A Regional Conference on California Farmworkers and the Environment

📅 Saturday, October 4, 2025
🕘 9:00 AM – 5:00 PM
📍 College 9 & John R. Lewis Multipurpose Room, UC Santa Cruz
📌 1156 High St., Santa Cruz, California, USA 95060

🟢 Free and open to the public
🥐 Breakfast, lunch, and afternoon snacks provided at no cost
🎥 Conference will be recorded and translated

Program Goal

Campo-Sano Climate Action: A Regional Conference on California Farmworkers and the Environment will be co-hosted on Saturday, October 4th, 2025, by the University of California, Santa Cruz, and community partners.

The conference will address the challenges of resilience amid climate impacts and the compounding risks farmworkers face. It will begin with a review of lessons learned from health promoter training and practical remedies designed to protect farming communities.

Participants will then deliberate ways to scale up these protective efforts and ensure they remain sustainable amidst growing social and political challenges.

Program Description

Morning Session

The day will begin with testimonies from health promoters representing local community-based organizations (CBOs) and UCSC students. These frontline community health workers will share the challenges they face protecting farmworkers from environmental stressors — including heat, wildfire smoke, flooding, and contaminated water — amid persistent political and economic vulnerabilities.

Campo-Sano App Presentation

A report will be presented on a two-year California Climate Action grant supporting the Campo-Sano data app. This innovative tool helps local farm communities monitor climate-related risks such as:

• High temperatures
• Flooding
• Wildfire air pollution
• Groundwater contamination

The app also enables anonymous reporting to state agencies and legal advocates, empowering farmworkers to voice their experiences securely and effectively.

Keynote Luncheon & Dialogue

The keynote luncheon will feature a dialogue between state agency representatives and community-based partners. Afternoon panels and breakout sessions will explore:

• Extending workplace protections for farmworkers
• Strengthening regulatory enforcement
• Scaling up Campo-Sano trainings statewide

This dialogue is particularly urgent amid the federal government’s retreat from agricultural worker protections and broader food security efforts.

Program Organizers and Hosts

• Matt Sparke, Co-Director, Global & Community Health; Distinguished Professor of Politics, UC Santa Cruz
• Jessica De La Cruz, Administrative Research Coordinator, Institute for Social Transformation, UC Santa Cruz
• Colleen Stone, Sociology Department Assistant; Administrative Coordinator, Center for Critical Urban and Environmental Studies; Manager, Science & Justice Research Center, UC Santa Cruz