding opportunities. This trend is surely evident in the state of Oregon, with a particular interest in food hubs.

 

“A food hub provides the mechanism to get more healthy, locally raised food into conventional markets, making it more convenient for consumers, while also returning a larger share of the ‘food dollar’ to participating farmers,” says Anthony Flaccavento, SCALE, Inc. consultant contracted to conduct the SW Oregon Food Hub Feasibility Study.

 

Little pockets of the state have formed collaborations with farmers, food businesses, and eaters to streamline production and marketing. Southern Oregon wanted to see if it were possible to do so. The Ford Family Foundation, NeighborWorks Umpqua, Blue Zones Project-Umpqua (now Thrive Umpqua), and City of Roseburg funded the food hub feasibility study that started in March 2020. Over 100 farmers, buyers, and food system leaders from southwest Oregon participated. From that assessment, an analysis of production and marketing was completed and recommendations were made to address barriers in access and growth. As a RARE member with the Rogue Valley Food System Network, I was able to chime into this study in late September.

 

Though loosely defined, this region consists of Coos, Curry, Douglas, Josephine, and Jackson counties. There are a few assets that make a food hub in the region promising. Agricultural products in the region are vast; the coastal cranberry bogs and fish and seafood, orchard fruits, berries, and grapes for wine production, and cattle and range animals. And, the produce staples are grown throughout the five counties such as carrots, beets, potatoes, brassicas, and grains. The current market for local products serves as another asset to the region. There is a growth of the direct to the consumer market through Community Supported Agriculture (CSA) and purchasing of local products offered in retail settings has gotten much easier with more grocery stores, farm markets, and farm stands offering local products. There is even a rise in institutional purchases, spearheaded by the farm to school movement. A food hub seems like a natural fit for the area, however, a few barriers exist to have a flow regionally.

 

Among these barriers, the one that is not changing, are mountain passes creating geographical sub-regions that make transportation routes and physical distribution of products difficult. There are also infrastructure shortcomings, difficultly streamlining marketing efforts, and a challenge managing the flow of food regionally. Additionally, there are barriers to land access and local product affordability, being the most prominent barriers to establishing a food hub. These challenges also influence each other, making solutions that much more complicated. This is where RARE arrives to move mountains and save the day! Just kidding, that’s where the incredibly dedicated food system movers and shakers of the region once again show up to address these challenges. It just so happens that southern Oregon has a food system RARE member to be a part of the effort.

 

Several recommendations were made following the food hub feasibility study. One is to form working groups around the recommendations. The study recommended setting up a regional implementation team to guide the study’s seven primary recommendations. In consultation with the Food Hub Study Core Team, a few organizations were approached to help lead this effort based on their level of staff capacity including Rogue Valley Food System Network (RVFSN), Otterbee’s Market, Umpqua Valley Farm to School and Blue Zones Project-Umpqua (now Thrive Umpqua). Thus, the Southern Oregon Food Alliance (SOFA) was formed as the regional implementation team with RVFSN serving in the role of convener for the team. The network connects the community to local producers, facilitates the sharing of resources, communicates local events and happenings on the web, and advocates for a local and resilient food system in many other ways. It was a perfect fit for RVFSN to take on something to help our region and the bordering counties of Jackson and Josephine with local food access.

 

With RVFSN having a bit of added capacity, they, along with Otterbee’s Market, and Umpqua Farm to School, were able to form an implementation team. As of now, we are forming the working groups and collaborating with other regions about the feasibility study itself. Many organizations and individuals have raised their hands to collaborate and leverage each other to address these recommendations. Stay tuned as we move forward as the Southern Oregon Food Alliance (SOFA)!

Photo of the author with long auburn hair blowing in the wind. She is wearing a bright read sweater and standing in front of a lush green field.About the Author, Abigail Blinn: Abigail grew up in the rolling hills outside of Gettysburg, PA, having an interest in food, nutrition, and agriculture early on. She attended Penn State University, went on to pursue a dietetic internship at the University of New Hampshire, and received her Registered Dietitian Credentials. After dabbling in various focus areas of nutrition including hospitals, food banks and pantries, extension services, food service management sites, and research settings, she felt compelled to address the root cause of many nutrition-related illnesses and its relation to food security. Abigail is thrilled to contribute to regional solutions identified by Southern Oregon community members who know this local food system best. She is also an outdoor enthusiast – taking any chance she gets to climb rocks, ski mountains, and exist in the forest.