Nuestras Raíces:
Nuestras Raíces (Our Roots) is a grassroots organization whose mission is to promote economic, human, and community development in Holyoke, Massachusetts, through projects relating to food, agriculture, and environmental protection. Nuestras Raíces’ projects build sustainable community resources and socio-economic capacity while celebrating the vibrant culture of Holyoke’s low-income Puerto Rican/Latino residents. This presentation discusses the organization’s diverse “just sustainability” initiatives including community gardens and sustainable agriculture, youth leadership and advocacy, environmental justice organizing, and local sustainable enterprise development.
Speakers:
Giovanna Di Chiro teaches environmental studies and urban ecology and is research associate at Mount Holyoke College. She has published widely on the intersections of gender, race, scientific expertise, and environmental justice. She is completing a book titled Embodied Ecologies: Science, Politics, and Environmental Justice. Di Chiro is co-founder of the Pioneer Valley Community Environmental Justice Coalition and collaborates with local organizations to conduct community-based research on environmental health disparities in the low-income communities of Western Massachusetts.
Milagros Guzmán is a Youth Environmental Organizer at Nuestras Raíces who has worked on environmental research, education, and community campaigns for over 8 years. She was recognized for her community leadership by the Holyoke Youth Task Force in 2006.
Workshop: Connecting Food, Culture, and Environmental Justice