Gardening as Liberation, Climate Resilience, and Community Care
An Earth Day Reflection from the Garden
Sometimes I reflect on how I ended up here, covered in soil, hands deep in compost, barefoot in the grass with a heart that feels full just from seeing a seed sprout.
Twenty years ago, my father left behind harsh farming conditions in his homeland of the Dominican Republic, carrying with him stories of toil and sacrifice in search of the American Dream. Like many immigrant families, they believed a future in this country meant stability, education, and stepping away from the land, not back to it.
I grew up in Northern New Jersey, surrounded by parking lots and shopping malls. Nature felt distant. Farms were foreign. But somewhere in me was a dormant seed, an instinctual pull toward something slower, something rooted, something alive.
That seed began to sprout when I decided to study environmental science and intern on an organic farm at 18. It was a decision that felt confusing, even regressive, to my family. But for me, it was the most progressive act I could take, reclaiming my relationship with the land.
So this Earth Day, I want to honor all the Earth workers who came before me.
The ancestors who braided seeds into their hair beneath the hot summer sun.
The hands that broke earth open, that harvested life with care.
The communities who knew, long before the climate crisis, that food, land, and freedom are intertwined.
Today, I grow food as a form of liberation. As a pathway toward resilience. As an act of community care.
Gardening as Liberation
In the garden, I get to be free.
Free to frolic. Free to be curious. Free to move at the rhythm of nature.
I get to return to the parts of myself that are most natural, most whole, most alive. The garden doesn’t ask me to perform. It invites me to grow & be.
Gardening as Climate Resilience
With everything happening in the world, from floods to food shortages to environmental injustices, sustainable food systems are a necessary act of regeneration. They remind us that healing the land and healing ourselves are one and the same.
Gardening as Community Care
I dream of a world where everyone has access to healthy, nourishing food, because it’s not a privilege, it’s a right. Where neighborhoods are built around gardens. Where green spaces are shared, celebrated, and protected. Where people gather in nature, not just to grow food, but to grow relationships.
This Earth Day, you’ll find me: Hosting urban gardening workshops. Welcoming curious souls into the community garden. Teaching others that growing food is not just a hobby, it’s a practice. A practice in connection, care, and coming home to ourselves.
If you're wondering how you can honor the earth, here are 5 small, meaningful ways to start:
Plant a seed. Watch it grow, water it often, and observe the miracle.
Take a walk and notice the blooms. Let your senses be your guide.
Draw your dream garden. No rules, just imagination.
Add herbs to your windowsill. Basil, mint, and rosemary. Let them remind you of flavor, life, and care.
Visit a local community garden. You might just find your people there.
Wherever you are, I hope you take a moment to feel the ground beneath you.
To thank the soil. To listen to the wind.
To remember, we don’t need to escape the earth to find joy.
The joy is here. In the dirt. In the bloom. In the slow, sacred practice of growing.
Sending Light & Love
Brittney
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