Literacy for Environmental Justice
Spring 2021 — February Community Partnership
EthiCAL Apparel is proud to feature Literacy for Environmental Justice (LEJ) as our first community partnership under this semester’s theme of Empowering Youth Leaders! 60% of our profits for the month of February, or $300, were donated to support LEJ’s community garden and nursery expansion project. Keep reading to learn more about LEJ from an Eco-Apprentice’s perspective!
Literacy for Environmental Justice (LEJ) is a non-profit youth development organization in Bayview Hunters Point that works to address environmental justice issues in San Francisco with two native plant nurseries, ecological restoration projects, youth outdoor education, and green job training. To learn more about LEJ, EthiCAL met with local Eco-Apprentices to discuss their work with environmental stewardship and youth empowerment. Currently, Eco-Apprentices work in the nursery and on restoration days at Candlestick Point State Recreation Area where they prepare areas for planting, plant native plants, and remove invasive species. Fun fact: they’re known as the Candlestick Park Eco-Stewards and have done over 2,500 plantings there!
The experience of being an Eco-Apprentice is extremely rewarding. Nina Omomo says, “My favorite part about working with LEJ is seeing the progression of the work we do. We do every piece of the chain from growing our plants to planting them to doing the restoration. Even if it doesn’t look great at first, we can always come back the next season and tell the difference and see all the work that we did. We all do a little piece of the work, but it always ends up being really big and beautiful!” In addition to the amazing work they do, there’s also a great community within LEJ! Chantelle Hernandez says, “My favorite part about working with LEJ is training. Watching everyone’s needs and supporting them is important — it’s not only plants that are important, but it’s also about taking care of people and yourself!”
Currently, LEJ is working on a nursery expansion at Candlestick Park. Alex Velasco is excited for the project: “The garden is increasing by almost 60 percent in size and that would allow for significantly more garden boxes, which are boxes that people who live in Bayview can rent to plant whatever they want, like tomatoes, potatoes — all the toes! More people are going to be able to use the space and it’ll hopefully bring more happy faces to the community.”
Through different lived experiences, environmental justice means something different to everyone. For Azucena Salas, environmental justice is about facing injustices in general: “I grew up poor in a predominantly brown community, so having to see the injustices that humans face that they should not have to face was a great way for me to get my opening into how injustices are incorporated into environmental justice. One thing that I have taken after working with environmental justice is learning to decolonize your mind. If people can’t see the injustices that have happened for centuries, it’s harder for people to understand what’s going on today and empathize with people that are facing injustices, whether it’s poverty, racial oppression, or taking away someone’s land or language.”
Many Eco-Apprentices got involved with LEJ and environmental justice as youth. Their advice for youth looking to get involved: use the power of the internet! Mandy Huntress says, “It all just starts with the question ‘What are you curious about?’ Nowadays, a good chunk of us have access to the Internet, so looking up different things you can do is a good way to get involved. Youth don’t necessarily have to go to an organized institute like a nonprofit to make a difference.”
Whether you’re just starting out in environmental justice or are already an actively involved community member, Literacy for Environmental Justice has so many opportunities for you to get involved!
To stay updated with Literacy for Environmental Justice’s latest work, keep up with their platforms here:
Author: Emily Su | Editors: Vivian Kuang and Smera Patil | Graphics: Natalie Chu | Team: Social Good
