Regional Cultures of Conservation
Return to main program pageThe Spirit of Agriculture (”Civitas in Horto”: Citizenship in the Garden)
Rationale
Urban areas are essential to the larger ecological landscape, a reality made more relevant by knowing that 80% of the United States’ population presently lives in cities. However, agribusiness continues to dominate in the Chicago region and the Midwest. In the midst of rising health and sustainability concerns regarding industrial food production, urban agriculture has experienced a revival of interest as a means of urban renewal but it remains a movement at the margins of business-as-usual.
Arguably, alternative food cultures are failing to reach their full potential and influence because they too often rely on instrumental arguments concerning the economic or public health benefits of local agricultures, while neglecting how food concerns are necessarily situated within a broader moral vision of engaged citizenship. Ron Engel points out that though “Urbs in Horto” (City in the Garden) became Chicago’s motto, “Civitas in Horto” (Citizenship in the Garden) provides a more appropriate vision for the social responsibilities of humans to the natural and ecological commonwealth. This project takes up this challenging vision, seeking to examine and foster the moral grounds on which local agricultures may be effectively linked to regional conservation efforts.
History and Partners
CHN recognizes the vital importance of both voluntary citizen groups that are motivated by ethical commitments as well as the public impact of faith-based initiatives in generating environmental care and concern. The ethics of eating mindfully, issues related to just access and distribution of food, and the potential for creating dialogue about land conservation and linkages find common grounds, literally and figuratively, in urban agriculture initiatives. CHN seeks to collaborate with these groups to achieve common conservation goals based on a robust, place-based understanding of “civic agriculture.”
Perhaps one of the most accessible and fundamental ways to cultivate a culture of ecological and social responsibility in and beyond city limits is through the cultivation of food. As Laura DeLind remarks, “Civic agriculture must be about soil and building soil, not only as a medium within which to grow good food, but also as a medium and marker of sacred places – places that tie us to our past, our present, and our future.” A deeper sense of citizenship, based on a more expansive and integrative understanding of place and social obligation, can form the basis of powerful counter-narratives to exclusively market-oriented discourses. What evidence is there that community-oriented agricultural activities lead to a deeper sense of inhabitation and civic engagement, a desire to conserve and work with public space, and a commitment to deliberate and interact with others for the long-term well-being of our communities? What historic, spiritual, and religious sources do people draw from to articulate their views of agricultural practices in relation to the larger land community, and can these sources of value lead to shared responsibilities across landscapes?
Goals and Strategies
In order to engage these questions, this project seeks to collect, analyze, and highlight the powerful metaphors, narratives, and practices that sustain and enliven various community-based agricultural efforts as part of a larger social obligation. A major strategy of the project is conducting interviews with selected leaders and citizen-activists by collecting the stories and identifying the struggles of those who are actively linking agricultural and ecological concerns. Possibilities for disseminating this information to the public may include partnering with documentary film groups; using interviews for radio or podcast features; and making these stories available through the CHN website. Academic papers will be considered for publication in the Center for Humans and Nature’s online journal, Minding Nature, as well as other venues. In order to further the mutual learning between CHN and our partners, a likely final goal of the project will be to construct a summary report, and make this document accessible to neighborhood groups, conservation organizations, and other interested parties. By sharing these commitments and stories publicly, in both academic and popular contexts, we believe that communities can learn from one another’s efforts and draw inspiration and common cause for strategic conservation partnerships.
What’s Next
In 2011, three sites were chosen for research: the “farm-centered community development” Prairie Crossing, in Grayslake, Illinois; the Academy for Global Citizenship, a charter school in southwest Chicago; and Experimental Station (61st Street Farmers Market) on Chicago’s south side. A summary of findings and reflections about these three sites was published here. Further visits to exemplary and emerging urban and civic agricultural sites are planned for 2012. The likely thematic focus for the coming year will be faith-based community agriculture. In 2013, the thematic focus will be on the linkages between rural and urban communities.
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