The City of Riverside is building the center of Green Agriculture Technology for the next century and invites the community to attend the groundbreaking. The Northside Agriculture Innovation Center, or NAIC, will use solar panels atop farming fields and solar PV greenhouses to create a farming system that is resistant to climate change.
Through an extensive community-driven effort, residents and community partners decided the once-vacant 8.8 acres of land would best serve the community as a space to improve health and wellness, develop the workforce, foster innovation, and create businesses in sustainable agriculture and food production. The project embraces agrivoltaics, which is the use of solar panels above farming fields and solar PV greenhouses that generate renewable energy.
"Riverside has a deep agricultural history as the birthplace of the citrus industry," Mayor Patricia Lock Dawson said. "The NAIC is an opportunity to show the same level of leadership on ag issues into the coming century."
The groundbreaking ceremony will kick off Phase 1 of this multi-phase project. Phase 1 includes site acquisition (completed) and installation of approximately 50,000 square feet of solar PV greenhouses, 14,000 square feet of agrivoltaics, 14,000 square feet of a solar PV pole barn, a 30-plot community garden, outdoor farmer training facilities, trails, 450 trees and basic utility and water infrastructure.
Phase 2, to be outbuilt when funding is available, will include the enclosure of the 14,000-square-foot solar PV pole barn. This barn will feature a co-work learning center with classrooms, offices, a demonstration kitchen, and a farm stand. Phase 2 also includes street improvements, restroom facilities, and the completion of the project's offsite trail system.
The Northside Agriculture Innovation Center is a transformative project for the Northside neighborhood, the city, and the U.S. Residents of the Northside neighborhood have awaited the development of green spaces in an area that has been negatively impacted by environmental factors and blight, where once transformed, will be a beacon of recreation, innovation, and education and bring people together through a variety of programmed spaces, including a community garden, learning center, and new farmer incubation facilities.
"Northside residents have played a key role in developing the NAIC from concept into reality," said City Councilmember Philip Falcone, who represents the area. "We are grateful for their input as we take an important step forward with this project."
The City takes great pride in the Northside Agriculture Innovation Center, which pays homage to the once-dominant citrus industry that shaped Riverside's development and looks to the future by nurturing sustainable and more resilient agricultural practices by introducing ag-tech, agri-voltaics, controlled-environment agriculture, and growing future farmers.
The NAIC addresses the current challenges affecting our food systems, such as extreme weather, heat, and water availability due to climate change impacts. The project creates a much-needed facility to foster regional opportunities to proactively adapt to more climate-smart agriculture practices by demonstrating how a controlled environment and high-tech agriculture can secure our food production systems. The Northside Agriculture Innovation Center also will train the next generation of farmers to be better prepared for the challenges that lie ahead.
The City cordially invites the community to attend the Northside Agriculture Innovation Center's groundbreaking. There, they will learn about the exciting world of agriculture and appreciate the innovation that will ensure that our dinner plates remain vibrant and full for generations to come.
Learn more about the NAIC — at https://riversideca.gov/sustainability/northside-agriculture-innovation-center-naic and see for yourself on Thursday, Jan. 9 from 9:30-10:30 a.m. at 900 Clark St. RSVP here: https://naicceremony.eventbrite.com
Source: Public CEO