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Book of the Month

Healing Grounds: Climate, Justice, and the Deep Roots of Regenerative Farming
Liz Carlisle

…Regenerative agriculture can only be fully realized when the entire web is repaired so that the interconnected parts can function as a whole. This means attending to a component of the farm often left out of scientific discussions: people.”

Liz Carlisle, Healing Grounds: Climate, Justice, and the Deep Roots of Regenerative Farming

No-till farming, composting, cover cropping, and rotational grazing are the techniques we associate with regenerative agriculture, a farming method that focuses on restoring ecosystem health and moving away from industrial farming techniques. But regenerative agriculture is about more than just ecology; to truly heal the land and address climate change, we must reckon with a history steeped in colonialism, displacement, and systemic racism.

In Healing Grounds, author and Professor of Environmental Studies at UC Santa Barbara, Liz Carlisle, explores the complex history of farming in the United States through the lens of four BIPOC women farmers—Indigenous, Black, Latina, and Asian American—who revive ancestral practices long suppressed by industrial agriculture. What emerges is a rich tapestry of cultural and ecological storytelling that reminds us that healing our planet goes hand-in-hand with confronting some difficult truths about our country’s past. But, in doing so, we will not only heal our planet, we can heal our communities and ourselves.

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Discussion questions:

1. In the introduction, Nikiko Masumoto says, “We are the ones that the world needs in this climate crisis… Because we have those stories, we have that sense of fighting against the impossible.” Who is the “we” that Masumoto is referring to?
2. Rare’s Lands for Life program is focused on expanding regenerative agricultural practices in Colombia, but Carlisle’s book is based in the United States. Are the lessons Carlisle shares in her book applicable to lands outside of the United States? In what ways are these lessons universal or place-based?
3. Consider the title of the book. What does “healing grounds” mean to you? How does healing in one area (i.e., colonialism) influence healing in another (i.e., soil health)?
4. Carlisle makes a considerable effort to ensure that people are prioritized in the conversations around regenerative agriculture. How can centering people in conservation movements help conservation overall?

Rare stories related to the book:

🧑🏽‍🌾  Shaping regenerative agriculture into a new social norm
🌱  Seeding Change: Growing the movement toward regenerative agriculture
🥬  New mayors network in Colombia to promote sustainable agriculture, food security