La Colina Community Circle is a model resilience neighborhood situated in the hills of El Sobrante, California. Founded on the vision of breaking down walls of isolation and strengthening connection between neighbors, the Community Circle has grown into a thriving community in an environment challenged by climate change. Through frequent events like block parties and crop swaps, the bonds between neighbors have blossomed. By pooling their skills and resources, they have strengthened community resilience through disaster preparation, permaculture and various work projects. Unlike a traditional hub housed at a single facility, the organic and familiar nature of this resilience neighborhood model allows the site to more effectively care for the needs of individual community members.
The community itself is a unique blend of working class families of various races and ethnicities. There is a core constituent of dedicated members who find the time in their busy lives to work on the multitude of neighborhood projects to build both resilience and community.
A model for Permaculture: food growing and water catchment/conservation
The neighborhood itself contains a multitude of gardens that grow a variety of fruits and vegetables including olives, blackberries, and tomatoes. Chief among these gardens is the food forest at Rising Spring garden, home to community organizer Jessica Bates and the focal point of resilience for the neighborhood. Their innovative water systems help to support her garden; Rising Spring contains three 208 gallon tanks, a single 10,000 gallon tank, an in house water filtration system, water-efficient appliances,a laundry to landscape greywater system, and various drought-resistant landscaping. Other neighbors also have innovative sustainable features, from gardens to drought tolerant landscaping. One neighbor has a full-house grey water system and a home made composting toilet. These measures are an essential element of community resilience and will be vital community resources during California’s persistent droughts.
La Colina is also well prepared to respond to natural disasters.
Similar to many other hubs, La Colina is constantly finding new ways to build resilience. One priority area is disaster preparedness. For example, there is one member who is becoming CERT certified, while multiple community members have prepared go bags and have stockpiled 72 hours’ worth of food and water. They also have a Ham radio tower which is connected to East Bay CERT (community emergency response team) and is stationed on the hillside next to La Colina neighborhood. At their community meetings every third Sunday, neighbors often discuss how they would respond to various disaster scenarios, including evacuation plans. Since the community abuts part of Wildcat Canyon Regional Park, neighbors are currently working on becoming trained to become a “FireWise ” community. One dangerous source of vulnerability for the community are earthquakes as many of the homes in the neighborhood currently not retrofit for a sizable shock. Beyond this, the community itself is well connected, with clear lines of communication and extensive asset mapping to assist vulnerable residents during disasters. Rising Spring is also developing mobile off-grid power through solar with battery backup.
Looking to the future, La Colina Community Circle is ambitious in its efforts to create a more resilient community. Though busy with her toddler, Jessica has bold ambitions at her Rising Spring home garden that include creating a shared shaded area for community meetings, setting up a community kitchen, and building a mobile charging solar station. These efforts and others will go a long way to further the Community Circle’s goals of breaking down barriers between neighbors and strengthening their connections with one another. As a resilient neighborhood, La Colina neighborhood is a shining example of the power of cooperation and standing together in the face of adversity.