Sydney Spencer

My love for agriculture started at a young age, where I grew up working in my family's vineyard and spent summers helping on my grandparents' cattle ranch. Those experiences taught me the importance of caring for the land and sparked a lifelong curiosity about how food systems shape our communities.

While studying Sustainable Agriculture at Cal Poly San Luis Obispo, I had the opportunity to learn about agroforestry on a coffee farm in Costa Rica, where I saw firsthand how agriculture can work in partnership with natural ecosystems and provide food sovereignty. After graduation, I worked at an educational farm in Wisconsin before moving to Hawaiʻi to join HIP Agriculture.

As a farmhand at HIP, I am inspired by the organization's commitment to regenerative agriculture, food sovereignty, and cultivating meaningful connections between people and place. I feel fortunate to spend my days caring for the land, growing food, and contributing to a community working toward a more resilient and abundant future for Hawaiʻi.