Explore Class 4 Visits Yuma & San Luis

Explore Class 4’s first trip was to Yuma and San Luis, an area known as the “Winter Salad Bowl Capital.” This trip was such an incredible way to start the program, as our partners are consistently supportive and the experience runs smoothly while being informative, fun, and, let’s be honest, a bit overwhelming. We were honored to have Yuma Mayor, Douglas Nicholls, join us for our pre-session the evening before we left to share his experience and work in Yuma.

Our program in Yuma began at Arizona Western College, where we met with an incredible panel of local leaders put together by Reetika Dhawan, CEO of Entrepreneurial College & VP of Workforce & Healthcare Programs. We were honored with the participation of representatives across sectors, including health care, the police force, education and agriculture. The panel represented a seamless collaborative approach to leadership within the region, and a sincere friendship and shared history among the panelists.

Next, we drove to the University of Arizona Yuma Center of Excellence for Desert Agriculture (YCEDA) and met with Connor Osgood, YCEDA AgTech Manager, Robert Nickerson, a local farmer, and Meghan Scott, a local water attorney. They toured us along the border wall and the desalinization plant. While out on the tour Connor and Robert discussed the cycle of crops and growing seasons before heading back to YCEDA.

Back at the center, the group continued to learn about agriculture in the desert, water law, and the innovative technology being implemented making Yuma the most efficient approach to farming you can find, capitalizing on what they call “crop for drop,” ensuring they are getting an efficient return from one of our most precious of resources, water. Our day ended at Prison Hill Brewery where we enjoyed a delicious dinner, and met with the owner, Chris Wheeler, who shared his experience as a Yuma local and a business owner. 

Our second day began at San Luis City Hall where we met with the Director of Economic Development for San Luis, Armando Esparza, Yuma Proving Grounds Public Service, Mark Schauer, and Buna George with the Yuma Port Authority. We learned about these incredible assets within the area, the unique way that the port is operated to enhance efficiency for the high traffic border crossing, ways in which the economic development team is encouraging investment in the area, and how the Proving Grounds serves as a regional asset for our national security efforts. We then took a tour of the border to visualize the functionality of this particular border crossing, and how this contributes to the everyday functioning of this community.

We then ventured to Rolls & Bowls newest location. A location they just opened the night before which our group kept hearing about from several of our other partners over the previous day. Abraham greeted us with delicious food, and representatives from the Chicano Arts Collective, a local organization that supports artists within the region with education and opportunities. Our next stop was the Yuma Territorial Prison State Historic Park, where we learned about some Yuma history before our final stop, the Yuma Arts Center. Ana Padilla, Yuma Arts Center Director provided an overview of how the arts serve the local community, and then led us through a tour of the downtown murals. 

We wrapped up our trip with a brief discussion among the Explore Class 4 cohort, where we shared how we saw our themes show up throughout our trip, noting that equity, adaptability, and interconnectedness were all very present in Yuma and San Luis. We are beyond grateful for our partners and could not have a better experience to start the Explore class 4 program!

Big thank you to all of our Yuma & San Luis partners who made our trip such a success!