Exploring the Benefits of Small-Scale Community Agriculture with Dr. Josh Garcia

-By Christine Young, Volunteer Blogger-

It’s easy to feel discouraged about the state of our planet, especially as more of us experience the impacts of climate change. Dr. Josh Garcia, on the other hand, sees positives rather than negatives. As a soil scientist, Josh understands there are big opportunities in encouraging more people to get involved in small-scale community agriculture. Through his own involvement with urban farms, including LEAF, Josh sees firsthand their many ecological, economic, and social benefits. 

Josh is a new professor in the Department of Life & Environmental Sciences at the University of California, Merced. He received his B.S. in Biological Sciences from UC Davis in 2017 and his Ph.D in Horticultural Biology from Cornell University in 2022. After graduate school, he returned to UC Davis as a National Science Foundation and University of California President’s Postdoctoral Fellow, where he conducted research and outreach centered around soil health in diversified and community-based food systems in California and the Midwest. 

In one of Josh’s projects with LEAF, he tested the soil from different plots of land at the LEAF Urban Farm to determine whether the regenerative management practices implemented here are indeed enhancing soil health and soil biodiversity. He found that the more developed areas of the farm have the healthiest soil, with increases in biodiversity as well as improvements in physical and chemical soil properties compared to the less developed areas of the farm. He recently wrote a research paper in collaboration with LEAF that documented these findings and submitted the paper for publication. 

Once funding is secured, Josh wants to repeat the soil sampling work at LEAF Urban Farm and continue monitoring soil health at the site over time. There’s also a small plot here, dubbed the “UC Corner,” where he’s setting up an experiment to determine the effects of biochar and compost applications on the soil microbiome, nutrient cycling, and plant performance. This work is being performed in collaboration with Dr. Jessie Godfrey from the University of California Agriculture and Natural Resources (UC ANR) and Common Vision, a West Oakland-based non-profit dedicated to environmental education, food security, and public gardens. Common Vision will be setting up the exact same experiment in their garden at Prescott Elementary School in West Oakland, which will yield insight into the effects of biochar and compost across different urban environments.

Reimagining Our Food System

Josh’s relationship with LEAF began after he met LEAF’s Board President Elaine at a workshop at Prescott Elementary School, where he was presenting findings from a study on the effects of compost on urban soil health and crop productivity. In addition to Prescott Elementary, Josh also worked with other urban farming operations in this study, including City Slicker Farms (now Acta Non Verba) in West Oakland and Garden for the Environment in San Francisco.  

While LEAF represents a more traditional urban farm, embedded in an urban landscape, there are also school, community, and rooftop gardens; backyard farms; and more controlled environments like greenhouses. Globally, the urban farming market was valued at roughly USD 160.22 billion in 2024 and is expected to top USD 312 billion by 2033, according to a report by Business Research Insights. 

The expansion and diversification of urban farms are among the many facets that excite Josh about his work. He sees his efforts as a piece of the puzzle to addressing the impacts of climate change and its demands on food production. Instead of focusing on what’s wrong, Josh sees steps that we can take to be part of the solution. 

For his part as a professor, he wants to encourage his students to embrace the complexity of agriculture. Regenerative agriculture, which focuses on building and maintaining soil health and biodiversity without synthetic chemicals, offers one example of this complexity because there simply is so much more to learn and to research about this approach to farming. He plans to rethink how science, technology, engineering, and math (STEM) courses are taught to ensure that students of all backgrounds feel that their perspectives matter. Diversity also applies to agriculture itself, as he wants his students to understand that agriculture comes in all shapes and sizes. 

“Agriculture is so diverse and that diversity is so beautiful,” Josh says. “One of the biggest things I’d want my students to take away is, the modern food system has so many different issues, especially when it comes to the environment. A lot of our biggest environmental issues come from our food system, and it doesn’t have to be that way. We can rethink agriculture so it doesn’t have this negative effect on the environment. We can work to reimagine our food system so it is productive and benefits our environment, us, and our society.”

Nurturing a Passion for Cultivating Healthy Soil 

It seems a natural fit that Josh gravitates toward the natural world. Growing up in Phoenix, he always enjoyed hiking and other outdoor activities. Initially, he was interested in becoming a veterinarian. However, his journey in science shifted during his undergraduate years at UC Davis. Majoring in biological sciences, he realized that the deeper he dove into the natural world, the more he became interested in areas like life sciences. In response, he pivoted to pursue a career in research, eventually earning his Ph.D.

Internships provided a way for Josh to explore environmental and ecological sciences and, in particular, soil ecology. What turned out to be a truly formative experience was his honors thesis, for which he worked at an agroecology lab and learned more about the impact of pollution on groundwater and the air. Agroecology pertains to the development of sustainable farming and food systems and addresses the relationship between people, plants, animals, and the environment. 

On a field trip to an organic farm, Josh asked the farmer for his secret to his land’s productivity. “He said that as long as you have good soil, everything else falls into place,” Josh said. This insight, coupled with his work at the agroecology lab, solidified Josh’s passion for exploring techniques to cultivate healthy soil for a healthy planet. 

Digging Into Community Agriculture 

Once he’s settled in the Merced area with a home of his own, Josh envisions converting a yard into a mini farm to share with his friends and neighbors. He also plans to continue working with community-based farms. And he encourages everyone to get involved in small-scale community agriculture. As he’s noted, the benefits are numerous—for the planet and for those who are ready to dig in.