2025 Aquaponics Farm & Training Center Capital Campaign

Take a look at the headlines and it’s easy to feel overwhelmed–wildfires raging in winter, over a year of genocide in Gaza emboldening colonizers across the globe, oligarchs entrenching themselves in government and turning basic necessities into subscription services,  industrialized agriculture poisoning and desertifying the land, and the average global temperature in 2024 hitting 1.5C above pre-industrial levels for the first time.

While these cascading crises can seem overwhelming and out of control, we refuse to give up agency–together, we can grow healthy food and communities right here at home! 

Let’s channel our grief, apprehension, and anger into action, and build the transformative, sustainable, and radically loving communities we all deserve. For Planting Justice, that means communities based in mutual aid and solidarity, where folks are empowered to build their skills and knowledge, have access to meaningful work rooted in the land, and can grow healthy, nourishing food for all.

The Vision of PJ's Aquaponics Farm & Training Center

With most permits approved, construction has started on a 3-acre Aquaponics Farm & Training Center in Sobrante Park, Deep East Oakland, CA!

Located on the site of the historic Neishi Brothers Flower Nursery just a few hundred feet from our East Oakland Nursery on 105th, the Aquaponics Farm & Training Center will use eight different systems to grow over 180,000 lbs. of organic produce and nursery starts per year, create 20+ new green jobs, and provide the opportunity for formerly incarcerated and other people from East Oakland to participate in a paid Urban Agriculture workforce development program involving aquaponic farming, nursery management, orchard management, and culinary arts.

Right now, the crew is grading the site, installing the french drain systems, and prepping the footings for our future greenhouses. But We need YOUR help to build our three massive greenhouses, cold storage, and aqua-barn.

Help us raise $2,000,000 by May 1, 2025 so we can get our greenhouses up and start building the aquaponic systems.

In collaboration with the U.C. Davis Aquaculture Cooperative Extension, Planting Justice staff will build the eight separate aquaponics systems and start growing organic produce and nursery starts. Eventually, we will be offering paid workforce development training, as well as help people start their own worker-owned coop aquaponics farms.

Planting Justice started in 2009 with two people transforming yards using tools from the public lending library. Now PJ employs over 50 people with living wages and benefits for themselves and family members. We prioritize hiring local people who have been directly impacted by mass incarceration and other social inequities- over 2/3 of PJ staff are formerly incarcerated or family members of people currently or formerly incarcerated, and most of the East Oakland Nursery staff live in the Sobrante Park neighborhood. 

We hope to be growing thousands of pounds of organic produce in these green-houses by the end of the year, but we need your help to build them!

Let's Get Our Greenhouses Growing!

Thank you so much for your support!
We could not do this work without you.