Purchase Sustainable Costa Rican Coffee for Student Success

Each summer, a group of Cal Poly students spend five weeks living within the community of Agua Buena, Costa Rica, to explore first-hand issues of sustainability and culture.

The summer course, Sustainable Agriculture and Forest Conservation in Costa Rica, is taught by Nick Babin, an assistant professor in the Natural Resources Management and Environmental Sciences Department.

The College of Agriculture, Food and Environmental Sciences forged an additional partnership with the Finca El Bosque de Don Roberto farm where students study to further promote the lessons instilled there. The cooperative agreement allows the college to import an initial 1,000 pounds of green coffee beans from the farm to be roasted locally and sold as a way of raising awareness of sustainably farmed coffee and to provide additional funding to create a scholarship to allow more Cal Poly students to take the five-week summer course.

Coffee is now available for purchase, with direct links to Cal Poly teaching, scholarship and service. For each bag purchased, $4.50 per pound goes to student scholarships. Plus, the coffee is delicious!

This offering is in great part due to the efforts of the 2022 Cal Poly in Costa Rica students, who successfully petitioned our college to develop a CAFES coffee line.  You can purchase the coffee for mail delivery here: https://www.corberosa.com/product-page/elbosque-don-roberto-costarica

There are two options that avoid shipping costs:

1. Corberosa Coffee Roasters booth at the Thursday SLO Farmer’s Market.  Their booth is in front of the Cal Poly Store on Higuera. 
2. NRES Department office (Building 180, Room 209; M-F 9am-4pm).  If you choose this option, you will use the above link to pay but will select the NRES pick-up delivery option.  Note: You will need to fill in an address before getting to the delivery options. 

More details about this program can be found at: https://cafes.calpoly.edu/cultivate-spring-2023/coffee-costa-rica

Jeff Reimer Retirement Celebration

Jeff Reimer, instructional support technician in the Natural Resources Management and Environmental Sciences Department, is retiring after 27 years at Cal Poly. He joined the department in 1997 after earning a bachelor’s degree in forestry and natural resources and a master’s degree in agriculture. Reimer has served countless students and faculty during his time at Cal Poly along with important campus initiatives.  His last day will be June 14.  Please wish him well in his new adventures by signing his online tribute. He and his wife Carey plan to hit the road in their camper and explore.

All faculty and staff are invited to Jeff Reimer’s retirement celebration next week, Friday, June 7, from 4-6 p.m. You’re welcome to drop by whenever is convenient. Please RSVP by today, Friday, May 31. If you have any questions, please reach out to nres@calpoly.edu. 

Grimm Family Soil Health and Sustainability Lab Opens

The Grimm Family Soil Health and Sustainability Lab was unveiled with a ribbon cutting ceremony on May 21 – celebrating a milestone for the Cal Poly Grimm Family Center for Organic Production and Research. Guests toured the new lab, the organic farm and chatted with students and faculty about their ongoing research.The center was established in 2021 with a $5 million donation made by the Grimm family of Grimmway Farms, the global leader in organic produce.

EIM Celebration A Success

The student-led 2024 Experience Industry Management Auction Celebration on April 27 was a success, raising more than $75,000 for the department. The event, held at the Swanson Center of Effort Conference Hall in Cal Poly’s JUSTIN and J. LOHR Center for Wine and Viticulture, also included daylong in-person and virtual experiences created exclusively for attendees by EIM students. 

EIM Receives Two Learn by Doing Good Awards

Two faculty members in the Experience Industry Management Department received inaugural Learn by Doing Good Awards from the university and the department was recognized for its partnership with Special Olympics. The awards are given to highlight specific achievements in service and leadership and winners are selected on the basis of nominations by a panel of faculty, staff and students. The first award was “Service-Learning Faculty Team: Amber Karson and Jennifer Prentice” and the second was “Outstanding Campus-Community Collaboration: Experience Industry Management and Special Olympics.”

WiVi Annual Symposium Tours the JUSTIN and J. LOHR…

On Monday, March 25, the Wine and Viticulture Department hosted their second annual walking tour of the JUSTIN and J. LOHR Center for Wine and Viticulture to nearly 50 WiVi Central Coast attendees. WiVi is an annual symposium and trade show that brings together winemakers, grape growers, winery owners and more. Enology Professor Federico Casassa and Winery Manager Jim Shumate led the tour, showcasing the department’s sensory lab and discussing wine research and the winemaking program. Attendees ended the tour tasting Cal Poly Wine.