This fall, we partnered with the Rou Dalagurr Food Sovereignty Lab and Traditional Knowledges Institute (FSL) at Cal Poly Humboldt to evaluate the contamination risk of on-campus project sites, with support from the Diversity, Equity, Inclusion, and Accessibility (DEIA) Grant Funding Committee.

The FSL was established to revitalize Indigenous food systems and strengthen community-based food sovereignty through hands-on learning, research, and collaboration. The lab manages several sites adjacent to the Behavioral and Social Sciences Building with the goal of utilizing these spaces to produce traditional foods and basketry materials for community use.

A key challenge in restoring traditional agroecological systems is ensuring that soils are free of legacy contaminants from past land use. Urban soils, in particular, often contain elevated levels of heavy metals, polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons, diesel residues, and tire-wear particulates, which can degrade soil health and pose risks to human well-being. Testing for these contaminants is essential for safe cultivation and provides baseline data for future monitoring and remediation strategies.

This project has created a meaningful opportunity for interdisciplinary collaboration while supporting ecologically grounded approaches to land stewardship in our local community.  Dr. Obeidy presented Fern McBride, Derek Tremaine, and Nick Verhey’s work at the Soil Science Society of America Annual Meeting in SLC, Utah.