We’re thrilled to welcome back Modibo Keita (he/him), who was previously with the Sustainable Conservation team as a GrizzlyCorps Fellow for 2 years before joining staff as the Central Coast Project Associate this fall. As a fellow, most of his work focused on analyzing water quality regulations and implementation of such policy including ILRP, CV-SALTS, and SGMA. Prior to joining Sustainable Conservation, Modibo received a Bachelor of Science in Environmental Resource Management from Penn State where he also played for the university’s rugby team.
A nomadic upbringing has made it tough for Modibo to call any one place home, but this has also helped him develop the capacity to adapt and feel comfortable anywhere. He grew up in Atlanta, DC, London, and Libreville, Gabon. However, his family now resides in Lagos, Nigeria. He is driven towards environmental work because of climate change and its consequences to food systems across West Africa and the world. Outside of work, Modibo enjoys watching or playing soccer and rugby, making music, biking around, and spending time in nature.
What were some of the projects you worked on during your two years as a Grizzly Corps Fellow with Sustainable Conservation?
When I first got here in the Fall of 2022, I started with policy analysis on the Sustainable Groundwater Management Act (SGMA), specifically around Groundwater Sustainability Agencies (GSA) and the frameworks they were constructing to account for water use. That exploration snowballed into the cover crop report (Cover Cropping in the SGMA Era), so it was pretty cool to be involved at the beginning of that process and see where it went.
Another project I worked on during my first year was a wider research survey to analyze GSA’s groundwater recharge policies. This work looked at recharge policies to improve the water quality of residents in agricultural areas, rather than just augmenting supply of water supply.
My second year was largely working with Elliot on high-carbon amendment work, along with our partners at UC Cooperative Extension and UC Santa Cruz. Adding a high-carbon amendment, such as almond hulls, to a field is being proposed as an alternative practice to cover cropping as a way to limit nitrogen pollution in groundwater. A high carbon amendment, rather than using the roots of a plant to uptake excess nitrogen in the soil, the idea is to basically overfeed the microbes in the soil with carbon such that they’re able to consume all of this excess nitrogen. Then, ideally, the population of microbes will start to die off, and thus release all the nitrogen that they took up in in the spring of the following year, when crops are ready to absorb it.
What were some highlights from your time off between your Grizzly Corps term and starting your full-time role as Central Coast Project Associate?
Spending time with my high school friends when I was in London was really nice. So much time passes between when we see each other, but it never really feels like that.
What’s your favorite thing that you learned during your time as a Grizzly Corps Fellow?
I don’t think it’s one distinct thing, as much as just my perspective on agriculture has changed so much. It’s never been more fascinating to me than I find it now. It’s really hard to grasp the complexity and scale of these operations, it feels like the more you know about it, the more miraculous it seems that we’re able to produce food for ourselves at a societal scale this consistently.
Do you have any projects or initiatives that you’re most excited to start working on in your new role?
Something that I’m working on that’s new is understanding the new Dairy General Order and seeing how water quality regulations across the state are converging, and where they differ.
What’s your favorite thing about doing field work for the organization?
I just like being outside and I like working with my hands. It’s a really big part of why I was so drawn to like environmental work to begin with.
What do you like to do outside of work?
I like making music on my laptop, I love biking. I also enjoy playing video games and the occasional camping trip.
