What is a Climate Victory Garden?

By Sonja Hansen

The world is witnessing a deterioration of our soil health, crumbling biodiversity and food security at the hand of industrial agriculture. Not to mention, the agricultural sector is one of the largest emitters of greenhouse gases (GHGs). As the dangers posed by the climate crisis grow, local agricultural projects can also play a role in supporting a green and just future.

What is a Climate Victory Garden?

A climate victory garden is often built on regenerative agriculture practices – methods that have been implemented by Indigenous peoples for thousands of years. They support living systems in multi-faceted ways outlined below.

• When climate victory gardens support the propagation of native plants, they can ameliorate habitat fragmentation and protect pollinator biodiversity. In 2012, there were almost 150,000 certified wildlife habitats across the US, amounting to 300,000 acres of habitat, according to the National Wildlife Foundation. Many of these habitats come in the form of gardens.
• The urban heat island effect refers to the conditions that make cities 10° F hotter on average compared to surrounding areas. By replacing heat-absorbing materials, like asphalt and concrete, with shade-producing vegetation, cities can remedy this issue and reduce heat-induced diseases.
• Regenerative practices improve carbon sequestration, soil biodiversity, water quality, crop yields.
• Climate victory gardens also work as a community organizing tool as they gather people of many backgrounds and ages in climate work.

Addressing the History of Victory Gardens

In 1943, approximately 20 million US households grew their own food in response to the Second World War. Family gardens produced  40 percent of the fresh produce eaten by US residents that year, according to the Smithsonian.

At the same time, this movement has been criticized due to its links with the military and the racist and illegal seizure of land from Japanese Americans . Furthermore, corporate advertising  shifted consumer preference back to packaged meals and almost ensured that there would be no long-term shift in the food system.

So how can victory gardens be improved and acknowledge intersecting harmful legacies? Storehouses of Indigenous traditional ecological knowledge, like those offered by the Canada-based Conservation through Reconciliation Partnership Project, have guided gardeners in selecting native plants and changing their stewardship practices. Additionally, Green America has compiled resources to increase the accessibility of starter climate victory gardens while following guidance set by Project Drawdown. Their map of climate victory gardens enables folks to locate a nearby community or school garden.

Today, climate victory gardens can manifest in a variety of forms and functions:

• The Black/Land Project has conducted interviews with Black gardeners and farmers, reconnecting them to a variety of Southern urban and rural landscapes.
• The City of Cupertino hosted a program for multi-family residents and non-profits to receive expert assistance on the installation of climate victory gardens.
• To overcome isolation and encourage social connectedness, four neighbors in West Oakland tore down their fences to create a commonly shared gardening and gathering space.
• The Florence Fang Community Farm, based in Bayview-Hunters Point, serves as a garden for all San Franciscans to improve food security and economic opportunity.

Large-scale and Sustainable Impact

These issues can and should be addressed on a larger scale through changes in urban planning and food systems. While gardening engages at the individual or local level, systemic action is what creates lasting change.

And within the US, thanks to new legislation like the Inflation Reduction Act (IRA), enacting regenerative and clean energy projects for agricultural operations is becoming more and more feasible every day.

Urban & Community Forestry Inflation Reduction Act Grants are currently offering $1 billion to community-based organizations, Tribes, municipal and state governments, nonprofit partners, universities, and other eligible entities to increase equitable access to the urban tree canopy and support underserved rural and urban communities.

Join The Climate Reality Project to discover more ways in which you and your community can take advantage of the cost-saving opportunities offered in the IRA. Sign up for our email list today!