Alumni Spotlight: Gaylene Ewing
Today is a field day. My car is loaded with my muddy boots, sampling quadrants, an infiltrometer, my camera, and sunscreen. I’ll be stopping at three vineyards to check on the progress and collect data from research and demonstration plots throughout the Central Coast.
In 2004, I began my internship with the Central Coast Vineyard Team (CCVT) while an Earth Sciences major at Cal Poly. CCVT is a local non-profit dedicated to researching, understanding, and outreaching sustainable winegrowing practices on the Central Coast. Shortly after graduation (emphasis on shortly; Saturday I graduated, Monday I was at work) I joined the team as the Outreach & Education Coordinator, planning educational opportunities for winegrape growers to learn about sustainable farming. Though I enjoyed this position, I was eager to get my hands dirty and work directly with growers in the field. One year later, I was promoted to CCVT’s Project Technician. This position meant managing and completing a three-year grant on studying vineyard practices that improve water quality.
On a daily basis, I get to work with about twenty winegrape growers who volunteer their time and land for me to poke and prod. Their support helps CCVT try out specific practices, analyze their effectiveness, and relay this information to other growers in hopes that they will incorporate these sustainable practices into their vineyard management program. As of now, I oversee eight replicated trials and twelve demonstrations on filter strip width, vegetative road management, cover crop (a non-equitable crop planted in between the vine rows to reduce erosion, promote biodiversity and soil health) suitability, reduced-risk weed management, reduced-risk vertebrate pest control, and integrated pest management.
I am so grateful to be a product of the Earth and Soil Sciences Department. I use what I have learned in my soil science, botany, geology, and crop science classes every day . . . even statistics! More importantly, “the department” was integral in empowering me to focus on the progressive aspects of agriculture like sustainability, stewardship, and holistic farming.
Since I am always antsy in my own boots, I recently returned to school to get my teaching credential and master’s in education. At CCVT, I get to work with growers and encourage them to farm for our future. My hope is to take that same approach as a high-school educator; empower students to make change, create a passion for the environment, and become proactive for a sustainable Earth.
Please feel free to contact me (gaylene@vineyardteam.org) if you want to know more about working in the agriculture industry. I’ve also listed a few links below that have more information on CCVT and me:
CCVT Website: www.vineyardteam.org
CCVT Water Stewardship Project: http://www.vineyardteam.org/projects/water_stewardship_demo.php
Gaylene Ewing Photography: www.gayleneewing.com
Sustainability in Practice Vineyard Certification: http://www.sipthegoodlife.org/
Earth Day Food & Wine Festival: http://vineyardteam.org/events/earthday.php
Unsung Heroes: The Rebels remain loyal to family tradition
This article was originally published in the Saturday, Dec. 27, 2008 edition of the SLO Tribune.
Usually we salute an individual Unsung Hero. Today, we salute an entire family: the Rebels of San Luis Obispo.
Trisha Rebel, 42, and her husband, Trevor, 44, are always quick to lend a hand to those in need — and are raising sons Joshua, 11, and Casey, 8, to do the same.
“The Rebel family is at the top of their friends’ lists of people to call when there is a crisis or a need,” family friend Eileen Calandro said.
Whether helping with moving, planning a wedding or watching another family’s kids when someone has to see the doctor, the Rebel family is there.
“They even rigged up their bright red boat with Christmas lights and pulled the boat through the streets of San Luis Obispo to deliver Santa to a Christmas party because their friends asked them to help … They do all these things without fanfare or any hope of recognition; they do them because they believe it’s the right thing to do,” Calandro said.
“It seems like maybe we’re the ‘go-to’ people,” said Trisha, who grew up in a family steeped in volunteerism. She traces her family’s habit of helping to her childhood in Utah and Idaho.
“It’s just something we’ve always done,” she said. “We did a lot of things, volunteering, helping at homeless places, in the neighborhood, with the elderly.”
Trevor graduated with a degree in soil science from Cal Poly and served in the Navy aboard nuclear submarines. He works in the environmental department at Diablo Canyon nuclear power plant.
When their two boys started at Pacheco Elementary School in San Luis Obispo, Trisha started helping with the PTA, quickly rising to the presidency of the Pacheco Elementary School group. Now treasurer, she continues to organize events and lead fundraising efforts, raising tens of thousands of dollars.
Trisha said she just wanted to “get involved, be a part of it, and see how things work. Part of a child’s education is understanding what’s going on.”
Both Trisha and Trevor spend volunteer time in the classroom every week — but the Rebels’ community service doesn’t end there.
When the family participates in beach and creek cleanups, such as Earth Day events and Coastal Cleanup Day, at Port San Luis, Montaña de Oro and along area creeks, the kids wear gloves, carry bags and “pick up everything,” Trisha said, “glass, coat hangers, cigarette butts.”
How do they feel about the volunteer work? “They don’t question it,” Trisha said. “They ask, ‘When will we be doing … whatever?’ They look forward to activities. They’re pretty hard workers.”
The Rebel family also volunteers with the Nature Corps, a nonprofit group that works on conservation in national parks.
Last year, they helped restore Halstead Meadow in Sequoia National Park, by planting and laying out straw mats to prevent erosion. On a backpacking trip this year, they were pleased to see the difference their efforts had helped make.
“It was really cool,” Trisha said. She told her sons that in 10 years they’ll see even more of a difference.
For all their accomplishments, Trisha is modest about the family’s volunteer efforts.
“We don’t feel we do that much,” she said. “Everyone should be doing stuff. It helps everybody, whether the environment or people.”
Pressed to offer advice about how and why to volunteer, Trisha suggests: “People should just look around. Just the smallest things, simple things — helping a neighbor, volunteering. It doesn’t cost anything. It’s a simple thing. It’s free. Now, people can’t afford to go out and buy things, but your time is free. You have a great time doing it, and you meet people.”