COVER STORY I CAN "SEEAG" CLEARLY NOW How a Ventura Organization Connects the Community to Farms and Fields By Michelle Rivera, Senior Communications Manager F or many consumers, a trip to the grocery store is just another errand. How many have the chance to connect with the farmers responsible for growing their food? The
answer is only a select few - and that’s not good enough. Enter Students for Eco Education and Agriculture (SEEAG), an organization in Ventura, Calif. that has been opening eyes to agriculture since 2008. Over the years, SEEAG has positively impacted more than 100,000 students and community members. The organization provides educational programs across Ventura and Santa Barbara Counties, promoting a greater understanding and appreciation of agriculture for both youth and adults. Caitlin Paulus-Case, Executive Director of SEEAG, said one of the organization’s core values is making agricultural education accessible to all. “What makes SEEAG so unique is that all of our programs are offered 100 percent cost-free, so we’ve never charged a student, a teacher, a school or a community member a cent to participate. We believe that agricultural education should be a right and not a privilege and that everyone deserves to know how their food is grown and where it comes from,” she said. SEEAG educates communities, primarily students, through a variety of engaging programs. These include its Farm-to-Food Lab program, designed for third graders; a STEM Career Pathways in Agriculture Program for middle and high school students; a Youth Wellness Initiative focused on nutrition; and Farm Day, an annual community outreach event that takes place in Ventura and Santa Barbara Counties. This past November, more than 15 farms and agricultural organizations participated in the 12th Annual Ventura County Farm Day. Attendees spent the day participating in free agricultural activities and tours, gaining valuable insight into the origins of their food and the effort involved in its production.
SEEAG sign at the Ventura County Farm Lab location, Petty Ranch.
Farm Day empowers attendees to make more educated decisions about their food, Paulus-Case explained, while also highlighting the growers and innovators who are shaping the future of the food system and working to make it more sustainable. “There’s so much misinformation and disinformation in our media about food, and there’s this overwhelming idea that big ag doesn’t care about their environment, community or workforce,” Paulus-Case said. “Farm Day allows people to come out and ask questions firsthand from the people who are growing their food, and it gives the farmers and farmworkers the opportunity to answer those questions and combat some of that misinformation.” Western Growers member Duda Farm Fresh Foods, a leading producer of fresh vegetables and citrus, was a participant in this year’s Ventura County Farm Day. Founded in 1926, the same year as Western Growers, Duda has been a pillar of agricultural excellence for nearly a century and has been a dedicated participant in Farm Day since the start.
Family picking up produce from SEEAG at a local wellness fair.
Christine and Craig Reade of Betteravia Farms and Bonipak Produce at a Santa Barbara County Farm Day Kickoff event.
11 Western Grower & Shipper | www.wga.com January | February 2025
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