Last Month in the Garden at Family Solutions

The community garden newsletter is so back! I wanted to update you all about why I took a hiatus from the newsletter.

Last month, I took on an exciting project with Washington Conservation Action to work on the City of Vancouver’s climate policy update! My focus has been on elevating BIPOC communities’ voices.

The City is updating its Climate Action Framework, its roadmap to carbon neutrality by 2040. The City wanted to hear directly from the people most affected by climate change, so I sat down with BIPOC-led community organizations and with local youth. We talked about what climate action should look like in their neighborhoods: extreme heat, air quality, housing, transportation, and food.

Here’s the part that made my gardener’s heart happy: community gardens kept coming up.

•Food access came up in nearly every conversation. Fourth Plain Forward named community gardens and food access among their top climate priorities. Pacific Islander leaders talked about food sovereignty, including growing traditional crops like taro (kalo), and about neighborhoods that are effectively food deserts.

•Youth want gardens. When Vancouver high schoolers were asked how they’d spend $10,000 to make their schools more climate-friendly, greenhouses and gardens were the most common answer. Some also asked for a youth-run community garden, native plants, and pollinator habitat.

•Gardens do several jobs at once. Community members described them as a source of fresh food, shade, and cooler neighborhoods, and as a place to share cultural knowledge across generations.

People I talked with also named other priorities, like affordable housing, reliable transit, and keeping neighbors from being priced out of improvements. A garden helps most when it’s built with the community, not just placed in it.

What’s next: I’ve shared the feedback with the City’s climate team, and the draft plan is being reviewed. I’ll share updates as the plan takes shape.

Sincerely, your volunteer newsletter author,

Jalair Przybycien (she/her)

Volunteer Spotlight

This week we’re celebrating Berit, who has been showing up to garden day after garden day, often with her sweet angel dog River in tow. Berit knows how to get things done, and she does it all despite being allergic to just about everything out here. Thank you, Berit, for your hard work and dedication. We’re so lucky to have you (and River)!