California is experiencing major changes in how farmland is used as recent policies seek to protect groundwater resources. These changes are reshaping both the landscape and the lives of rural residents, especially in communities like Fairmead in Madera County, which is surrounded by water-intensive almond orchards. In Community Science’s special collection on Transdisciplinary Collaboration for Sustainable Agriculture, Katrak-Adefowora et al. [2026] describe a project that engaged Fairmead residents and farmers in redesigning a small almond farm into a landscape that reflects multiple community priorities. The new landscape includes a basin that captures stormwater to reduce flooding and help replenish groundwater, native plants that improve habitat, and a walking path for community recreational use.

Other groundwater management and recharge news:

• North Kings Groundwater Sustainability Agency: News release: Water deliveries flow to Biola’s groundwater recharge project for the first time, a major milestone for the small community west of Fresno
• Sustainable Conservation: Blog: San Joaquin Valley watershed studies: a roadmap for a changing climate
• California Trout: Blog: Reimagining Lower Mammoth Creek: a vision for restoration and community
• Arizona State University: Blog: ASU researchers contribute to Arizona’s quest to sustain aquifer