0:00:00.000,0:00:11.098
[guitar music playing]

0:00:11.098,0:00:13.855
just three months ago this land was not

0:00:13.855,0:00:16.574
utilized by people. It had weeds so high

0:00:16.574,0:00:18.927
you couldn't walk through it, and today it

0:00:18.927,0:00:22.076
is a thriving, abundant garden where

0:00:22.076,0:00:24.509
black, indigenous, and people of color

0:00:24.509,0:00:27.347
can come together, grow community, and

0:00:27.347,0:00:30.185
grow food and medicine.

0:00:30.185,0:00:32.979
The community garden started in my dreams

0:00:32.979,0:00:35.665
a few years ago, and I was finally able to

0:00:35.665,0:00:37.626
realize it a couple months ago when we

0:00:37.626,0:00:39.652
broke ground on this property.

0:00:39.652,0:00:54.273
[guitar music playing]

0:00:54.273,0:00:57.076
The BIPOC Community Garden is a small

0:00:57.076,0:00:59.740
garden that I've put in right in my side

0:00:59.740,0:01:03.061
yard. It is a place for the BIPOC

0:01:03.061,0:01:05.934
community in my area to come and be able

0:01:05.934,0:01:08.088
to garden. Most of the beds are communal

0:01:08.088,0:01:09.686
beds, so we are growing a lot of

0:01:09.686,0:01:12.050
vegetables and herbs. Folks can come in,

0:01:12.050,0:01:13.905
they can help tend, they can harvest,

0:01:13.905,0:01:15.265
they can make medicine,

0:01:15.265,0:01:17.738
and then we have a few beds that are

0:01:17.738,0:01:20.489
individually stewarded. So folks who want

0:01:20.489,0:01:23.443
to have the whole experience of planting

0:01:23.443,0:01:26.276
the seed, planning the graden, tending it,

0:01:26.276,0:01:28.895
they have the opportunity to do that here

0:01:28.895,0:01:31.195
with a bed as well.

0:01:31.195,0:01:33.535
We have a community herb-drying shed.

0:01:33.535,0:01:36.449
It houses our tool lending library,

0:01:36.449,0:01:39.087
a lending library of books related to

0:01:39.087,0:01:41.034
herbalism, and a library of medicine-

0:01:41.034,0:01:43.351
making supplies. So if folks come to the

0:01:43.351,0:01:46.295
garden, and they do not have any tools,

0:01:46.295,0:01:49.355
or anything to make medicine with,

0:01:49.355,0:01:52.032
everything is in the shed for them.

0:01:52.032,0:01:54.109
It is also a place where folks can dry

0:01:54.109,0:01:56.871
herbs, so if they grow something in the

0:01:56.871,0:01:58.831
garden, such as a bunch of mint, and they

0:01:58.831,0:02:00.689
are like "oh, I would love to have this

0:02:00.689,0:02:02.589
over the winter so I can have tea," they

0:02:02.589,0:02:04.495
can harvest the mint here and put it on

0:02:04.495,0:02:06.913
the drying racks. It will dry beautifully

0:02:06.913,0:02:08.842
for them and then they can take it home

0:02:08.842,0:02:11.571
and have tea for the winter.

0:02:11.571,0:02:12.832
The garden is the

0:02:12.832,0:02:14.951
Jane Minor BIPOC Community Medicine Garden

0:02:14.951,0:02:18.101
and it is named after an amazing herbalist

0:02:18.101,0:02:21.019
and healer, Jane Minor, who was enslaved

0:02:21.019,0:02:25.155
in Virginia. In 1825, a fever epidemic

0:02:25.155,0:02:28.626
swept through Virginia. She was so skilled

0:02:28.626,0:02:32.101
that she not only healed other Black folks

0:02:32.101,0:02:35.466
but her enslaver enlisted her to heal

0:02:35.466,0:02:39.706
white folks as well. Because she was so

0:02:39.706,0:02:41.437
adept at that and so many people got

0:02:41.437,0:02:43.335
better where everywhere else folks were

0:02:43.335,0:02:46.284
dying, they granted her her freedom.

0:02:46.284,0:02:48.706
She did not stop there! She kept working

0:02:48.706,0:02:50.626
as an herbalist and healer, saved up her

0:02:50.626,0:02:52.374
money, and was able to purchase the

0:02:52.374,0:02:54.817
freedom of sixteen other enslaved folks.

0:02:54.817,0:02:57.896
The inspiration to create the garden was

0:02:57.896,0:03:01.435
to be able to have a space where BIPOC

0:03:01.435,0:03:03.545
folks could access the land.

0:03:03.545,0:03:06.370
That is a really big challenge for a lot

0:03:06.370,0:03:08.201
of folks nationwide but even in my

0:03:08.201,0:03:10.275
community where there is not a lot of free

0:03:10.275,0:03:12.496
land access. I also wanted to create

0:03:12.496,0:03:15.074
this space to be a safe spot for BIPOC

0:03:15.074,0:03:18.564
folks. I wanted this to be an outdoor

0:03:18.564,0:03:21.489
sanctuary where people can really feel

0:03:21.489,0:03:24.254
like themselves, feel safe, and be able to

0:03:24.254,0:03:28.151
connect with the earth.

0:03:28.151,0:03:29.351
The garden is just

0:03:29.351,0:03:31.394
such an amazing place of connection. It is

0:03:31.394,0:03:33.220
a place where folks can really reclaim

0:03:33.220,0:03:35.044
their connection to the earth. Lots of

0:03:35.044,0:03:36.818
folks have been disconnected from the

0:03:36.818,0:03:38.685
land. Just having a space where you can

0:03:38.685,0:03:40.593
put your hands in the earth, and get to

0:03:40.593,0:03:42.527
understand the cycles of the plants, and

0:03:42.527,0:03:44.543
the seasons and how the light changes as

0:03:44.543,0:03:46.562
we move through the year, that all just

0:03:46.562,0:03:51.028
helps to connect you to the land, to the

0:03:51.028,0:03:53.063
seasons, and I think to yourself. Your own

0:03:53.063,0:03:55.731
innate rhythms that we have been

0:03:55.731,0:03:57.765
disconnected from. It is also a beautiful

0:03:57.765,0:04:00.966
place of community connection. Folks are

0:04:00.966,0:04:03.735
coming out to garden together, and then

0:04:03.735,0:04:06.403
they make medicine together or go for a

0:04:06.403,0:04:08.554
swim together and it builds these

0:04:08.554,0:04:11.874
beautiful friendships. It is a way to tap

0:04:11.874,0:04:13.989
into something that is bigger than

0:04:13.989,0:04:17.205
yourself. Earth is the source of

0:04:17.205,0:04:19.211
everything. It is our life, it is our food

0:04:19.211,0:04:21.544
it is our medicine, it is our clothing, it

0:04:21.544,0:04:23.942
is our housing, so just being able to

0:04:23.942,0:04:27.189
touch that is really magical and I think

0:04:27.189,0:04:30.397
brings people home to themselves.

0:04:30.397,0:04:39.705
[guitar and piano music playing]

0:04:39.705,0:04:42.719
One thing that a lot of folks have

0:04:42.719,0:04:44.552
mentioned is that this is their happy

0:04:44.552,0:04:46.419
space, this is a place where they can

0:04:46.419,0:04:48.225
feel totally themselves and feel safe

0:04:48.225,0:04:50.824
because it is a sanctuary. It is a place

0:04:50.824,0:04:53.256
that was created by folks of color for

0:04:53.256,0:04:55.773
folks of color and that we are navigating

0:04:55.773,0:04:58.402
through a lot of white-dominated spaces in

0:04:58.402,0:05:00.868
our day-to-day life, and it is just nice

0:05:00.868,0:05:03.167
to be able to come to a space where it is

0:05:03.167,0:05:05.282
just your community. It helps us to

0:05:05.282,0:05:07.100
breathe a little bit. People also are

0:05:07.100,0:05:08.973
growing vegetables, so they are getting

0:05:08.973,0:05:10.940
good food to eat. They are growing plants

0:05:10.940,0:05:12.756
for medicine, so they are also able to

0:05:12.756,0:05:17.937
harvest and make medicine. 2020 has been

0:05:17.937,0:05:20.154
such an intense year, there has been so

0:05:20.154,0:05:22.708
much trauma and pain that we have all

0:05:22.708,0:05:25.572
experienced, and folks have been able to

0:05:25.572,0:05:28.206
come here and let go of that for a moment,

0:05:28.206,0:05:30.931
and that is such a gift. There is no

0:05:30.931,0:05:33.062
community garden without community.

0:05:33.062,0:05:35.091
Absolutely not. When I came here and I was

0:05:35.091,0:05:36.941
like "Oh, I have a yard, I can have a

0:05:36.941,0:05:38.931
garden! Oh great, I can grow this and I

0:05:38.931,0:05:42.186
can grow that! But wait... that feels like

0:05:42.186,0:05:43.996
something is missing. If I have this

0:05:43.996,0:05:46.530
opportunity, I want the community to have

0:05:46.530,0:05:49.742
this opportunity." And because I opened

0:05:49.742,0:05:52.744
up this space for other people, that also

0:05:52.744,0:05:54.430
opened up the community to want to

0:05:54.430,0:05:56.254
support it, so it has been a really

0:05:56.254,0:05:58.125
beautiful coming together.

0:05:58.125,0:06:00.226
In just three months it went from

0:06:00.226,0:06:02.947
six-foot-high overgrown brush

0:06:02.947,0:06:05.908
to all of these amazing beds

0:06:05.908,0:06:09.688
and really without a lot of work. We used

0:06:09.688,0:06:11.961
a tarp which was great so we did not have

0:06:11.961,0:06:13.896
to bring in machinery to cut things down

0:06:13.896,0:06:17.151
or to till a bunch of times. After the

0:06:17.151,0:06:19.065
tarp came up, the neighbor came in with

0:06:19.065,0:06:21.008
their tractor and they tilled just once,

0:06:21.008,0:06:23.317
and then I had a work party. Fifteen folks

0:06:23.317,0:06:25.251
came out and we got all the beds made

0:06:25.251,0:06:28.485
in a few hours. We planted the beds over

0:06:28.485,0:06:30.888
the next couple weeks and then we have

0:06:30.888,0:06:32.688
just been weeding and mulching.

0:06:32.688,0:06:44.339
[guitar music playing]

0:06:44.339,0:06:46.165
It is also I think really helpful for

0:06:46.165,0:06:48.996
folks to see the scale of this, to see

0:06:48.996,0:06:51.415
that "I could totally do this in my yard

0:06:51.415,0:06:53.316
as well. I do not have to have

0:06:53.316,0:06:55.276
a bunch of acres, I do not have to even

0:06:55.276,0:06:56.663
live in the country. You can

0:06:56.663,0:06:58.852
turn any plot of earth into a beautiful

0:06:58.852,0:07:01.152
abundant garden." It is all right there,

0:07:01.152,0:07:04.172
it is such a huge potential, we can not

0:07:04.172,0:07:07.772
continue to rely on big agriculture and

0:07:07.772,0:07:10.324
monocropping and the degenerative ways

0:07:10.324,0:07:13.373
in which food is grown. I feel like there

0:07:13.373,0:07:16.018
is so much potential and land that can be

0:07:16.018,0:07:18.343
turned into flourishing gardens for

0:07:18.343,0:07:20.377
community. Do not be intimidated! It is

0:07:20.377,0:07:22.747
something you can do just in a yard. You

0:07:22.747,0:07:25.000
can do it literally in just one bed if you

0:07:25.000,0:07:27.014
live in a city. Even if you have a porch,

0:07:27.014,0:07:29.015
you can have a community garden of potted

0:07:29.015,0:07:32.212
plants. There is no limit to where you can

0:07:32.212,0:07:34.468
do this, you can absolutely do this[br]anywhere.

0:07:34.468,0:07:37.071
It is about community though, so make sure

0:07:37.071,0:07:39.120
you connect with your community, see

0:07:39.120,0:07:41.220
what is needed, see what is wanted, see

0:07:41.220,0:07:43.623
how a garden can serve folks, and then

0:07:43.623,0:07:45.640
just do it!

0:07:45.640,0:07:59.361
[music playing]