Through strong partnerships with UC Davis MPH students and the Yolo County Public Health Division, our team has developed a comprehensive understanding of health concerns and medical service challenges in Knights Landing. Our research, including interviews with healthcare leaders and analysis of public health assessments, revealed a significant need for improved transportation to central health facilities and expanded community health promoter programs. We have also documented disparities in healthcare access and utilization based on race/ethnicity and income. See below:

Our research in environmental health focuses on preventing agrochemical exposure through direct environmental sampling and analysis of pesticide application data. We utilize advanced mapping and modeling techniques to understand pesticide distribution and movement, aiming to collaborate with local stakeholders to reduce environmental contamination. Simultaneously, we prioritize community knowledge and work to ensure access to clean water for all residents, including those relying on unregulated private wells.

Introduction:

The Knights Landing community garden project, initially conceived by the Pueblo Unido youth group but stalled by irrigation issues, was revived by the KLEHP. Recognizing its immediate community benefit, our promotoras and student teams procured funding to enable its design, construction, and community activities like cooking classes, evolving into a KL One Health Center committee. This garden's identity, from name to plants, is shaped through a continuous community-driven process, ensuring every voice is heard, creating a space that truly reflects and helps realize the aspirations of Knights Landing residents.

Project Goals:

To develop a community garden in Knights Landing that provides fresh food and recreational space while serving as a platform for youth to engage in community service and gain hands-on skills.

Garden Design Proposals:

Designed by UC Davis student Ana Guerrero, based on community ideas, this garden plan provides a valuable vision for growing fresh produce and creating recreational space. Initial funds will primarily established the main water line and drip irrigation system to supply the garden. Additional resources provided fencing, walking paths, shade, tools, lighting, sheds, waste containers, raised beds, starters, a compost system, and youth-built benches.

 Our Current Garden:

Beyond cultivation, the garden is a vital social and recreational hub, offering outdoor seating for workshops and picnics, and tranquil paths for reflection and interaction. Community partners organize activities promoting exercise and healthy eating, while Empower Yolo collaboration assigns garden responsibilities to youth. This mentorship will foster critical thinking and leadership skills, aiding their educational and career development.

View Garden Project Documentary

• 2024 County Set to Start Building Knights Landing Park summarizing the community's efforts to establish recreational spaces
• 2020 20 Miles Away. A World Apart summarizing the history of the KL partnerships with UC Davis researchers
• 2020 Global Aggies: Addressing Food Insecurity, One Community at a Time article featuring Jonathan Ho (original team member)
• 2019 ‘Microtransit’ bus unveiled in Knights Landing featuring Yolobus program promotoras encouraged
• 2019 UC Davis student receives $15,000 to conduct community service project featuring Jonathan
• 2018 2 year anniversary of the Knights Landing Environmental Health Project blog by Alfonso and Skye
• 2018 From Farm to Lab featuring Skye and pesticide analysis team
• 2018 UC Davis Local Dirt Audio Interview with Skye 
• 2018 Western Center for Agricultural Health and Safety seminar by Skye and promotoras
• 2017 Community Cancer Prevention in Knights Landing featuring Skye and Alfonso
• 2016 Photo-Testimonies of Youth From Knights Landing: “Borders, (Im)mobility, Youth” , Knights Landing youths featured in exhibit, featuring Natalia exhibition
• 2015 UC Davis Students Expand Tutoring Program in Rural Communities featuring programs developed by Natalia
• 2012 Student-run clinic brings health care back to Knights Landing featuring the clinic developed by residents and UC Davis Chicana/o Studies Department

Deeb-Sossa, N., Torreiro-Casal, M., & Medel-Herrero, A. (2024). So-called essential but treated as disposable: Northern California farmworkers working under COVID-19. Latino Studies, 22(3), 402-428.

Aranda, A. A., Kelty, J. S., Manukian, S., Pardo, E., Jabbari, K., Schmidt, R. J., ... & Knights Landing Promotoras. (2024). Environmental health assessment by local environmental justice experts for evidence‐based decision‐making in an agricultural community of Northern California. Community Science, 3(3), e2024CSJ000088.

Deeb-Sossa, N., Manzo, R., Aranda, A., & Kelty, J. S. (2024). Cultivating university students' critical sense of belonging through community-responsive scholar-activism. Collaborations (Coral Gables, Fla.), 7(1), 2.

Deeb-Sossa, N., Manzo, R. D., Kelty, J., & Aranda, A. (2022). Community-responsive scholar-activist research: conceptualizing capacity building and sustainability in a Northern California community-university partnership. Journal of community practice, 30(1), 71-83.

Kelty, J. S., Aranda, A., & Deeb-Sossa, N. (2020, December). Environmental scientists in the field: Lessons learned connecting to the local experience, network, and knowledge as an Environmental Toxicology outsider in a small Californian agricultural community. In AGU Fall Meeting Abstracts (Vol. 2020, pp. SY042-08).

Deeb-Sossa, N., & Manzo, R. (2020). Community-driven leadership: Mexican-origin farmworking mothers resisting deficit practices by a school board in California. Journal of Latinos and Education.

Deeb-Sossa, N. (2019). Testimonios of empowerment and belonging by farmworker mothers. Community-Based Participatory Research: Testimonios from Chicana/o Studies, 201.Chicago

Sweeney, J. M., Crook, P. Z., Deeb-Sossa, N., Tu, B., Dear, J. D., & Mazet, J. A. (2018). Clinical one health: a novel healthcare solution for underserved communities. One Health, 6, 34-36.

Manzo, R. D., & Deeb‐Sossa, N. (2018). Political maternal involvement: A comparative study of Mexican mothers’ activism to address school board’s deficit practices. Anthropology & Education Quarterly, 49(4), 352-370.Chicago

Deeb-Sossa, N., & Flores, Y. G. (2017). Using photovoice with farmworker children and youth: A methodology for understanding sociopolitical mental health issues. Aztlan: A Journal of Chicano Studies, 42(2), 49-80.

Deeb-Sossa, N., & Moreno, M. (2016). ¡No cierren nuestra escuela! Farm worker mothers as cultural citizens in an educational community mobilization effort. Journal of Latinos and Education, 15(1), 39-57.

Deeb-Sossa, N. (2015). A tráves de mis ojos: Fototestimonios with Children Growing Up in Immigrant and Migrant Communities in Northern California. Documenting Gendered Violence: Representations, Collaborations, and Movements, 147-70.