Brazilian activist Chico Mendes famously said that “Environmentalism without class struggle is just gardening.” His quote is often used to highlight the necessity for intersectionality within climate activism, so that environmental movements truly fight for intersectional climate justice.
However, it also underestimates the radical power of gardening. What happens when you mix gardening with both class and queer struggles? Spaces like TopSoil emerge.
In April 2023, TopSoil began as a safe space for the queer folk of , to come together in community and garden. Sounds simple when put like that.
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Top soil is nothing without its substrate.
No amount of gardening will save life from global warming. Billions have already been paid for drought, Canada lost 80 billion trees to climate heat in 30 months.
Socialists have to STOP burning carbon, receding democracies must end oil, French speaking countries, former communist lands must, emerging powerhouses of mixed economy must END burning carbon, or life ends on earth.
I’m sorry Chico Mendes doesnt understand this. He should be told.
Gardening is community-building praxis. It enables us to feed our neighbors, teach people to appreciate nature, and creates opportunities to discuss topics that would otherwise cause some to tune us out. The climate crisis, food insecurity, class struggle, community resilience, and so many other topics become incredibly more palatable to a wider audience when viewed and discussed through the lens of gardening. Is it the only thing we should be doing? No, of course not, but it empowers us to grow so much more than just plants.
Gardening isnt “just” anything.
I’m not entirely sure how to parse your reply, but, reading charitably, I think we agree. Gardening is dozens of different disciplines with as many approaches as there are gardeners, with scores of benefits for everyone who practices it.
The original post was about a wonderful.man who fights for poor folks explaining its all tied together, climate poverty racism, but used the phrase “just gardening”
Gardening is never just gardening, its NOT merely anything, and the priority of replacing carbon burned energy is not debatable.
Climate collapse is a plastic bag over our head.
Thanks for your insight.
#climate
And capitalists need to stop being the worst offenders.
