Center for Agroecology
The Center for Agroecology is a core pillar supporting the UC Santa Cruz AES mission. For over 30+ years, the center has earned its reputation and recognition for being one of California’s premier sites for agriculture research, education, training, and outreach work. Our AES designation has allowed campus to invest further in the maintenance of the UCSC Farm and Chadwick Garden, which are key assets in pursuing interdisciplinary teaching and research.
About a quarter of AES funding is allocated to administratively supporting the center through staffing, equipment, and faculty and graduate student grant programs. In the future, the center will host additional Cooperative Extension specialist positions.
Amah Mutsun Tribal Band & Amah Mutsun Relearning program
AES supports collaborative work towards Indigenous cultural revitalization, recuperation and relearning of dormant cultural knowledge, and environmental justice.
We collaborate with the Amah Mutsun Land Trust to support the Amah Mutsun Relearning Program, an AES-funded initiative at the UC Santa Cruz Arboretum & Botanic Garden that centers traditional ecological knowledge and stewardship of California’s native plants. Our work also includes supporting a planning process for future work and increased opportunities for student interns.
AgTech Alliance
This inter-division AgTech Alliance is building ethical solutions for tomorrow’s agricultural challenges by leveraging the latest technology shaping food systems. AES helps support sustainability research being carried out by engineers, researchers, students, activists, and farmers throughout the region.
The alliance partners with other units on campus, expanding the capacities of our campus to deliver useful innovations, build relationships with local growers, and connect them to relevant research projects in agriculture and food production. Both inaugural directors of the alliance are also AES agronomists.