a visionary
Steve Jobs once said, “We can have the most awesome technology inside the box, but truthfully, our customer doesn’t care about that. If we instead give them an awesome experience, all we have to do is ask ‘Do you want this?’ And people will look at it and say: ‘Whoa. Yes!’
Deer Ridge is conveniently located halfway between the political and technology centers of California: Sacramento and Silicon Valley. From either location, including the international airports of San Francisco and Sacramento, the drive is less than an hour and a half.
The first sustainable fuel cell supported microgrid prototype will certainly draw many visitors from politicians to policy makers to entrepreneurs and investors in California, the U.S and beyond.
To facilitate the important “meeting of minds” to drive innovation forward, Deer Ridge will offer a first-class restaurant. The restaurant will be led by an outstanding chef, and will grow its own “farm to fork” produce in an organic “chef’s garden” on a few acres of the property.
storytelling on location
for a sustainable future
Closer to home, however, Deer Ridge offers a unique opportunity to showcase cutting edge ideas around sustainable energy and land stewardship focused on young people in Contra Costa county. At first through presentations on the components that make up our energy and food systems, demystifying ideas like “decentralized energy” or “regenerative agriculture”.
The Deer Ridge Clubhouse will pull back the curtains and teach young people – and any one who wants to learn about the way our homes and communities get their power, how our food is grown, and why a resiliency and sustainability are important concepts to balance our current obsession with efficiency that leaves local producers and local communities at a loss in favor of profit over all else.
To design these educational resources, Deer Ridge’s Sustainable Development Demonstration Project will work with local educators, growers and energy producers to create accessible materials that may spark the next Clarence Birdseye / Norman Borlaug or Jigur Shah / Elon Musk.
As a central gathering location, the Deer Ridge Clubhouse can provide the ideal backdrop for weddings, gatherings, and other convenings though an Events Center complex also being imagined for the facility, which will open in tandem with the restaurant.
Celebration
From the Academy’s position, our goal is to help new, groundbreaking technologies find acceptance and implementation across the nation as a key component in tackling climate change and meeting our nation’s Paris Climate Accord commitments while maintaining a high standard of living.
That crucial introduction of innovation starts with experience and storytelling.