Sustainability and Sovereignty for Southeast San Diego: Uplifting the Community by Providing Career Resources and Fresh Produce

Building on previous research done by student researchers at San Diego State University through the Sage Project and its collaboration with the San Diego Urban Sustainability Coalition, Dr. Norah Shultz’s spring 2023 Sociology 407 course split into three groups to investigate how the San Diego Energy and Equity Campus (SDEEC) could be of service to underserved communities in Southeast San Diego. The groups designed three surveys, each to assess the degree to which the community would be interested in utilizing the following sustainability resources via the SDEEC: training in careers in sustainability, fresh produce distribution, and sustainability internships for high school students. Results across surveys indicated a positive attitude towards these resources, despite a lower-than-expected level of understanding around the concept of sustainability itself. Many respondents were not aware of the SDEEC at all. Group 1, which surveyed community members about their interest in sustainability career trainings, found that people were most interested in vocational training in the following areas: environmental education, smart home installation, and government jobs. Group 2, which investigated the community’s interest in acquiring fresh produce at the SDEEC, found that most respondents had difficulty finding affordable, quality fruits and vegetables locally. A vast majority of respondents expressed interest in going to the SDEEC for fresh produce, whether it be a farmers market or a community garden. Group 3, which surveyed young adults to ask them retroactively how interested they would have been in a sustainability internship for students back when they were in high school, found that participants would have been most interested in internships centering around pollution prevention and greenhouse gas management, farmers markets and community agriculture, and water sustainability.