From Barbed Wire to Beloved Community Space
We transformed an empty lot barricaded with barbed wire into a beautiful, healing space loved in the community. The nursery provides economic opportunities for a predominantly Black and Spanish-speaking community impacted by systemic oppression and violence and is run by people directly from Sobrante Park, including 12 family members who work alongside their parents and siblings. It serves as a safe, peaceful place for community members, an organizing space for the Black Sobrante Park Healing Council, and a place of prayer and land rematriation for local Native people through the Sogorea Te Land Trust.
Developing a Nature-Based Economy
Plants grown here produce thousands of pounds of food as well as seeds and propagation materials for tens of thousands of new trees each year. Through this production, the nursery has created jobs for 15 formerly incarcerated staff who came through our holistic re-entry program and created paid opportunities for over 100 youth interns. Through our education program, we host 2,500 youth each year where they get to see a community-led, land-based social enterprise that creates excellent living wage jobs and learn how to propagate fruit trees and grow their own food.
People come here and treat this space like a park. A place to get off the concrete, walk through some mulch paths, eat some fruit, learn about plants, be in a supportive environment. It creates a job for many folks from here. It’s the only place like this I’ve ever been to.
- Joe Urias, Educator in Propagation, Planting Justice since 2015
The Impact
22
Full-time jobs
40
Paid internships per year
2500
Youth participants each year
$27/hr
Average wage
Holistic Re-Entry
Living wage jobs and holistic support for folks formerly incarcerated
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Living Wage Jobs
Dignified livelihoods for those most impacted by systemic injustices
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Youth Internships
Paid job training and professional certifications for underrepresented youth
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Volunteer
Bring your energy to our work and practice land-based skills
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Fiscal Sponsorship
Institutional infrastructure for BIPOC- and women-led organizations
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Education
School programs for sustainable urban agriculture, food justice, and wellness
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Food Distribution
Healthy food grown in our gardens brought to where it’s needed most
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