S1: It's time for KPBS Midday Edition. Today we're celebrating Earth Day. From gardens to cultural change. We're talking about the collective action , making the environment better. I'm Jade Hindman with conversations that keep you informed , inspired , and make you think. We'll hear from Ayana Elizabeth Johnson , a marine biologist and author of a book that explores optimism and solutions in the face of a grim climate outlook. Plus , learn about gardening and how you can grow your own food and indigenous led permaculture. That's ahead on Midday Edition. First the news. Earth Day invites us to pause , appreciate , and celebrate the planet we all call home. It's also a moment to talk about environmental conservation and climate solutions. Ayana Elizabeth Johnson explores those solutions in her new book , What If We Get It Right ? Visions of climate futures. She's a marine biologist , policy expert and co-founder of Urban Ocean Lab , a think tank for the future of coastal cities. She'll be celebrating the paperback launch this Friday at the Scripps Institution of Oceanography. Ayana joins me now to talk about the event and her book , What If We Get It Right ? Welcome to Midday Edition , Ayana.
S2: I'm so glad to be here with you.
S1: Glad you're here. Listen , in today's world , many of us feel hopeless about the future of our climate. But your book really takes a different approach here.
S2: But if we look around us in culture , in Hollywood , in a lot of the images we see , so much of it is apocalyptic. And of course , we are already experiencing extreme weather and worse outcomes yet are possible. But I really want people to understand that there is a chance to get it right , that we have the solutions we need from electrifying transportation and switching to renewable energy , and improving agriculture and green buildings , and protecting and restoring ecosystems like we have hundreds of climate solutions ready to go. If we can build the political will and the cultural shifts that we need to accelerate that transition.
S1: You know , that brings me to the title of your book , What If We Get It Right ? Visions of Climate Futures. I mean , that really invites us , you know , to consider a different reality , one that almost feels radical.
S2: I don't remember the moment that it clicked in my head , but I do know that once I came up with the question , I was so intimidated that I didn't know how to answer it. Like , what if we get it right ? This invitation to imagine a completely different trajectory for humanity was something that I hadn't spent enough time thinking about. I don't think any of us have really spent enough time thinking about it. Not in like , a magical Silicon Valley Jetsons way , or like a hippie commune way , but in like a realistic. What would this transformation look like if we if we charged full speed ahead with all the solutions we have at our fingertips ? And of course , you know , I came up with this title , what If we get it right ? And was so intimidated by my own question that I avoided writing the book for like two years until because the answer is so expansive and require so many different types of expertise. And so what I ended up doing was interviewing some of my dearest colleagues who I've been working with for years , or some even over a decade , who are farmers and investors and tech executives and policymakers and community organizers and architects who have worked so deeply on different elements of that answer. And so the book at its heart is 20 interviews with people who have helped me to see the way forward. And then , along with essays by me and poetry and some original art as well. So it's a bit of like a mix tape of climate solutions.
S1: I want to read an excerpt from the introduction you write. Moving forward requires that we propel each other , propel our species out of a phenomenally entrenched procrastination. We don't need more data or a more rigorous cost benefit analysis. We need to leap. Um , that's really powerful. I'm wondering if you can talk more about that. Sure.
S2: Sure. It may seem a bit odd for a scientist to be saying we don't need more data , because of course , I value that expertise and the rigor that goes into it. And it's so critical to be maintaining these long term data sets and and the work that government scientists have been doing to help us understand not just the details of the challenge , but the details of the solutions , I want that work to continue and be fully funded , but we already know what we have to do. We've known for decades , basically , that we need to sense the 70s , that we are creating this wild imbalance in the atmosphere with way too much carbon pollution , and that's throwing everything out of whack , and that our oceans are a big part of the carbon and water cycle as well , that protecting forests is critical , that ending the extraction and burning of fossil fuels is at the heart of this challenge. So the broad strokes of this are very obvious. But when I say we need to leap , it's because. There's this tendency to get so bogged down in the details that we don't do the big things that are really very obvious. Um , and I think part of the reason that people don't leave is , in fact , what al Gore told us so many years ago that that climate change is an inconvenient truth. People are hesitant to start. Think about what taking this seriously would mean for their lives. But on the cost benefit analysis side of this , it's actually cheaper to be powered by renewable energy at this point. Solar panels , plus batteries are cheap and reliable source of energy , especially when we're in the context of wars for oil that make that a very tenuous supply chain where gas prices are through the roof in California , it starts to become very clear why. Locally produced renewable energy is in fact the way forward for for many reasons. Hmm.
S1: Hmm. And that really speaks to my next question , because it's been two years since you first released this book in 2020. For now , you're out with a new version of it.
S2: We have lost something like 10,000 PhD scientists from the federal government in the last two years , which is an immense loss. Um , and , you know , it's going to be really hard to rebuild that capacity when hopefully the next administration , um , that comes in really values that expertise. Um , we don't have anyone with any emergency management experience running FEMA right now , in an era where , um , extreme weather disasters fueled by climate change are becoming more and more frequent. We know that , you know , in the 1980s , we had $1 billion weather disaster once every four months. And now it's happening once every three weeks in America. So just ignoring the realities of climate change don't make it less dangerous. And in fact , ignoring it just makes it harder to deal with later and more expensive. Um , and so we have , um , an administration that is full of climate deniers. Um , and that obviously makes it really hard to tackle this , um , tackle this challenge head on. But at the same time , the economics of renewable energy are so favorable that the vast majority of new electricity that's coming on our grid is solar , wind and batteries. Um , because the math just is in favor of these cheaper forms of energy. California obviously is a leader in that , but so are Texas and Iowa because they have so much sun and wind there , too. Um , and so I think the transition to clean energy at this point feels almost inevitable , even with the Trump administration forcing coal plants to stay open where their executives desperately want to close because they're losing money. Um , it's just a matter of how much this is going to slow us down in what is really a race against time , unfortunately , of addressing the climate crisis. Yeah.
S1: Yeah. Well , as you mentioned , this book is is really a collection of interviews with leaders across various fields about climate possibilities.
S2: Um , and they have had to sue this administration more than any other administration because of the ways that it's breaking the law. And what she said in the first interview , um , initially for the hardcover edition was that , you know , between the Clean Air Act and the Clean Water Act and the Endangered Species Act and the National Environmental Protection Act , we basically have the bedrock environmental laws we need to address the climate crisis. But as she's been watching this Republican administration burn it all to the ground , find every way they possibly can to defund um programs , to fire experts , to evade the law , that we really do actually need a climate law in the US , that we need some major updates to. Um , to to the laws that are in place through Congress to protect and restore , um , our planet. And so she and her colleagues at Earth Justice are leading something called Project Phoenix. This idea of this mythical creature that rises from the ashes. Because if this administration is going to burn our environmental management to the ground , we need to be ready to think about what we're going to rebuild when we have that opportunity. And a lot of organizations are thinking about that. On the one hand , doing the defense of protecting and preventing as much damage as we can. And on the other hand , um , being ready for when the opportunity arrives to put a better system of management in place.
S1: You know , this is this is more of a philosophical question , but like , what is your approach to staying optimistic , you know , without sort of , um , undermining the gravity of the climate crisis ? Yeah.
S2: I actually don't consider myself an optimist. I think people see the title of the book , What If we get it right and just assume that I'm a hopeful person ? But there's a question mark at the end of that title , right ? I don't know if we will get it right. I know , you know , as a scientist , I've seen , of course , the apocalyptic projections. I've I've read the papers , I've looked at the graphs. But I also understand very clearly , very grounded in that data , that there's a wide range of possible futures. And what we do as individuals and collectively as a species will determine which future we're going to get. So I'm not naive enough to believe that we're going to have a pristine planet with 8 billion people on it. And given how much fossil fuel we've already burned , how much destruction of ecosystems there's already been. But I do know we could have a much better future than the one we're currently on track for , and that with a challenge as big as the climate of our planet , and how survivable that is for our species , that it really matters if we get it more or less right. You know , I mean , I guess the secret title of the book is what if we get it as right as is still possible ? So it's not like a Pollyanna ish book at all. I'm looking the facts straight in the eye and also looking at the solutions we have , and just encouraging people to find their role , roll up their sleeves and see how close to right we can still get. Yeah.
S1: Yeah. I mean , do you think like that ? That works in terms obviously it works in terms of sort of motivating people , but sometimes it seems like , you know , you have to show apocalyptic images or fear sometimes to motivate people to do things. Um , so what do you think is more powerful here ? You know , joy and optimism or like fear and , you know , apocalyptic despair here.
S2: I guess I would say it seems like a false choice. We don't. I mean , we need all forms of communication. We have plenty of the apocalyptic stuff , I would argue. And this book was an attempt to balance that out with some of the focus on solutions , so that people have a really grounded understanding of possibilities of the transformations that are needed. So I don't think there's a need to sugarcoat anything , but at the same time that these terrible things are happening and worse things may be coming , it is factually also true that we have essentially all the solutions we need. And so we can hold both of those truths at the same time. And my concern is that if people only see the apocalyptic stuff , or they only see cutesy little solutions that seem like they're not going to scale or make a difference. That's when you despair. But when you have more of a roadmap , when you understand both the stakes and the opportunities , you can start to see yourself , hopefully as part of the solution. When you get to hear from all these experts who are transforming agriculture and our legal system , um , and doing the community organizing and changing the way we design landscapes and buildings , you see that it's tangibly like concretely , there are all these opportunities for for change. Um , and I think that's what's been missing , not some sort of fantasy future where everything is magically okay. Um , and we have plenty of the apocalypse , but Hollywood and pop culture , I think , have really failed us on showing realistic versions of the future where we implement the solutions we already have. Um , so , I mean , the facts are depressing , and I , I'm not particularly a hopeful person. I think humanity has shown itself to not be able to collaborate necessarily always , and get its act together and value everyone's contributions. Right. I understand how much of a challenge we have ahead of us , but I also know that this is not win or lose. It's not like we're gonna either complete the challenge and completely solve the climate crisis or be completely doomed. There's this broad spectrum of possible future. I like to think of it as like 0 to 100 , and the difference between getting a D on this test as a species and getting a B plus is like hundreds of millions of lives. And so it really matters that we make as much progress as we possibly can. So I just try to encourage people to look past the , um , the false binary of , of a future where we either , you know , succeed or fail wholesale.
S1: That really gets to the importance of that cultural shift that you spoke about earlier , in terms of getting to some of the solutions. Um , before I let you go , I want to talk about the event happening this Friday at the Scripps Institution of Oceanography. You'll be celebrating. Modern.
S2: Modern. Yes.
S1: Yes. You're going to be celebrating the paperback launch of your book. So , I mean , it is your alma mater.
S2: I'm only spending a bunch of time with the current graduate students. My PhD dissertation committee will be grilling me on what I've done in the last 15 years since I graduated , and we're throwing a climate dance party at the Birch Aquarium. Um , there are a few tickets left if people want to join us on Friday evening as the sun sets over the Pacific. Um , partnering with DJ's for Climate Action to bring the tunes to keep us dancing. But really the idea is to show that we can take climate change seriously without taking ourselves seriously. Right. Like. And in fact , we have to , I would argue , if we're going to stay in this work for the long haul. So I've been hosting these around the country to bring in local organizations that are working on solutions that people could get involved with. Um , to have neighbors meet each other and see if there are ways they might collaborate. Um , instead of name tags that say people's names , we have name tags that say my favorite climate solution is so people can collect , connect over the things that they're passionate about , and climate anxiety for people who are engaged and just so worried about the future is very high. And so I also was just like , let's have a party , let's shake off some of that anxiety and renew ourselves , um , for the work that we have to be dedicated to. That's ahead of. Us.
S1: Us. Yeah. What a fun way to pull people in. I love that I've been speaking with Ayana Elizabeth Johnson. She's a marine biologist , policy expert , and author of What If We Get It Right ? Visions of Climate Futures. She'll be celebrating the paperback launch this Friday at the Scripps Institution of Oceanography for a climate dance party. Details are on our website , KPBS. Ayana , thank you so much.
S2: Thank you. See you on the dance floor.
S3: See you there.
S4: Still to come learn about community.
S1: Gardening and.
S4: Growing your own food.
S1: KPBS Midday Edition. Returns.
S4: Returns.
S1: Welcome back. I'm Jade Hindman , and you're listening to KPBS Midday Edition. Earth day is about protecting the environment and teaching the next generation about the part they can play. Well , one local organization that's putting that front and center is Olive Wood Gardens and Learning Center in National City. They're a teaching garden focused on nourishing the community and cultivating a love for the environment at all ages. I'm joined now by Maya Tortola , an environmental education specialist at Olive wood. Maya , welcome.
S5: Hi , Jade. Thank you for having me.
S1: Glad to have you here in studio. Also with us is Birdy Rivera Almanza. She's a gardening and nutrition education expert. Birdie. Welcome to you too.
S6: Thank you so much.
S1: So my first question here is for both of you. Give us some of the background on what olive wood is and how you got involved. Maya , I'll start with you. Sure.
S5: Sure. Olive Wood Gardens and Learning Center is a beautiful organization in National City. It's really cool. We do a lot of education things. We have kids come to the garden. They do education , um , field trips. Um , we focus on nutrition , environment and health. Um , yeah. Awesome.
S1: Awesome. Maya , what about you or.
S6: Actually , I went to tour it for the first time , and I saw the space , and I just fell in love with a full garden in a neighborhood community like that. Um , and it was just so amazing the work that's being done from all the way. TK to even senior citizens get to enjoy the space , so it's really special.
S1: That's great. Well , my , you teach classes about the environment and way students can protect it. Talk talk more about those lessons. What does what does that look like ? Yeah.
S5: So we offer four lessons throughout the year to all ten schools in National City. Um , those lessons are , uh , environmental based , nutrition based garden science and Steam , which is science , technology , engineering and math. Um , like I mentioned that all the kids get all four of those lessons , and we're in the garden. We're learning things. We're learning about , you know , plants , we're learning about animals , um , nature systems , things like that. And then we go into the garden and they get to plant seeds , they get to grow their own food. They get to see the progression of that food growing in the garden. They get to water. There's a lot of really cool things. There's , um , it's just a beautiful to see.
S1: Yeah , that's really cool.
S5: It's only during the school day. Um , which is really fun.
S1: Okay , well , birdie , you also run. You run the after school programs and hydroponics gardens at each of the schools.
S6: Hydroponics is the ability to grow plants just using water. And so at each school we have a hydroponic tower that was , um , gotten through or it was received through a grant. And it is just an a wonderful way to grow food very quickly , also because it cuts the time that you would normally have to do if you were a planting in the soil. And , um , yeah , it's just an amazing system. It it's fully enclosed. It can be indoors and it has a light tower that acts as the sun. So the kids get to learn that kind of different style of gardening that maybe they could do at home with a smaller system.
S1:
S6: You don't have to like , uproot the soil or do any kind of big transformation you can just have. I grow things in pots in my house and just I've reused things a lot to grow them with water. Yeah.
S1: Yeah.
S7:
S5: I feel like access is really difficult. These units are super expensive. Um , it's kind of a learning curve. Yeah , it really should be something that we start implementing all around because everyone is kind of moving into bigger cities. Um , we are , you know , living in apartments. Not a lot of people have the land to grow their own food. But if we start using hydroponics units , um , we can definitely do that.
S1: Yeah , that sounds like a good thing to do. Um , so walk me through a gardening lesson. I mean , what hand on , hands on skills are these kids learning ? Sure.
S5: So actually , today I had a gardening lesson right before I got here. It was our environmental lesson for first grade , which was all about the plant life cycle. So I started in the classroom today. We read a book , a story , because we were celebrating Earth Day about the desert. Since we live here in San Diego , we live kind of in a coastal desert area. So we wrote a book about the desert. Um , the kids really love learning about their own environment. Um , and after that , we did a little worksheet. We , uh , got to draw the plant life cycle from seed to fruit. We talked about what a life cycle is and connected it to their own human life cycle. Um , and after that , we headed to the garden. We got to water , we planted some seeds , and we saw that life cycle happening in real time.
S1: That's excellent. Uh , birdie.
S6: They love to just grab a little piece of basil or cilantro and eat it straight from the garden. The ability to see something , grow the full process and be a part of it. I think what they're most excited about is getting to eat it afterwards is the reward of , oh , I grew this plant and now I get to enjoy.
S1: It , you know , is that I feel like that's a great way to get kids to eat more vegetables. So true. And , you know , expanding their little palates. Yes , absolutely. Um , well , you also teach about , you know , nutrition.
S5: Um , I'm not sure if those specific questions come up with the kids , but we are kind of giving them the tools and the power if they're empowering themselves to go out and maybe grow their own food. Talk to their parents. Talk to their communities. Go out and grow their own food. Start their own gardens , and really understand the processes it takes to get that food from the farm to the grocery store to their plates. Mhm.
S1: Mhm. And Maya or I mean birdie.
S6: Um , I think a lot of the times the kids really enjoy the process and when they get to see the food that they've grown themselves and cook it. We do a lot of recipes with what we grow. This week we're doing cauliflower ceviche , which a lot of kids , they know ceviche traditionally , but we're doing it with a lot of vegetables and adding all those extra seasonings to give it that flavor. And they are always amazed when they love the taste of , you know , tomato and onion in a way that they've never tried it before. Yeah.
S1: Yeah. Well , and you grew up in Puerto Rico and that's informed your approach to food and giving back to the community. Talk a bit about that burden. Totally.
S6: Totally. I think I grew up in a very abundant place where there was just fruit , food growing everywhere and fruit growing from trees , and I remember just driving around and if I would see an avocado tree getting out of my car to ask someone if I could grab a couple avocados , and that just being part of the community sense of if it's mine , it's yours , and if it's growing out , it's for everybody. Um , and I always try to instill that in the kids when I teach them about food and how it should be something that is connecting and not something that is hoarded. It should be for everyone. And if they're learning how to grow food , that means they can feed their entire community with that.
S1: That's a cultural shift , because on the next door neighbor app that I see , people get really upset when folks hop out the car and take an orange off the tree.
S6: I had to learn that the hard way. Moving to this country , I was like , oh , I can't just grab something. I see because it's on the sidewalk , Right.
S1: They really do. Hoard. Hoard the food.
S5: I think it's really , um , an important point , um , talking about where you came from , seeing that there was a lot of food around Puerto Rico here. Like you mentioned , we do have a lot of food , but it's kind of difficult knowing whether or not you can grab those things. But at Olive Wood Gardens , we have trees. We have fruit trees all over the place. And when we have our field trips come because we also have field trips. Our education doesn't just stop in the schools. We have field trips. Um , at on site all of wood gardens and learning center. And when the kids are there , they get a big tour of the garden and they get to see all of the fruit growing , not just in the garden beds , but also around in the trees. And as we walk , as we do our tours , they get an opportunity to pick all of these different trees. We have. You know , here in San Diego a lot of things grow like loquat , mulberries , and the kids get an opportunity to taste all of them. Wow.
S1: Wow.
S5: And the reality is that gardening is a skill , it's a science , and it's something that you have to develop. You have to build that skill. And everyone has a green thumb when you put an effort into it.
S6: I agree , I think my mom is an example of someone who never gardened. She really didn't see the value in it , even though I've always been trying to tell her to garden more. And I started by just buying her a couple plants so that she could have in her home , and now she has a full garden outside of her house that she's made from scratch , and she was a person that believed she could never garden , and she just did the research , looked it up online. There's so much free information. There's workshops that you can go to if you're interested in it. And honestly , just starting with one plant is what I would recommend to anyone. Start with one. I have kids that they have tomato plants at home and they're so excited to tell me about their tomato plants. So it's just it's a very connecting , um , activity to do. And I feel like the more people get involved and even the , a community garden that they might go to , it would be a big like it just helps your mood even. Right ? Yeah.
S1: It's good for your mind , body and soul. Absolutely right. Okay , well , I want to talk about some practical gardening advice here.
S5: Do you want to take it , Bertie ? Yes.
S6: I think right now is a great time to be growing. Um , tomatoes ? Absolutely.
S5: Tomatoes. A warm season plant. So , Olive , would we like to grow all of our , uh , produce within season ? So , um , there are two main seasons that we grow that produce. Um , and if you're doing gardening at home , you should definitely be working in the warm season right now. Growing your tomatoes , your bigger fruits , your squash , um , peppers , things like that.
S1: And you know , if you've got a small garden , um , where can you set up or a small space , I should say.
S6: That's a good spot where you could put herbs. I've started growing green onion just in a little jar. Um , or. Well , I started from a plant and then transplanted it into a jar with water , and , um , they're growing perfectly. I would recommend that if you start with a small herb that you trim it at the bottom so that it'll regenerate and keep growing more endlessly. That's a very , um , like , economical way to continue having food. Yeah.
S5: Yeah. You're going to want to find that south facing window at your house that's going to get the most sun , and you can really grow anything there. Yeah.
S1: Yeah. I feel like , you know , my social media gets hit with these advertisements for the hydroponic towers , things like that. Is it worth it to buy something like that for inside your home or.
S7: No , I think for personal.
S6: Use , unless it's like a passion that you're really gonna , you know , put all your effort into. Um , you don't really need to go that extreme. I think you can. There's a lot of people online , on YouTube specifically that I've gotten a lot of tips from that do DIY hydroponic , um , just little systems with Home Depot buckets even. Yeah. Um , and all you need is , like , something for it to the , like , water to move through. You don't even need a pump. Um , it's it's honestly marvelous. The you can go down to the grain and do it so simply. And it doesn't have to be expensive if you're willing to put a little effort into it. Yeah.
S7: Yeah.
S1:
S5: I think the most important thing to do is to get outside with those kids , to let them see nature , to let them be a part of it. Um , and really feel , um , yeah. The the wind on their skin. The sun on their face. Yeah.
S6: And at Olive wood , we have , um , on Saturdays we'll have a , um , program called Garden Explorers. So that is a weekend program that we offer , and , uh , kids can come , and if they're excited and interested about gardening , they can come and see what the garden is like. And they do a couple activities like planting or watering. And then we also have a program called Pals and Smalls where parents can come with their smaller child. They're like mostly like pre-K , toddler age. And then that's another way where they can experience it together. And we also have open gardens on the second Saturday of every month. And then families can come and tour the full garden and see everything and ask as many questions as they want about gardening themselves.
S5: And one of our biggest events coming up actually is spring day camp. Um , a summer day camps are coming up for the kids all around San Diego. It's open to ages , kindergarten to sixth grade. That's going to be going on through , uh , from June 15th through July 13th. And you can sign your kids up and get them engaged in nature. Um , and the garden.
S1: Oh , that is all so wonderful. Uh , and , of course , we'll have all that information on our website , KPBS. I've been speaking with Maya to Tula environmental education specialist and Bertie Rivera Almanza , gardening and nutrition education specialist. If you want to learn more about Olive gardens again , we'll link to their page and other resources on our website , KPBS. Verde and Maya , thank you so much and happy birthday.
S7: Thank you for having us.
S5: Happy birthday.
S1: Up next here about indigenous led permaculture. KPBS Midday Edition returns after the break. Welcome back to KPBS midday Edition. I'm Jade Hindman. For tens of thousands of years , indigenous communities have treated nature like a relative. You know , something to protect , not exploit. In fact , indigenous wisdom is foundational to many conservation strategies , from controlled burns to resource management. While the Red Earth Movement is a San Diego based organization. Drawing on that wisdom , their goal is to promote sustainability and land stewardship through education. I'm joined now by Adam Uribe. He is an indigenous permaculture , permaculture and founder of Red Earth Movement. Adam , welcome.
S8: Thank you. It's an honor to be here.
S1: Well , it's an honor to have you here.
S8: The first thing is , is we don't , like , consider ourselves separate from nature. Mother nature is our mother. And so everything we receive is from Mother Earth. And so we're part of Mother Earth. And so when we go in and Tend and harvest and hunt and gather and do these things. It's , um. We take what we need. We don't , you know , over extract and , you know , dishonor or disrespect , poison or anything of the sort. We always keep our future generations in mind and heart and thought and everything we do. So there's plenty for the future generations to come and leaving it better than we found it. If you. If you can imagine that. Mm.
S1: Mm. No. That's great.
S8: I mean , and and one more thing is we also keep our ancestors in mind too. So we're like , like past , present and future simultaneously right here. And that's that's where we where we're where our base is from is when , when we think of indigenous permaculture.
S1:
S8: It's going to be there for a long time , and it's going to it's going to actually be the way I like to look at it too , is it's in harmony with the way the water flows and the way the mountain grows and everything else is , is like in a , in a symbiotic relationship. And another way of thinking as indigenous permaculture is , uh , we are are like a keystone species in that relationship there. Yeah.
S1: Yeah. Well , and that leads me to my next question , because your movement , Red Earth movement , um , the vision there is a world where humans exist as respectful participants in Earth's living system.
S8: Uh , we're not really in in that in that respectful relationship in Earth's living systems. You know , we share this Earth with the plants , animals and insects , the mountains of valleys , the oceans , the springs , the rivers , the lakes. And now here we are today , 2026. On Earth Day , we celebrate one day a year. Every day is Earth Day , you know. And every day is a day to be aware and how we treat and reflect with this earth. And so I think it just , um , it's how it is that we , like , perceive it from the inside of ourselves so that we can reflect it on the outside of ourselves and our actions. Mhm. And how it is that we treat the water , how it is it we treat the air , how it is that we treat , you know , the earth , you know , how does it we respect fire. And then along with that one another.
S1: Right ? Well , you know , I really like what you said. Earth day is every day. I mean , go ahead and say that for the people in the back. Adam. I mean , so many people need to hear that. Um , listen. Yeah , well , at Red Earth Movement , you you also run the Seed to Spirit program , which teaches people how to create a thriving garden or farm within their community. Uh , there's a detailed curriculum there , from soil health to community resilience.
S8: Thanks for answering that. Well , I mean , it kind of goes back to a little story from my personal self. You know , um , my dad was a was a traditional farmer , and , uh , he did things all natural , just just the way his grandpa and and so forth. So , you know , so far back until now. And , you know , it was back when I was younger. It wasn't the cool thing to be doing. And I wanted to , you know , go to town and hang out and get a job at a gas station or something. You know what I mean ? I didn't want to be up there just doing that. You know , it was. It was hard. It was hard work and and and things like that. And he told me he's like , go ahead , go , go on down there and do what you want to do. You're going to end up back here in the garden. And , uh , you know , I did. I went down there , I ended up getting sick and , you know , and and pretty soon I was just sick and tired of being sick and tired. And so we needed to plant those things that , you know , that we grow , that some of these things you can't buy in the store because it's it's it's it's it's fresh. It's picked right there. It's fully full of nutrients and mineral rich , uh , nutritional density that you don't get in the store because some of these stores has traveled hundreds or even thousands of miles across the , you know , the oceans or seas and , and and by the time it gets to the , to the shelter and it gets to your plate , it's It's a lot of it's , it's , you know , potency. And so I went ahead and , and um , started doing it myself. And there was a story , uh , my dad told me , he's like , you know , right now you're going to do this for me. I want to show you how to do these things. I want to show you how to tend to the earth. I'm going to show you how to tend to these plants. I'm going to show you how to do it in a way that it's going to be , um , producing good food for the people. Someday you're going to do it for yourself. You might have a family , but then someday you might even do it for the people. And so now I'm , I'm , I'm , I'm at that point where I'm doing it for the people and , and I'm working with youth because , um , you know , I don't want them to go through that. I want them to be able to , uh , realize and and see and taste and feel what it is to be , uh , healthy , what it is to be happy , what it is to have a place where you belong , a place that's safe. You know , the garden is safe. There's I mean , and when we say safe , it's like some of these public parks you go to. You can't take your shoes off and walk around. It's all sprayed with roundup. And all these pesticides and herbicides is dangerous. You know you're going to soak it up to your feet. Right.
S1: Right. Well , that's what I was going to say.
S8: I was , you know.
S1: Yeah , I was surprised to see in , you know , this recent report , uh , how many of our fruits and vegetables have these forever chemicals in them , you know ? Um , right. Yeah. So being able to grow your own food and , you know , how it was grown and , um , you know , what kind of nutritional benefit it has in it. That's great. Um , tell me this.
S8: This is , you know , and and learning and understanding that this Mother Earth here , And maybe some people don't have children. Maybe some people just believe it's just a resource to be , um , you know , just take and take and taken. But what we really need to realize is not just the resource is the source. And also , you know , it's it's the ability to share. It's the ability to have love and respect for all life. And , um , you know , that's where that's where , you know , our our little program that we're doing is , you know , we create this place of belonging and , and the belonging should be , you know , felt in our heart , our bodies , our spirits , our minds , everything. Wherever we go , we should be safe. It should be healthy. It should be vibrant. And there's things to learn here on this earth. Things not to do , things to do. Understanding the seasons and moons , the days and how we do what we do when we do. And , uh , you know , in unity and there's a lot of diversity , there's a lot of diversity in nature. And so how to get along together. You know we always use that that that concept. Even the three sisters , you know they they they rely on each other. Right. They rely on each other to grow and thrive.
S1: Well , Adam , I'm so glad you came on today to to break that down and really educate our audience. I've been speaking with Adam Uribe , founder of Red Earth Movement. You can find more information about the group and their Seed to Spirit program at KPBS. Adam. Thanks again.
S8: Have a great day.
S1: You too. Happy earth day. All right. Well , thank you for joining us today. If you missed anything , you can download KPBS Midday Edition on all podcast apps. Don't forget to watch Evening Edition tonight at five for in-depth reporting on San Diego issues. I'm Jade Hindman. Join me again tomorrow. Until then. Make it a great day on purpose , everyone.
