Mission & values

OUR MISSION

Land to Learn is growing a movement for food justice and community wellness through garden-based education.

our values

As a team we understand this statement of our values holistically. Each of these sections is both distinct, and there are intersections between them. 

Transforming Education

• We approach our work with an awareness of current and historic institutional oppressions perpetuated by—and ingrained in—the educational system.

• We utilize and promote experiential, place-based, and democratic educational philosophies in schools, gardens, and workspaces. Learn more about our approach here. 

• We value Restorative and Transformative Justice practices in educational community-building and conflict resolution.

• We honor the wisdom and work of those who have led us here, while valuing innovation and embracing change.

• We validate lived experiences and organic knowledge with equal measure to institutional knowledge. 

Community Driven

• We value the diversity of voices and perspectives within our communities 

• We value the power of youth voice, youth leadership, and intergenerational wisdom

• We offer program participants tools, training, resources, and job opportunities that support them in their leadership journeys.

• We honor the wisdom and integrity of our communities and their knowledge and rights to self-determination.

• We prioritize adaptive programming that responds to our understanding of the needs of the communities. 

Workplace Community

• We value trust, love, independence, interdependence, compassionate support, accountability, and intentional reflection.

• We value a growth mindset and appreciate the ways that sitting with and working through discomfort facilitate personal and organizational growth.

• We value compassionate, honest, and open dialogue rooted in restorative communication practices. 

• Within Land to Learn, and in external partnerships, we value shared leadership and collaborative work structures, which balance power through shared decision-making. 

• We center our work in the health and joy of staff and community

• We recognize that an intentional work/life balance makes us better workers and a better organization.  

• In support of sustainable living, we value fairly compensating staff for their work, ensuring that compensations and benefits are equitable with, and ideally exceed, regional industry standards. 

Wellness

• We believe that humans achieve nourishment through conscious connection to our food, our bodies, and our communities.

• We believe that a robust local food system helps cure the harm to human health and communities caused by the industrial food system. 

• We believe that food grown in a regenerative way without the use of chemical pesticides and fertilizers is better for people and the planet. 

• We believe that everyone has the right to fresh, local, culturally relevant, nourishing food

• We make space for mindfulness and personal reflection

• We value and recognize the significant health benefits of play, joy, wonder, and rest.

• We believe that individual wellness is integral to community wellness, and vice versa

• We believe that what humans eat is foundational to our physical and mental health

Natural Environment

• We grow crops in a regenerative way without the use of chemical pesticides and fertilizers.

• We value  climate resilient agriculture as a movement.

• We value the legacy of seeds and the ancestral relationship between plants and people

• We value food sovereignty.

• We value reciprocity and respect between people and the Earth.

• We embrace our alignment with nature’s rhythms. 

• We honor the interconnected relationship between people, the land, and all life on Earth.

• We do our best to live into our values of natural resource conservation rather than extraction, recognizing humans as part of the ecosystem.

Funding

• We respectfully represent the communities with whom we work when describing our work to funders and partners.

• .The integrity of our work takes precedence over specific funding opportunities that do not align with our mission and values.

• We value transparency in our business practices, financial reports, and information about funders. 

Spending

• We value wealth decentralization. 

• We are dedicated to keeping organizational expenses as low as reasonably possible. 

• We exercise socially and environmentally responsible business practices whenever possible. 

• Specifically, we: 

  • purchase foods that are certified organic, local, Non-GMO, and/or Fair Trade certified

  • support BIPOC, LGBTQIA+, and local businesses

  • invest in long-lasting products over single-use products.

WHAT WE DON'T DO.

LANDSCAPING:

We get a lot of requests to help schools with gardening and landscaping projects. While we love the idea of schools having more green and growing spaces, we only build vegetable gardens in schools that are formally including our education program in their classrooms.