The site is a partnership of HSU’s California Center for Rural Policy, its Institute for Spatial Analysis and the California Endowment. It functions as a clearinghouse for more than 80 detailed maps and a comprehensive pesticide atlas that contains data sources and analysis.
The maps and data focus on three Poder Popular communities in each county: Cutler-Orosi, Lindsay and Woodlake in Tulare County and Gonzales, Greenfield and Salinas in Monterey County. Poder Popular is an advocacy group for farm laborer communities across California.
Users can download detailed community maps, maps of pesticides commonly used in each county and county comparisons.
The Web site’s content is based on environmental mapping of pesticide use and application rates and their implications for the health of farm worker communities, including school children. It enables agricultural laborers and their community leaders to visualize data, pinpoint pesticide use and analyze the health risks it poses. HSU research and in-depth collaboration with affected community members helped spur action to protect school children from aerial spraying via exclusion zones around schools and playgrounds.
The English language “People, Place and Health” Web site is at http://peopleplaceandhealth.org.
The Spanish version is at http://www.gentelugarysalud.org.
Read more about the California Center for Rural Policy’s work with mapping pesticide use on Humboldt State NOW