2023 projects

• Master’s thesis: “Offsets or Off-Base? Obstacles and Opportunities of Commodifying Carbon Storage and Nutrient Uptake on Kelp Farms.”

• Agricultural Ombudsman at the San Mateo Resource Conservation District in California

Organic Farmer, Environmental Educator, Agricultural Stewardship & Conservation Specialist

Eliza Milio

About

Eliza Milio has spent the last decade working at the intersection of sustainable food systems and climate change, participating in many iterations of this work including farm management, apprenticeship coordination, environmental consulting, higher education, and direct support of landowners and managers.

She discovered her passion for sustainable food systems and climate change mitigation while pursuing her undergraduate degree in Environmental Studies at University of California, Santa Cruz. As a Campaign Coordinator for the Student Environmental Center, she worked to reduce on-campus waste and develop campus-wide goals for sustainability, culminating in her writing the Campus Sustainability Blueprint.

Participating in a multi-year apprenticeship in Ecological Horticulture at the Center for Agroecology and Sustainable Food Systems in 2014 allowed her to gain technical farming knowledge and skills in methodologies that prioritize efficient use of natural resources, water conservation, and carbon sequestration. Managing a diverse organic farm in northern California for half a decade gave her insight into the realities of growing food in the unpredictability of a warming climate. Heat, wildfires, and poor air quality impacted crop yields and worker safety at her farm, underscoring the reality that adaptability, creativity, and best practices alone are not sufficient to limit the detrimental effects of climate change on the food system.

In 2020, she returned to academia with a desire to build technical skills around climate action and adaptation, with the goal of ultimately supporting small farmers in accessing funding for climate-smart practices, developing mechanisms for increasing resiliency to climate hazards, and continuing to emphasize local, diversified, and sustainable foodways.

A recent graduate from New York University, she received her Master’s degree in Environmental Conservation and Education. For her final thesis, she researched kelp farming as a means of mitigating ocean pollution and removing excess carbon and nitrogen. Since graduation, she has spent time working as a Climate Planner, writing jurisdictional climate action, adaptation, and carbon sequestration plans.

As of Winter 2023, Eliza manages the Agricultural Stewardship Program and serves as the Agricultural Ombudsman at the San Mateo Resource Conservation District in California— using her knowledge and expertise to work alongside land managers and owners in the county to implement and scale up climate-smart agricultural practices.