The UC Master Gardener Program of Lake County has maintained a partnership with the Lake County Tribal Health Consortium for over a decade, focusing on culturally relevant horticultural outreach. This collaboration supports volunteers, community partners, and residents in efforts to promote healthy food and stronger community ties.
Lake County is home to the Pomo Indians, who have lived in the Clear Lake region for more than 11,800 years. The partnership between the UC Master Gardener Program and Tribal Health aims to honor this history by aligning with Tribal Health’s mission to foster physical, spiritual, emotional, and social well-being through culturally sensitive care. Gardening activities are used as a way to restore connections with food and nature.
Over time, this relationship has resulted in annual Community Garden Blessing events and Gardening Wellness classes. These programs have helped transform spaces such as Legacy Garden and Medicine Wheel Garden into centers for vegetable gardening and nutrition education.
The initiative was started by Gemalli Austin, Director of the Diabetes Education and Prevention Division at Lake County Tribal Health Consortium. Austin envisioned a space where members could grow their own fresh produce. Gabriele O’Neill from the UC Master Gardener Program provided gardening guidance during the early stages when volunteer support was limited.
A significant development occurred when Sonia Chamberlain was hired as garden manager. Chamberlain now manages daily operations and maintains communication with the UC Master Gardener Program. She also collects feedback from participants after each class to inform future programming.
Chamberlain stated: “Last year we gave out over 5,000 pounds of vegetables and fresh produce to the Native Community.”
Austin commented on the teamwork involved: “They make an excellent team, and both of them are truly essential to making the garden a success. I want to give a big shout-out to Gabriele and Sonia. And Sonia, I hope you’re really proud to know that your work is making a difference.”
Chamberlain highlighted the value of UC Master Gardener volunteers during large events: “At big events like the Gardening Blessing, it’s so important to have the [UC] Master Gardeners there supporting us—helping with planting and showing everyone the correct way to plant. Gabriele really spearheads it, and Louise is excellent, too. We’ve also had other [UC] Master Gardeners, like Lisa, who step in and support. It truly makes a difference.”
O’Neill reflected on her teaching approach: “When I teach, I’ve learned I can’t assume anything. I can’t assume people have heard these concepts before or that certain practices are common knowledge. So I ask—Is this familiar? Does this make sense? Is this new? I make sure everyone understands before moving forward.” She added: “As gardeners, especially [UC] Master Gardeners, we tend to use a lot of jargon—IPM and other technical terms. I’ve learned that if someone hasn’t gardened before, or if it hasn’t been part of their family tradition, those words mean nothing. So I explain everything from scratch and don’t assume people know what I’m talking about.”
The program also includes cooking classes led by Tribal Health dietitians using fresh harvests for nutritious meals. Local tribal members teach about preparing Indigenous foods such as acorns and buckeye as well as growing medicinal herbs.
Each gardening season begins with an annual Community Garden Blessing event focused on Pomo culture that brings together tribal members and others for planting activities along with cultural celebrations.
The partnership illustrates how long-term commitment can help build culturally relevant gardening experiences within communities.
UC Agriculture and Natural Resources (UC ANR), which oversees programs like UC Master Gardener across California’s 58 counties—including nine Research and Extension Centers—applies University of California expertise statewide through research facilities and local offices (https://ucanr.edu/). According to its official website (https://ucanr.edu/), UC ANR delivers science-based practices aimed at enhancing lives throughout California by supporting farming innovation, environmental conservation efforts such as wildfire protection initiatives, nutrition education networks for youth development programs spanning more than 100 years.
For more information about this project or related events visit the UC Master Gardener of Lake County website or follow Lake County Tribal Health Consortium on Facebook or YouTube.