We wanted to start off this newsletter with one last huge THANK YOU for the incredible support you've shown us in 2025, and over the past 17 years, as we have worked to build replicable and scalable solutions to the interconnected and systemic injustices we face. We often hear about different types of justice work: environmental justice, criminal justice, immigration justice, food justice. But as folks have said before, and as the first weeks of 2026 have shown so clearly, there are no separate fields of justice work. Justice work is justice work. It is all connected and vitally important, whatever thread you find yourself working on. Now is the time to come together, go beyond superficial gestures, and find our place in collaborative and transformative resistance to fascism, repression, and ongoing state-sanctioned violence that has been happening on this land for hundreds of years.

All of this work is encapsulated with one word: abolition. This word connects us to freedom and justice movements of the past, asks us to radically reflect on the ways the prison industrial complex of today is a continuation and extension of chattel slavery in the United States. It pushes us to consider the ways racialized and carceral thinking shows up in all aspects of our society, from the institutional on down to the personal. In this way, abolition calls us to grasp at the root of social problems, and not settle for mild, so-called reforms. This year we will be much more loudly talking about, studying, and working toward abolition. We hope you join us!

We are beyond excited to announce two staffing updates at the East Oakland site. In addition to all the plant growth, construction, and new initiatives in East Oakland, we are just as invested in helping people grow. 

“This promotion matters to me because this work is personal. It’s about investing in our people, honoring our struggles, and building real opportunities from within the community I live in and belong to.”

“I’m deeply grateful for the growth that’s brought me here and excited for this new chapter. Planting Justice is more than a job to me, it’s a place of purpose, peace of mind, and unwavering support. I truly feel grounded here.”

More Exciting Growth at the East Oakland Nursery

We’ve just received a fresh delivery of highly sought-after edible plants, including feijoas and a wide variety of berries—currants, gooseberries, elderberries, honeyberries, seaberries, mulberries, and goji berries. New arrivals also include vines such as kiwis (hardy, fuzzy, arctic beauty, and silver vine), grapes, passionflowers, schisandra, and capers, along with tea plants and quinces. We will be updating our inventory soon, so keep an eye out as these plants will sell out fast!

At the same time, we’re making important infrastructure improvements! We’re constructing a long-overdue walkway in front of Greenhouses 1 and 2, an area that previously flooded. This project is being led by Paul Spikes, (no relation) a community hire with vast experience and knowledge in landscape design. We’ve also completed hydro-zoning our benches beneath the newly finished shade structure, increasing water efficiency and improving overall plant health. If you have not had a chance to visit us at the East Oakland nursery, we highly encourage you to pay us a visit and see all the new plants and improvements for yourself!

Plant sales are a vital part of how we sustain this work. Every purchase directly supports our mission to empower people and communities impacted by mass incarceration and social inequities. 

Attention all formerly incarcerated people and system-impacted community members! Come be a part of the newly planted Healing Garden at our El Sobrante Nursery and Farm Store.

The Blue So(u)l Healing Gardens originated during Victim Awareness Week 2024, with the planting of more than 300 plants at the Central California Women's Facility in Chowchilla, in partnership with Community Alliance Outreach Committee. We followed this up with a second Healing Garden planted in partnership with Friends of The People In Blue at San Quentin.

The gardens are built to honor those who have been impacted by crime while at the same time creating a space where those who have caused harm can work towards healing and restorative justice. The newest garden at our El Sobrante site (built with artistic contributions from Kate Deciccio) is now open to the public. If you are formerly incarcerated, a survivor, or lost someone due to violence, we invite you to come to our El Sobrante Nursery and give our staff the names of those you would like to honor. We will add them to our healing garden by attaching small metal tags to the butterflies' wings. Each name a reminder that our actions have effects that ripple out through our community, and the garden a reminder that healing can take place one plant at a time.

Entering a new year can be overwhelming - what goals will you set? How will you achieve them? How will you hold yourself accountable when there is SO much happening around us at this very moment?? It can feel like too much...

Let us remind ourselves of the healing medicine that plants offer. Working with the soil and touching plants helps regulate the nervous system and ground us in the present moment. How do the leaves feel in my hands? What sounds and smells do I notice? How am I feeling right now? Working with our youth, we remind them that being in any natural space is an invitation to slow down and breathe deeper into their bellies. That taking even small healing moments in natural spaces is important for all of us to endure the road ahead. And that sharing food with one another is a precious gift. 

Here are a few photos of our youth doing just that: Taking in and enjoying those moments when they can. We hope you do the same - your mind and your body will thank you for it.

Huge Thanks to Everyone Who Helped Build This Space! 

The creation of this space is the culmination of years of hard work and community involvement; so many folks contributed to this amazing space, and it would not be what it is without everything they poured into it:

• Annie Duncan - Ceramicist who made our custom native flower light fixtures.
• IG: @annieduncan_
• Web: https://www.anniegduncan.com

• Chip Thomas - Photographer and muralist who co-created the water tank murals
• IG: @jetsonorama
• Web: https://jetsonorama.net

• Daniel Gonzalez - Artist who made social justice portraits decorating the farm store and inspiring visitors (Prints are also for sale in the store).
  • IG: @printgonzalez
  • Web: https://www.printgonzalez.com
    
    
• Darrel DeBoer - Architect who constructed the Butsudan and assisted in many other ways.
  • Web: http://deboerarchitects.com

• Hiroyo Kaneko- Photographer who took portraits of Planting Justice staff that were used as the basis for the handpainted lifesize cutouts, as well as documenting PJ’s work with her camera. Several of her original portraits are on display in the farm store.
• IG: @kanekohiroyo
• Web: https://hiroyokaneko.com

• jackie sumell - Abolitionist / artist/ community organizer & co-creator of Freedom to Grow in New Orleans, the Abolitionist Apothecary, and the Solitary Garden Project. We are honored to collaborate with her to construct two solitary gardens in the nursery. We also sell medicine produced by The Abolitionist Apothecary in the farm store.
• IG: @freedomtogrownola
• Web: https://www.freedomtogrow.org

• Kate Diciccio - Artist / installer /  creative mastermind / collaborator behind much of the art experience, including the plant family signs, art station, PJ staff portraits, water tank murals, and painted garden cutouts. Give yourself a self guided tour via the art map (also designed by Kate).
• IG: @k8deciccio
• Web: https://www.katedeciccio.com/about

• Kill Joy - Artist who designed all of our jar labels. Their art also appears on the art map of the site. 
• IG: @kill.joy.land
• Web: https://joyland.space

• Luis Ortega Jr.- Musician & artist who designed and fabricated the interior of the visiting booth installation, as well as contributing to decorative plant cutouts around the space and doing ongoing design work that can be seen on PJ merch.
  
  
• Malaya Tuyay- Artist who designed some of our new merch. Her handmade jewelry can also be purchased in the farmstore
  • IG: @mah.lie.yuh
  • Web: https://malayatuyay.com
    
• Micah Bazant - Artist who assisted with cannery label design.
  • IG: @michabazånt
  • Web: https://www.micahbazant.com 

• Olivia Steele - Carpenter and artist who designed and fabricated our custom seed rack and tables for the deck.
• IG: @mysideofthecanyon

• Seth Vargas- Artist whose hand painted the signs inside the farmstore
• IG: @sleightofhandsigns
• Web: https://www.sleightofhandsigns.com

• Simone Robinson - Artist & plant lover whose hand painted touches are spread across the nursery and farmstore
• IG: @simoneskintone
• Web: https://simoneskintone.art

Finally, this space would not exist without the hard work and dedication of Planting Justice staff, including the Infrastructure Team, who did so much of the carpentry and finish work: 

• Chaker Andrew Chahrour
• Jaime “Lonche” Ortega
• José Morales
• Arturo Solano
• Silviano Ortega

Visioning & weaving together of people and resources:

• Gavin Raders

And of course, project coordination, design of the space, vibe checks, and antiquing work of:

• Sam Lustig

Whether through volunteering, purchasing plants online, spreading good news about us on social media, donations, or visiting in-person, you are supporting and engaging in this work.

sWe literally cannot do this without you!

Donation Info

You can make a one time, monthly, quarterly, or annual donation.

Planting Justice is a 501(c)3 non-profit organization with an EIN of 27-0334905 all donations are 100% tax deductible.

Planting Justice also accepts Stock Donations!

Receiving Institution: Charles Schwab & Co.
1945 Northwestern Drive
El Paso, TX 79912
Receiving Account Number: 8239-5748
Receiving Account Name: Planting Justice
DTC Clearing Number: 0164, Code

Not able to contribute financially? No problem! There are still many ways to support us, such as volunteering or sharing our work. Every bit helps and we appreciate your support!