Issues that have been impacting my life and the ones around me mainly revolve around environmental issues. One of the pressing issues that affects the agriculture community in California is the State’s distribution of water. Now a tactic that the State Government has had for many years is to take water from Northern California and send it down to the South. The south is in need of water as they do not get enough to support themselves, but the issue is a bit larger and encompuses the states refusal to create more reservoirs to store water to be used during the dryer months. But the main issue is that the focus is uneven and falls heavily on the side of sending it to the south instead of distributing it evenly so farmers in all regions but mainly central and southern california have the proper amount of water to grow their crops. California is one of the leading states in the production and exporting of agriculture products due to our vast and wide scale of geological environments, but that will soon change unless we begin to be more concusses of our water distribution and consumption. Another issue that threatens my home town and northern region is forest management. Now I’m not saying go in a clear cut forests, but what is needed is to tend to our lands so that they do not become overgrown, filled with dead plants and trees that make wonderful fuel for fires as well as work on finding solutions to insect infestations that are killing forests. Now I come from a region that is fire prone, so when everyone in Santa Clarita was freaking out over the fires last fall, I was looking at like, “Its only on the mountain, it's far enough away.” The issue at hand is the State’s current forest management and environmental policies. Forest management doesn't mean cutting down a forest, but tending to the land so that current and new life can flourish, as well as create safer environments for regions inhabited by people and other creatures. The last issue that I just feel a passion towards is homelessness. In a city that is filled with vacant buildings and unused “shelter” I have no idea why people are risking their lives and forced to live on the streets and and or in their cars/ vehicles. There is also a disgusting societal perception to see the homeless as lesser and or barley human, that truly baffles me. Why must we build another set of luxury condos and a housing development of mcmansions for say 2 people who don't need 7000 sqft for a weekend home. There needs to be an aggressive focus on helping those in need and creating housing and programs for everyone to flourish in today's world and not just forget about people because at the moment it's the easier thing to do.
Liberatory Design was a well rounded and easily digestible tool kit for those looking to work on community engaged work. Now a nice focus was the kit had on working alongside the community at hand and giving them the platform to express the issues that affect their world. They are the ones living the issues, so they are the ones that will know it the best. Another stellar portion of the kit was Share Don’t Sell. Instead of convincing value, invite people in and share the work. It creates a collaborative environment where people feel comfortable to share their thoughts, give feedback and ask questions that will deepen the work. One element that seems like a nice thing to keep track of and maybe work on implementing is the Track Talk. It's always good just to make sure everyone has room to talk and feels comfortable doing so. All around this kit seemed to hit the main points to think about when making community engaged work and is a nice kit to reference when doing so.
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