Breadcrumb
Black to the Land Project

Project Description
SHIFT has been funding the Black to the Land Project, orginally conceived as the Black Educational Farm program, in collaboration with the Umoja Center for Pan African Student Excellence at the Bayside Park Farm since 2022.
The Black Educational Farm program has 3 goals:
1. To teach and develop farming skills with Black students
2. To develop a sense of belonging in the local community
3. Facilitate discussions and learning that center Black experiences, knowledge and challenges pertaining to sustainability and land.
This program leverages the local culture of community agriculture in order to support students integrating into the area. Through exposure to farming and knowledge rooted in the Black farming experience. SHIFT aims to help Cal Poly Humboldt create a more connected Black student experience within the local community; facilitate educational opportunities that explore the intersection between the Black experience/culture farming, gardening and the outdoors; and to produce students who have an interest and a working knowledge of sustainable food growth.
The Black to the Land Expansion Project (2025) is a continuation of the previously awarded project led by previous Umoja Center Coordinator, Douglas Smith. The goal of this project is to continue the original goal of developing and maintaining an educational farm space at Bayside Park Farm. This project includes a variety of opportunities for Black-identified students to engage their relationship with the land on which we reside. These opportunities are represented by a number of collaborative trips with Outdoor Adventure that include camping by Trinity River, a kayaking excursion at Humboldt Bay Aquatic Center, and a paddleboarding day at Moonstone Beach. All of these opportunities, including the ongoing educational farm, allow for exploration and healing within our Black student population and their individual/collective relationship to our environment.