We’re excited to learn and share together at TFN’s 2022 Annual Conference: Seize the Moment, which takes place March 14 through 16 in San Diego.
With a diverse population, rich cultural heritage and geographic location as a border community, San Diego provides critical context and opportunities to learn as we address pressing issues such as immigration, climate change, affordable housing and more.
Our TFN2022 Mobile Workshops offer a chance to learn from the places and people of our host city, with an emphasis on community power-building and community-led solutions. Attendees will be able to choose one of five Mobile Workshops, all of which take place Tuesday, March 15.
Make sure to take a look at our TFN2022 Conference Agenda to see what else we’ll be learning in San Diego!
The Border, Climate Change & People on the Move
March 15 | 1:30 PM PT
Climate change affects us all. But without a doubt, those most impacted globally are the most vulnerable countries and communities.
Extreme weather events, prolonged droughts, sea-level rise, and natural resource limitations are forcing an average of more than 20 million people to leave their homes annually. The impacts of climate change intensify already existing political tensions and conflicts, creating a threat multiplier for the most at-risk. For the climate refugees arriving to the San Diego-Tijuana border, an uncertain future awaits.
See the border. Explore the connections between climate change, ecological resiliency and immigration. Hear from experts on extirpation and extinction pressures to native flora and fauna. Learn about the migrant experience and what the changing policy landscape means for people on the move. Learn why, no matter where you live, the border matters to you.
Environmental Justice, Gentrification & Reclaiming Communities
March 15 | 1:30 PM PT
San Diego County is home to communities that are among the most vulnerable to pollution in the state. This mobile workshop will take us through Barrio Logan, one of the region’s most striking examples of how low-income communities and communities of color are disproportionately affected by capitalist-driven, and often racist, planning approaches.
However, this community equally exemplifies the power of organizing for environmental justice — efforts that celebrate a vibrant cultural identity and achieve healthy, art-filled, reclaimed communities. We’ll experience the highlights of this cultural gem, as well as observe the immense impact of global trade at the Port of San Diego. We’ll also examine how the forces of gentrification and displacement are adding to the challenges of this environmental justice neighborhood.
Housing, Transit & Inclusive Economies
March 15 | 1:30 PM PT
According to The Housing and Transportation Affordability Index San Diego, moderate-income families pay an average of 67 percent of their household income towards housing and transportation expenses alone. This rate rises sharply for low-income San Diego households. Furloughs and layoffs resulting from the pandemic have put increased pressure on families who were already struggling to make ends meet. This is especially true for families of color and families with a female head-of-household, both more likely to experience an eviction.
This mobile workshop by bus will take participants through rapidly gentrifying City Heights, a vibrant gem of ethnic diversity and powerful community organizing. In this neighborhood, residents are fighting for equitable investments, affordable housing, and livable neighborhoods. We will hear from the community organizers and social justice groups who successfully pushed for the protections, policies and infrastructure to protect the most vulnerable residents from eviction and to ensure that they had dependable and safe transit at the height of the pandemic and beyond.
The Rising Seas & San Diego Bay
March 15 | 1:30 PM PT
Within a mere 12-mile span, San Diego Bay’s waterfront boundaries are home to five independent city jurisdictions and some of the region’s most important military installations. These bayside communities are also facing the twin pressures of rising seas and massive growth and development. This tour will take you around San Diego Bay and through communities grappling with the implications and politics of managed retreat in response to rising sea levels and coastal flooding, as well as the potential impacts of a large-scale waterfront development that would include a 1,600-room hotel and 400,000-square-foot convention center. Hear from government leaders about the innovative solutions they are advancing to protect wetland habitats, reduce flooding, and reinvest in surrounding communities.
Food for Power
March 15 | 1:30 PM PT
Our Food for Power Mobile Workshop will explore ways urban agriculture and mutual aid efforts can fight isolation and hunger, and help communities become more empowered, vibrant and healthy. In a region that is one of the nation’s top refugee resettlement destinations and with a high percent of immigrant families and communities from throughout the world, food takes on an important cultural and social significance that can underlie New Americans’ transitions to life in this country.
However, growing inequity and food deserts limit the resources and access families have to healthy foods. One in three people in San Diego County is nutrition insecure and the COVID-19 pandemic exacerbated already existing food injustices. Of those struggling to put healthy meals on their table, 28% were newly nutrition insecure in 2020. Ironically, those that put the food on our tables are also more likely to struggle to feed their own families. We will hear how community residents have stepped forward to ensure their most vulnerable neighbors have access to healthy and nutritious food.
Volunteer Opportunity: Olivewood Gardens & Learning Center
March 15 | 1:30 PM PT
Ready to dig in and impact our food system? Join us for an afternoon of outdoor, hands-on activities in one of San Diego’s most notable gathering and learning spaces. Olivewood Gardens and Learning Center is a garden and nutrition education facility that inspires communities to champion health equity and food justice. Located in one of the San Diego neighborhoods with the highest barriers to healthy food access, Olivewood is a true community force. Through this volunteer opportunity, we will take a tour of Olivewood’s facility to learn more about their programs, philosophy, and vision!
Then guests will get their hands dirty! Help Olivewood maintain and revitalize key areas of their eight-acre urban farm where organic fruits and vegetables are grown to fill gaps in the local food pipeline.
[…] Mobile Workshops: One of the benefits of being together in-person again is learning from place. Attendees took public transit and buses to numerous sites in the San Diego region, learning from community-based advocates about work happening on a broad range of issues such as climate, transportation, food justice, power building and others. For a list of mobile workshops, check out this link. […]