September sees a return of students and bicycles, creating a bustling campus atmosphere after a slow summer. We are excited to welcome our new and returning graduate students back to campus! This year's cohort of 33 students has a wide range of professional experience in planning, policy, water resources, education and agriculture and are joining us from near and far including India, Taiwan, China, Virginia, Kentucky, New York and from all over California.
“Where does your water come from?” is a question I’ve been asking a lot this summer.
We interact with water every day, but we are often geographically isolated from where our water comes from, the environmental and economic costs of delivering it, and the legal and physical infrastructure that ensures water security, sustainable use, and resilience. Water education is one of the most important tools we have to fill in the gap, and because water systems are so complex and tied to place, experiential learning is a crucial part of water education because it allows us to see how systems actually work versus how the rules say they should work.
Recognition can be a powerful catalyst for building vibrant and supportive communities that celebrate excellence, inspire growth and foster lasting connections. To highlight some of the exceptional work that is being done within our community, we developed five categories of awards, announced annually at our graduation ceremony.
My name is Becky Haworth (she/her) and I am a second year in the Environmental Policy and Management Program at UC Davis, specializing in Sustainable Food Systems. I graduated from Cal Poly San Luis Obispo in 2018 with a degree in Environmental Earth Science. After a brief stint in the wine industry and a year working in local government, I began my career in state government.
As the world rushes toward a clean energy future, there's a growing concern coupled to progress: the very materials fueling the green transition—like lithium—can also deepen environmental and social injustices if we’re not careful about the way we extract them.
I am a Biologist for Environmental Science Associates (ESA), an environmental consulting firm. For two years, I worked with ESA part time as a Field Biologist while completing the EPM program. From this part-time position I was able to conduct my practicum at ESA, which allowed me to assist on Environmental Impact Reports and project monitoring reports. After graduating from EPM, I transitioned to a full-time position with ESA.
“As California goes, so goes the Nation.” California is the world's fourth-largest economy and remains at the forefront of environmental leadership. So, who carries out this key climate-related legislation across the state?
In 2020, the Governor’s Office of Land Use and Climate Innovation (LCI) published an updated general plan guidance document for local governments. General plans are policy documents that outline a city or county’s long-term plan for growth and are used to guide decisions about land use, development, and public services. This update, following the directive of Senate Bill 1000 (SB1000), included a new section on incorporating environmental justice (EJ) policies and initiatives into general plans. Following feedback on the original guidelines, LCI determined that updates were needed to streamline guidance in an approachable and digestible manner. To achieve this, LCI collaborated with a group of graduate students from the University of California, Davis, in the Environmental Policy and Management (EPM) program to implement necessary updates, resulting in a concise yet comprehensive final product.
For the Policy Clinic, this team worked with the California Coastal Commission to examine the relationship between ecological restoration and environmental justice within the coastal zone and how the compensatory mitigation process can be used to advance environmental justice in compliance with the Commissions EJ Policy.
The Sacramento-San Joaquin Delta, renowned for its rich soil and biodiversity, faces unique challenges as climate change and development threaten its agricultural landscape through increasing saltwater intrusion, sea levels, and temperatures. Our group collaborated with the Delta Stewardship Council to dig deeper into these pressing issues and explore strategies that help farmers adapt to these changes.
Oregon’s marine reserves are protected areas of the ocean that conserve key coastal areas and function as refuges for marine life. Canary rockfish, aggregating anemones, ochre sea stars, and bull kelp are just some of the species thriving in these protected environments. However, a key question arises: how do marine conservation efforts impact human well-being? This question is central to our Environmental Policy and Management Policy Clinic project, conducted in collaboration with the Oregon Department of Fish and Wildlife (ODFW) and UC Davis partners.
In early June, the UC Davis Graduate Program of Environmental Policy and Management hosted the third annual UC Davis Environmental Policy Symposium, marking another successful year of bringing together students, professionals, and community members to address pressing environmental issues.
Amanda completed her Practicum with the US Fish and Wildlife Service in the Pacific Southwest Regional Office working as the Regional Recovery Permit Biologist. in this role, she collaborated with scientists and other interested parties to issue permits and ensure compliance with Section 10 of the Endangered Species Act.
