Thank you Kids 4 Freedom and Justice!

This Sunday we had our monthly land tending day in Big Tujunga. It was a beautiful day, and made even more special thank you for the great youth and adult volunteers from Kids 4 Freedom and Justice. We removed more invasive species and added buckwheat seeds to help build up the native seeds bank, while wishing the seeds to awaken when they are ready and the time is right. We also removed invasive grasses from underneath the grandmother oak. And we watered and weeded the oaks and black walnuts that we have planted in the area. The volunteers also got to meet elder Tina Calderon, one of ST Forward's Indigenous advisors, who has been guiding a lot of our land tending work. Tina shared stories, songs, and so much wisdom about reciprocity and interconnectedness. She reminded us that nature is kin. We are the land and the land is us. We are not separate.

We were so grateful for Kids 4 Freedom and Justice's visit and we hope to see them again soon!

We are also grateful to Nelly Luboff and Gerardo Barrientos for joining us. They are members of the Sunland-Tujunga Beautification Committee and haven been leading a lots of land tending efforts in Big Tujunga and throughout our community.