#soilgeneration

Terrance grows long rows of crops for food and seed saving at La Mott Community Garden, in Cheltenham Township, just a few blocks northwest of Philadelphia. For more than 80 years community gardeners have been lovingly tending to this land where black soldiers had been trained for the Civil War, and where Harriett Tubman would stop at Lucretia Mott's home on her courageous and visionary trips bringing black families to freedom on the Underground Railroad. The garden had been owned by Temple University for many years, and was recently sold to a new owner, and so the garden's future is uncertain. Terrence brought his extra sweet potato slips (they look like Maple Leaf!), lima bean seeds, and string bean seeds to the Philadelphia Seed Exchange library seed swap last night, which followed the Vacant Land 215 workshop led by Kirtrina Baxter of Soil Generation and Garden Justice Legal Initiative. Hopefully we will all work together to find justice for this land and the gardeners and community members who care for it! #gardenjustice #lamottcommunitygarden #lamott #harriettubman #lucretiamott #seedkeeping #seedsaving #sweetpotatoslips #soilgeneration #philadelphiaseedexchange #communitygarden #communitygardens (at Oak Lane Branch - Free Library of Philadelphia)

The solidarity group of Soil Generation (a black-led coalition of radical farmers and gardeners in Philly) facilitated a day long "Uprooting Racism" training for local white farmers and gardeners yesterday. The training was created in partnership with coalition leadership. We dug deep into the US history of white supremacy, migration, agriculture, and food system; talked about the dynamics of white-led organizations (and white folks in general - mostly from suburbs) working in neighborhoods of color in a majority Black city; and talked about, acted out, and committed to tactics to shift/correct this dynamic and to center leadership of color. It felt important and productive. I wish I went to something like this 15 years ago. #soilgeneration (at Repair The World: Philadelphia)

Soil Generation was part of the #ReclaimMLK march today. We were spread throughout the march with our families, organizations, churches, and other coalitions, but I caught a few of us food justice folks here with the sign. Land and food sovereignty are central to a progressive movement. @soilgeneration #soilgeneration (at Mother Bethel AME Church)

Ngan Tran, VietLead: "Our community is already growing in whatever small spaces they have--backyards, even buckets! However, the biggest obstacle to growing in our conversations have been the lack of access to land. As refugees from the wars in Southeast Asia, our community also believes that land and gardening holds a very precious and meaningful place within our hearts. It is a therapeutic escape for us to heal from the scars of the Khmer Rouge genocide and the Vietnam War. With the power of gardening, it gives us strength to believe that those memories may scar us but it cannot and will not leave a permanent mark. We’ve been using the step by step process outlined by the land bank but still face difficulty." Ngan Tran, OurRoots Youth Apprentice, testifying at the Land Bank Hearing standing with fellow Soil Generation members. (Speech cowritten by fellow member Neary Narom) We want an easily accessible, transparent, and accountable Land Bank because we want land to go to the good of the community! #vietlead #ourroots #soilgeneration #phillylandbank #landsovereignty #foodsovereignty (at 1515 Arch St)

Pretty much every time my partner speaks publicly, I get goosebumps and tears. Here Chris is testifying at City Council about the importance of protecting the work and the land of Philadephians putting their blood, sweat, and tears (and heart and genius) into urban agriculture around the city. One powerful piece was connecting southern Black farmland loss with the migration north (including to Philadelphia) and the loss of gardens and farms in our city today. He runs the Community Farm at Bartram's Garden and we are both members of Soil Generation, a very well organized coalition of farmers and gardeners that has brought out a huge and powerful presence to council today. @soilgeneration @bartramsfarm #soilgeneration #urbanagriculture (at Philadelphia City Hall)

#OFTHEPEOPLE #BYTHEPEOPLE #FORTHEPEOPLE #PUBLICINTEREST #FIRMRELIABLE #SOILGENERATION @FRINGEARTS #HEREINEARTH (at La Peg Brasserie at Fringe Arts)

Soil Generation - a coalition of Philadelphia gardens and farms - values community self-determination at the neighborhood level, and community self-representation at the policy level. Here we are on Tuesday night at Urban Tree Connection's Neighborhood Foods Farm synthesizing our lists of priorities and demands for upcoming Urban Agriculture hearings in city council, and discussing who should give testimony. #soilgeneration #urbantreeconnection #communityselfdetermination #selfdetermination #healthyfoodsgreenspaces (at Neighborhood Foods Farm)