About
Earth Tones: People & Stories of LA Compost
In the of Fall 2025, Angeleno artist and illustrator, Adriana Barrera, led four sessions of Earth Tones: Portrait and Painting workshops in collaboration with LA Compost. Taking place in green spaces across LA, community members where immersed into a creative process rooted in nature and community. Participants were guided to create art pieces using soil paint and watercolors to express and reflect on what compost and soil means to them and how it connects them to Los Angeles.
Their artwork has been digitized and converted into a digital exhibition to highlight the many ways individuals connect to the land. These shared experiences offer space for recognition, inspiration, and the possibility of composting as a practice rooted in care and belonging.
What’s your story?
As you browse the collection, we invite you to reflect on your own connection to the land. What beliefs or experiences have influenced the ways you care for the places you call home?
Meet the Artists:
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What part of LA do you call home? Tujunga & El Sereno
What first sparked your interest in composting or connected you to the soil? At a young age I was drawn to nature in my backyard, since then I’ve been hooked to anything nature, compost and gardening.
What keeps you motivated to compost today, and how does it impact your daily life or community? What motivates me is learning more about compost and the benefits it does for nature and globally.
When you imagine the future of our city and its soil, what do you hope to see? I hope to see more bees & butterflies, over all animals & insects.
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What part of LA do you call home? Pasadena
What first sparked your interest in composting or connected you to the soil? Wanting to lessen the negative impact I personally have as someone born into this post-industrial system we live in. The harm we cause to our planet on a daily basis hurts my heart.
What keeps you motivated to compost today, and how does it impact your daily life or community? I love watching the transformation of our food waste to something as beautiful & nourishing as compost. Working outdoors & getting to assist in creating inviting environments for the decomposing organisms to thrive in is a joy & blessing.
When you imagine the future of our city and its soil, what do you hope to see? I hope to see us causing less-to-no harm so we can allow the Earth to heal herself.
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What part of LA do you call home? San Fernando Valley
What first sparked your interest in composting or connected you to the soil? Connecting with a local community farm and seeing the process first hand.
What keeps you motivated to compost today, and how does it impact your daily life or community? Reducing my waste and being intentional about how I care for the environment through small, daily choices.
When you imagine the future of our city and its soil, what do you hope to see? I hope to see food and medicine growing in every yard and people connecting through stories and culture.
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What part of LA do you call home? El Sereno
What first sparked your interest in composting or connected you to the soil? I am connected to the soil because that is what is always beneath me and what will always ground me.
What keeps you motivated to compost today, and how does it impact your daily life or community? I have yet to compost myself but looking forward to starting. I know once I start it will only be beneficial to me and my community.
When you imagine the future of our city and its soil, what do you hope to see? I hope to see lots more plants around the city. I wish the city of LA put more effort and money into making our city more green. Although, the community can make the effort on our own.
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What part of LA do you call home? Sylmar
What first sparked your interest in composting or connected you to the soil? I first was interested in how food waste can become nutrients for soil.
What keeps you motivated to compost today, and how does it impact your daily life or community? Reducing food waste motivates me, it trickles on to my community because if I’m consistent, others can be inspired to compost.
When you imagine the future of our city and its soil, what do you hope to see? I hope to see free healthy soil & less concrete in the city, more parks & communal spaces.
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What part of LA do you call home? Hollywood
What first sparked your interest in composting or connected you to the soil? My Uncle Mark back in Connecticut.
What keeps you motivated to compost today, and how does it impact your daily life or community? The community keeps me motivated.
When you imagine the future of our city and its soil, what do you hope to see? Green everywhere, living walls, soil that holds onto the rainfall, soil that is natural and w/o pesticides.
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What part of LA do you call home? Stevenson Ranch
What first sparked your interest in composting or connected you to the soil? I was introduced to composting as an adult while living in a co-op, or cooperative, living situation.
What keeps you motivated to compost today, and how does it impact your daily life or community? Composting is a reminder to give back to the Earth and continue the organic life cycle.
When you imagine the future of our city and its soil, what do you hope to see? For the future of our city and its soil, I hope to see a symbiotic relationship of returning from which we take.
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What part of LA do you call home? Cypress Park
What first sparked your interest in composting or connected you to the soil? I had to volunteer for my sustainability class capstone at the garden campus + compost area. I continued going and then it became my student job!
What keeps you motivated to compost today, and how does it impact your daily life or community? That whatever I’m composting is returning back to the Earth, the soil. It’s a small step and it feels good.
When you imagine the future of our city and its soil, what do you hope to see? That everyone is composting and mindful of food waste! Gardens, backyards and several hubs where folks are coming to compost and also enjoying the green space.
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What part of LA do you call home? Hancock Park
What first sparked your interest in composting or connected you to the soil? Independent research. I sought as many reasons as possible to reinforce our natural biological system. Stuff like the carbon, nitrogen, and water cycles.
What keeps you motivated to compost today, and how does it impact your daily life or community? We provide a means for others to engage in environmental efforts by tackling the problem of food waste. What’s not to like?
When you imagine the future of our city and its soil, what do you hope to see? Solar punk! Rooftop gardens, public parks reverted to a more wild state, public parks that house fruit trees, and maximizing renewable energy efforts
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What part of LA do you call home? West Los Angeles
What first sparked your interest in composting or connected you to the soil? My connection to expanding my garden sparked my curiosity with soil.
What keeps you motivated to compost today, and how does it impact your daily life or community? NA - I got to do better, working on a house system.
When you imagine the future of our city and its soil, what do you hope to see? The future of our city that I envision with the soil is for it to be everywhere. Greenery as much as possible, from local community gardens to side walks. Bringing as much of the landscape to support our animals + humans.
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What part of LA do you call home? Pomona
What first sparked your interest in composting or connected you to the soil? Protecting mother nature
What keeps you motivated to compost today, and how does it impact your daily life or community? What motivates me is learning more about compost and the benefits it does for nature and globally.
When you imagine the future of our city and its soil, what do you hope to see? I hope to see more bees & butterflies, over all animals & insects.
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What part of LA do you call home? South Pasadena
What first sparked your interest in composting or connected you to the soil? Desire to live a life more connected to nature
What keeps you motivated to compost today, and how does it impact your daily life or community? It's such an easy & simple daily act to reduce harmful emissions polluting our soil and water.
When you imagine the future of our city and its soil, what do you hope to see? More healthy green space for food and community to grow.
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What part of LA do you call home? San Gabriel Valley
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What part of LA do you call home? Compton
What first sparked your interest in composting or connected you to the soil? The colors warmth of the sun, butterflies
What keeps you motivated to compost today, and how does it impact your daily life or community? Healing from grief. It’s refreshing
When you imagine the future of our city and its soil, what do you hope to see? Colorful energy
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What part of LA do you call home? Northeast LA
What first sparked your interest in composting or connected you to the soil? I felt disconnected in work settings & felt there was more to life than behind a screen. I chose to steward land and felt connected and drawn to the land. It felt powerful to do that work and purposeful.
What keeps you motivated to compost today, and how does it impact your daily life or community? I am starting to grow food and l learned that compost helps to fertilize food. I see the cycle and how it connected so I started to see the importance.
When you imagine the future of our city and its soil, what do you hope to see? I hope to see more people stewarding land and connecting to the Earth. More native plants and fire resilience. More food growing. Empty lots turned into gardens.
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What part of LA do you call home? Boyle Heights
What first sparked your interest in composting or connected you to the soil? I first learned about composting when I started volunteering at my local community garden. I didn’t know how important it was and how much work it took.
What keeps you motivated to compost today, and how does it impact your daily life or community? I currently don’t compost as much as I would like to but understand how necessary it is to have healthy nutritious food.
When you imagine the future of our city and its soil, what do you hope to see? I hope to see more accessibility and community engagement with composting.
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What part of LA do you call home? South LA
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What part of LA do you call home? Studio City
What first sparked your interest in composting or connected you to the soil? The amount of disconnect to the environment. I want to be of service to other creatures
What keeps you motivated to compost today, and how does it impact your daily life or community? I feel it is a healthy, social way to give back to the community.
When you imagine the future of our city and its soil, what do you hope to see? I hope there are more positive and inspired people that care about creating a welcoming space to coexist.
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What part of LA do you call home? Monterey Park
What first sparked your interest in composting or connected you to the soil? My husband and his gardening. To give back to the Earth. To preserve the Earth.
What keeps you motivated to compost today, and how does it impact your daily life or community? Connection to the Earth and all creation.
When you imagine the future of our city and its soil, what do you hope to see? A healthy and thriving environment.
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What part of LA do you call home? El Sereno
What first sparked your interest in composting or connected you to the soil? My dad, who has always had a green thumb, connected me with soil by showing me how to grow different fruits and vegetables at home in our garden.
What keeps you motivated to compost today, and how does it impact your daily life or community? I love eating the food grown right at home! Not only do I love cooking with home grown vegetables, but sharing what we’ve grown with others and seeing what they choose to make with them is awesome!
When you imagine the future of our city and its soil, what do you hope to see? I hope to see more green all around. More trees, more community gardens that open up accessibility for everyone. It’s beautiful to see more life in the communities we call home.
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What part of LA do you call home? Lincoln Heights
What first sparked your interest in composting or connected you to the soil? My roommate Michelle introduced me to LA Compost and I’ve been slowly learning about compost over the years.
What keeps you motivated to compost today, and how does it impact your daily life or community? Food waste is a huge issue and I’m very motivated to participate in composting because it creates new life from waste. It impacts me by allowing me to turn the piles at Elysian Valley Community Garden and learn how compost works.
When you imagine the future of our city and its soil, what do you hope to see? I hope to see a community compost on every block, a future where compost is available not just at Farmer’s Markets but in every neighborhood. When compost is accessible for everyone, then I think we can accomplish our soil dreams!
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What part of LA do you call home? Rampart District
What first sparked your interest in composting or connected you to the soil? Therapy, it makes me happy, having my hands and feet in with mother nature.
What keeps you motivated to compost today, and how does it impact your daily life or community? Keeps me happy. Keeps me connected. Keeps me continuously planting
When you imagine the future of our city and its soil, what do you hope to see? More gardens with herbs, fruits, vegetables to bring love.
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What part of LA do you call home? El Sereno
What first sparked your interest in composting or connected you to the soil? The thought of minimizing waste in our communities & fostering healthier ecosystems.
What keeps you motivated to compost today, and how does it impact your daily life or community? Wanting to make the most with what we have & nurturing our local green spaces.
When you imagine the future of our city and its soil, what do you hope to see? More soil, more green spaces, more shade, more healthy native habitats.
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What part of LA do you call home? Lincoln Heights
What first sparked your interest in composting or connected you to the soil? I love doing community service and learning new things. When I first came to LA Compost, I didn’t know anything about it but had a wonderful time working and learning with others, I couldn’t help but keep coming back. I always see new people and new creatures in the soil
What keeps you motivated to compost today, and how does it impact your daily life or community? Composting feels good for my body, mind, and spirit. There are so many things happening the world that can be chaotic, but I can put my feelings into the compost and support the earth and when I see our impact, I know we aren’t as helpless as some folks would have us believe. It’s also a great workout in beeautiful green spaces with people who also like to put their body into caring for the earth and each other. I also love all the bugs and animals I see at these sites.
When you imagine the future of our city and its soil, what do you hope to see? In an ideal world, there would be a community compost pile on every single block. Maybe the city could provide a stipend to whoever commits to managing the pile and educating people on how to come together around it. We all eat food, so it’d be great if we all had literacy in how to manage our food waste as well. Decentralized compost can also lead to decentralized food systems which creates local healthy food for all!
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What part of LA do you call home? North Hollywood
What first sparked your interest in composting or connected you to the soil? Importance of reusing the natural resources provided to us for growing. Super cool!
What keeps you motivated to compost today, and how does it impact your daily life or community? Haven’t been committed to composting as much, but the process of composting is really engaging.
When you imagine the future of our city and its soil, what do you hope to see? I hope to see more people engaging in recycling soil.
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What part of LA do you call home? Thai Town
What first sparked your interest in composting or connected you to the soil? My mom gardening in our backyard.
What keeps you motivated to compost today, and how does it impact your daily life or community? Connecting to my community, showing gratitude and respect for the food I eat, giving back to the soil and Earth.
When you imagine the future of our city and its soil, what do you hope to see? Less cement, more porous side walks, soil in the LA River, walkable neighborhoods with more trees and native plants.
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What part of LA do you call home? Tujunga
What first sparked your interest in composting or connected you to the soil? As a child, playing with soil created moments of intense creativity and sensory exploration. I will always treasure those moments with my siblings, playing outside with the natural elements.As an adult, I keep returning to soil and composting as a way to cultivate mental spaciousness in a society that constantly pulls us away from ourselves and the earth's rhythms. Healthy soil improves my mental health, and I see how my friends and community benefit from being curious and playful around thriving gardens with living soil.
What keeps you motivated to compost today, and how does it impact your daily life or community? What keeps me motivated is continuing, building the daily habits of the world I want to live in one where we are attuned to the rhythms of our own nature, rather than chained to dominant narratives that insist on a false separation between humans and the natural world. We are compost. We are soil. We are the earth, and the earth is us.
When you imagine the future of our city and its soil, what do you hope to see? Neighborhoods that are greener and safer for all. Where everyone understands the importance of caring for one another - human and other species as well - and where we collectively care for the land that gives us home, shelter, food, and identity.
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What part of LA do you call home? North Hollywood
What first sparked your interest in composting or connected you to the soil? I love nature and working with soil is the best way to connect with it.
What keeps you motivated to compost today, and how does it impact your daily life or community? I am motivated to serve my community. I will even work with dirt to do that.
When you imagine the future of our city and its soil, what do you hope to see? I hope to see clean and nutritious soil for many years to come.
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What part of LA do you call home? Rampart Village
What first sparked your interest in composting or connected you to the soil? The thought of minimizing waste in our communities & fostering healthier ecosystems.
What keeps you motivated to compost today, and how does it impact your daily life or community? Wanting to make the most with what we have & nurturing our local green spaces.
When you imagine the future of our city and its soil, what do you hope to see? More soil, more green spaces, more shade, more healthy native habitats.
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What part of LA do you call home? Mid-City/Weho
What first sparked your interest in composting or connected you to the soil? A documentary called Kiss the Ground.
What keeps you motivated to compost today, and how does it impact your daily life or community? Community and environmental stewardship.
When you imagine the future of our city and its soil, what do you hope to see? Zero food waste.
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What part of LA do you call home? San Fernando Valley
What first sparked your interest in composting or connected you to the soil? Thinking about food waste.
What keeps you motivated to compost today, and how does it impact your daily life or community? I feel more connected to my food and community.
When you imagine the future of our city and its soil, what do you hope to see? Everyone growing their own food
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What part of LA do you call home? Pasadena
What first sparked your interest in composting or connected you to the soil? I learned that it takes about 500 years for nature to make 1 tsp of soil. And that most of our soils today are degraded.
What keeps you motivated to compost today, and how does it impact your daily life or community? Thinking about the health of our ecosystems and the vibrancy of what our world could look like if we healed the ecosystems- soil, air, water, animals (including us).
When you imagine the future of our city and its soil, what do you hope to see? People connected not just to our soils, but to our ecosystems on the ground, underwater, and in space.
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What part of LA do you call home? Downtown LA
What first sparked your interest in composting or connected you to the soil? Getting into gardening on my apartment patio sparked my interest in composting.
What keeps you motivated to compost today, and how does it impact your daily life or community? Knowing compost is beneficial for plant growth motivates me. Daily, I’m aware of foods that can be composted.
When you imagine the future of our city and its soil, what do you hope to see? Less waste and dumping, more composting and planting trees, veggies, fruits.
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What part of LA do you call home? South El Monte
What first sparked your interest in composting or connected you to the soil? The smell of compost always peaks my interest.
What keeps you motivated to compost today, and how does it impact your daily life or community? It’s good for the Earth - I want to start my own composting at home for my own plants.
When you imagine the future of our city and its soil, what do you hope to see? Agri-hoods - neighborhoods with front yards thriving with fresh produce, flowers, birds and bees.
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What part of LA do you call home? Van Nuys
What first sparked your interest in composting or connected you to the soil? I read an article about how broken our recycling process was and wanted to produce less trash. That led to starting my own garden.
What keeps you motivated to compost today, and how does it impact your daily life or community? The realization that something so simple could have a large impact.
When you imagine the future of our city and its soil, what do you hope to see? More urban gardens and green spaces. Fresher food for Angelenos.
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What part of LA do you call home? Pomona
What first sparked your interest in composting or connected you to the soil? The resourceful aspect of it and repurposing.
What keeps you motivated to compost today, and how does it impact your daily life or community? I am new to it but can see how compost can really make a big difference.
When you imagine the future of our city and its soil, what do you hope to see? Resourcefulness of all compost and materials.
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What part of LA do you call home? Los Angeles, 90011
What first sparked your interest in composting or connected you to the soil? Lo primero fue pensar en la tierra y saber que somos muy importantes y tenemos que conectarnos en todos los sentidos. (English: The first thing was to think about the earth and realize that we are very important and we have to connect in every way.)
What keeps you motivated to compost today, and how does it impact your daily life or community? Lo importante para mi es saber que estoy regresando a la tierra que necesita de nosotros. (English: The important thing for me is to know that I am returning to the land that needs us.)
When you imagine the future of our city and its soil, what do you hope to see? Lo imagino ahora para sentirnos más saludables. (English: I imagine it now so we can feel healthier.)
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What part of LA do you call home? San Gabriel Valley
What first sparked your interest in composting or connected you to the soil? I love to grow flowers in my garden and love rollie polis and lady bugs (Alina).
When you imagine the future of our city and its soil, what do you hope to see? I love birds chirping, I’d like to see more plants growing strong.
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What part of LA do you call home? Lincoln Heights
What first sparked your interest in composting or connected you to the soil? Learning about sustainable food systems sparked my interest in composting, particularly its closed-loop nature. I was drawn to composting because of how food is recycled and transformed into a vital resource for soil once it becomes inedible. It’s amazing to see how food not only nourishes our bodies but also becomes a nutrient dense amendment that builds soil health, perpetuating the cycle of life.
What keeps you motivated to compost today, and how does it impact your daily life or community? Saving my food scraps and processing them into a compost pile makes me feel more connected to the Earth and my immediate environment, which motivates me to continue composting. It is also a way for me to show my gratitude for the sustenance the soil provides by dedicating my labor to this process. For me, witnessing food being recycled in a culture that produces immense amounts of waste is grounding, redefining my relationship with consumption.
When you imagine the future of our city and its soil, what do you hope to see? In the future, I envision a more nature-orientated urban landscape in Los Angeles. Within this landscape, I hope for an equitable tree canopy across the city, an abundance of native plants and food forests, fewer freeways, and more walkable neighborhoods. I imagine communal spaces centered on skill sharing, bartering, and land cultivation teachings. Ultimately, I wish for a more unified Los Angeles, one that fosters opportunities for connection between people and our natural landscape that sustains us.
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What part of LA do you call home? San Fernando Valley
What first sparked your interest in composting or connected you to the soil? Learning that my food scraps had an important next step. It didn’t belong in my trash.
What keeps you motivated to compost today, and how does it impact your daily life or community? I get to share w/ people what I’ve been taught. I share with my community & get to help by connecting them w/ info & friends.
When you imagine the future of our city and its soil, what do you hope to see? More nutrient-dense food. More shared spaces, more value in community, more resources.
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What part of LA do you call home? The Valley
What first sparked your interest in composting or connected you to the soil? Wanting to volunteer outside and in nature, wanting to connect with like-minded people, interested in gardening, realizing that compost = community care.
What keeps you motivated to compost today, and how does it impact your daily life or community? How easy it is to compost now with bins provided at my apartment building and other accessible spaces around the city to do so.
When you imagine the future of our city and its soil, what do you hope to see? I also just think composting is such a beautiful practice returning nutrients to the Earth.
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What part of LA do you call home? Tovaangar
What first sparked your interest in composting or connected you to the soil? My family has been growing plants at home since I was young. They encouraged us to be outside in the dirt and tend to the land.
What keeps you motivated to compost today, and how does it impact your daily life or community? For the last 14 years, I’ve lived in South Central LA, and had my own garden. The health of the soil is very important to ensure the fruit trees & vegetable plants are providing what nature intended to my family.
When you imagine the future of our city and its soil, what do you hope to see? I hope to see safe, non-toxic, healthy soil teeming with life and diversity. Where people and animals can live in reciprocity and be nourished by the land.
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What part of LA do you call home? South Central, Los Angeles
What first sparked your interest in composting or connected you to the soil? I was truly captivated by the transformative power of community composting. It was remarkable to witness food scraps from various parts of the city, once belonging to an Angeleno who now embraces composting as a lifestyle.
What keeps you motivated to compost today, and how does it impact your daily life or community? What keeps me motivated is the positive reinforcement the community has with one another around compost and how they encourage participation to newcomers.
When you imagine the future of our city and its soil, what do you hope to see? hope to witness a community that forms a deep connection with the soil they stand on, treating it has as their home with love, respect, and kindness.
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What part of LA do you call home? Crenshaw
What first sparked your interest in composting or connected you to the soil? I was first introduced to composting at my local farmers’ market. I didn’t know that it was something with no outdoor space. I was passionate about recycling on the indiviudal level but was looking for something I could do as a community to have even more environmental impact.
What keeps you motivated to compost today, and how does it impact your daily life or community? Composting has become my daily practice of mindfulness, a tangible reminder to be intentional about what I consume and to take responsibility for the waste I create rather than sending it away to become someone else's problem. It's empowering to show my community that we have the capacity to solve our own challenges locally, turning what others discard into nourishment for the earth.
When you imagine the future of our city and its soil, what do you hope to see? .I dream of a city where concrete and sterile lawns give way to green spaces that pulse with life. Places where the soil is dark and rich, teeming with earthworms, beetles, and countless microorganisms working in harmony. I want future generations to inherit earth that feels alive in their hands.
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What part of LA do you call home? San Fernando Valley
What first sparked your interest in composting or connected you to the soil? I remembered the tree outside my childhood apartment complex. It had big leaves and I would try to climb them. Señor Polin, my neighbor, would help us kids get up on the tree & help us when we made a big leap off the tree.
What keeps you motivated to compost today, and how does it impact your daily life or community? I grew up in the valley surrounded by mountains/hills to my right and to my left, tall land all around. One time a student told me the mountains in the valley feel like a hug and they do. They make me feel safe standing tall. I see them go through gnarly changes from wet green to a deviating red. All throughout my life, I wonder what they think of me.
When you imagine the future of our city and its soil, what do you hope to see? I hope we uplift indigenous elders & learn to grow with the Earth. I hope we learn to work with what we got because there's so much already. We live in abundance and so disconnected from the Earth. I hope for more healing with the Earth.
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What part of LA do you call home? Hollywood
What first sparked your interest in composting or connected you to the soil? My grandma inspired me and brought me to know soil & composting. She was a farmer and she planted pumpkins, green beans, grape vine, strawberries, and tomatoes in her garden. She taught me to do compost and help the plants grow.
What keeps you motivated to compost today, and how does it impact your daily life or community? I learned from my mom & grandma, I keep the wasted coffee beans and added them onto my plants.
When you imagine the future of our city and its soil, what do you hope to see? I hope to see more greens growing and less pollution & trash produce.
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What part of LA do you call home? Mid-City
What first sparked your interest in composting or connected you to the soil? When I was a kid, I loved playing in the dirt, feeling it between my fingers and toes, making drawings in it. When I grew up, I spent less time connected with the earth & during the pandemic, I was craving reconnection.
What keeps you motivated to compost today, and how does it impact your daily life or community? I think one of the biggest problems in modern society is our lack of connection with the natural world & the cycle of life. We consider so much to be “waste” today that it is still useful. The motivation for composting for me comes from a desire to make a positive impact.
When you imagine the future of our city and its soil, what do you hope to see? I would like to see a shift from isolation to reconnection. I want to see a recognition that we are a part of the natural world, not separate from it.
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What part of LA do you call home? North Hollywood
What first sparked your interest in composting or connected you to the soil? My first connection to soil was playing with the clay at a family friend's lake in Texas. It was such a meditative experience every summer!
What keeps you motivated to compost today, and how does it impact your daily life or community? My environment science teacher and class in high school blew my mind, particularly the power of soil. How it sequesters carbon and has so many benefits is always inspiring to me, and this inspires my work and daily conversations.
When you imagine the future of our city and its soil, what do you hope to see? I hope to see pockets of healthy soil, compost, community, edible food throughout the city, creating carbon sins everywhere! Access to soil and food everywhere, for everyone.
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What part of LA do you call home? El Sereno
What first sparked your interest in composting or connected you to the soil? El corpus a larga la vida en todo. Plauta, el aire, y a los que habitamos a la tierra. (English: El corpus a larga la vida en todo. Plauta, el aire, y a los que habitamos a la tierra.)
What keeps you motivated to compost today, and how does it impact your daily life or community? Qué es beneficio para todos y tener un mundo mejor. (English: It's good for everyone and makes for a better world.)
When you imagine the future of our city and its soil, what do you hope to see? Para que haya futuro tienes que vivir el presente. Empezando hoy a reconocer que la tierra es vida. (English: To have a future, you have to live in the present. Start today by recognizing that the soil is life.)
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What part of LA do you call home? Claremont
What first sparked your interest in composting or connected you to the soil? Watching how leaves emerge from my plants, finding simple ways to contribute to a greener environment, wanting healthier food options.
What keeps you motivated to compost today, and how does it impact your daily life or community? Ease and accessibility of compost freely. It makes me more conscious of the amount of waste and produced.
When you imagine the future of our city and its soil, what do you hope to see? Vertical farming, urban farming. I want more accessible ways to grow in our own backyards ( w/ limited space).
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What part of LA do you call home? Valley Village
What first sparked your interest in composting or connected you to the soil? Being able to reduce my food waste & give back to the Earth so we can nourish each other is so inspirational. Seeing how much less trash I produce when I compost & the life that springs forth in the form of both critters & flora is a huge motivator.
What keeps you motivated to compost today, and how does it impact your daily life or community? Knowing that I’m doing my part to help care for our planet and setting an example to start conversation & educate others is very impactful. Feeling a clearer connection between me, my food, and the ground it comes from keeps me engaged with the world around me.
When you imagine the future of our city and its soil, what do you hope to see? I would love to see an LA where everyone has easy access to fresh produce. I imagine fruit trees lining the streets, a community garden with each other over shared meals created from the bounty they’ve produced.
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What part of LA do you call home? South Central LA
What first sparked your interest in composting or connected you to the soil? Building community, coming together as one. Working together on one goal. Evolving our community garden. Just the thought of new beginnings.
What keeps you motivated to compost today, and how does it impact your daily life or community? What keeps me motivated to compost is creating new life for our bees, worms, ants, and bugs. Everyday is a new day to grow just like our plants. Always evolving and creating no matter our circumstances.
When you imagine the future of our city and its soil, what do you hope to see? I imagine our city with more green spaces, such as rest areas with small gardens. Building community and getting to know our neighbors and conversing.
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What part of LA do you call home? Los Feliz
What first sparked your interest in composting or connected you to the soil? I want to reduce my waste and not throw so much in the trash.
What keeps you motivated to compost today, and how does it impact your daily life or community? Seeing thousands of pounds of what I once viewed as trash get turned into a valuable resource.
When you imagine the future of our city and its soil, what do you hope to see? People viewing throwing food scraps in the trash the same way they view fresh food going to waste.
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What part of LA do you call home? South LA
What first sparked your interest in composting or connected you to the soil? Being a mom I wanted my kids to learn and be out in nature.
What keeps you motivated to compost today, and how does it impact your daily life or community? I feel more mindful about food waste and we are starting our own small garden.
When you imagine the future of our city and its soil, what do you hope to see? I hope to see more green spaces to allow families to connect with nature. More programs to educate kids on gardening and growing food at home.
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What part of LA do you call home? El Monte
What first sparked your interest in composting or connected you to the soil? My grandpa’s knowledge, love, and respect for the Earth.
What keeps you motivated to compost today, and how does it impact your daily life or community? The people who connect me with my plants and gardens, and the idea of my descendents.
When you imagine the future of our city and its soil, what do you hope to see? More trees and easy access to green spaces and touching Earth instead of concrete.
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What part of LA do you call home? Compton
What first sparked your interest in composting or connected you to the soil? As a kid, I was notoriously in the soil. My grandparents had so many trees and plants that I adored. To this day, I can harvest from fruit trees that were planted by my relatives in the past and taste the love from their hard work.
What keeps you motivated to compost today, and how does it impact your daily life or community? Working is essential when living in LA. Finding a job in alignment with my core values is rare here, and it makes me so grateful for the opportunity to work in this field. Meeting new people with no knowledge of compost and educating them about the benefits is so powerful and exciting.
When you imagine the future of our city and its soil, what do you hope to see? I would love to see more schools in my area in my area with gardens and compost hubs. Having a system of healthy foods and education as a foundation of the local economy and food access.
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What part of LA do you call home? North Hollywood
What first sparked your interest in composting or connected you to the soil? It felt like the most natural thing to do.
What keeps you motivated to compost today, and how does it impact your daily life or community? Now that I understand the ‘science’ and the process of composting. It reinforces my need to do it.
When you imagine the future of our city and its soil, what do you hope to see? More soil and less concrete!!