TONGVA LIVING HISTORY GARDEN
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Claremont
College
Partnerships
In Spring, 2016, with the help of Barbara Drake and Scott Scoggins, the Grandmother Garden was created at the Pomona Organic Farm. We have dedicated this part of the Farm to highlighting plants native to Southern California that are significant to tribes of this area, such as the Tongva, Ohlone, and Serrano.
The space in intended for students and community members to access information on indigenous plants and histories. We have almost two dozen plants and hope to continue planting, as well as saving seeds and propagating the existing plants.
Upcoming projects will include establishing informational signs for the garden with histories of our area and of the plants properties and uses.
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All are welcome to the space -- the garden is located at the Pomona Organic Farm (Off of first street and amherst in Claremont) and the gates are open from 9am-6pm!
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Explore the plants of the Grandmother Garden here!
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For more information, contact Jessie at
PITZER COLLEGE INDEPENDENT STUDY:
SOUTHERN CALIFORNIA NATIVE PLANT FOOD PRACTICES
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Southern California Native Plant Food Practices was the pre-cursor course for a First Year Seminar that Professor Joe Parker will be teaching this upcoming Fall semester at Pitzer College.
Over the course of the semester, seven students from Pitzer College partook in a group independent study dedicated to exploring Southern Californian native plant food practices. Guided by local Tongva Elder, Barbara Drake, we engaged with what it means to truly respect and honour the land, and what constitutes living sustainably. Our coursework primarily consisted of being exposed to the indigenous practices of the Tongva People, whose land we are so graciously hosted upon, by means of literature, the oral passing of traditional knowledge, and physical, hands-on engagement with the plants (including harvesting and cooking).
The course was created as a means to challenge our euro-centric perspective and engage in the decolonization of our own practices. Each aspect of the class was actively thoughtful in reshaping our narrative, thinking consciously about moving from capitalistic mindset to alternative giving and trading economies, reverting back to the basis of life- tending to the earth with a mindful step and loving touch.
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Those of us from the class who are not graduating hope to continue our work, perhaps with a greater focus on monitoring the seasonal changes and stages of the indigenous plants in our area.
A website including many of our learnings can be accessed through this domain:
http://claremontnativeplants.weebly.com/
If you have any questions regarding the course, what type of practices we partook in, or how to get involved with the future tending native plants in the Claremont area, please feel free to reach out to
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