POLLINATE! 2023 COHORT

Monie Seto (they/them)

I have been thinking about qtbipoc futures and joy on land. I have been thinking about how connection to land is severed for us. It is tainted with ancestral trauma for us. It is barred by lack of access for us. One way I have been able to connect to land is through land stewardship- taking care of the earth through the ritual of composting. I apprenticed at a farm that had been composting on their land for 30 years. Everyday, I would put my hands in the soil, and I am not the same person I was. Every time I put my hands in the earth, I shed away an old me, laying an old me to rest. Each time, the land took that pain, grief, and anger and buried me deep in the dark earth, and there is always something to harvest later. I think all qtbipoc deserve this reciprocal connection to land. I know I am not the only qtpoc who yearns for this and I know I cannot do this (dismantle capitalism) alone, nor do I want to. My heart dreams of qtbipoc futures and joy on land, with each other and together.

Alex Santana (she/her)

Alex Santana is an independent writer, editor, curator, and aspiring farmer with an interest in conceptual art, political intervention, and public participation. Currently based in New York but originally from Newark, NJ, she has held positions at a variety of arts institutions and has worked with artists and creatives for close to a decade. She is an alum of Farm School NYC and currently Associate Editor at The Latinx Project and Programming Fellow at Wassaic Project. Her long-term goal is to develop a collaborative artist residency and farm site founded and led by artists, writers, and other creatives.

Marlow Logan White (He/him)

I have lived and worked in Central Harlem for over 20 years. After struggling with drug addiction and homelessness during my early adulthood, I was introduced to community organizing in the year 2000. I have been a dedicated advocate for my community and am active in community organizing. I have created projects supporting families & individuals throughout my community; with the pursuit of health, mental wellness, food equity, equality, and restorative economic justice (focusing primarily on the Black, Trans & Queer community of Central Harlem).

I created Soul To Soul Community Farm Community Stand to combat food apartheid, our farm stand project has lead me to land stewardship. As I continue to come into my majic, I am able to see clearly my path and the beautiful gifts left for me along my journey, such as being a member of the community garden directly across the street from my apartment, Where I grew my first harvest ever, for my family and community, being connected to farm, being accepted into farm school lead me to the Pollinate program. The goals I'd like to achieve during my training and time spent together is crop planning, organizing, program development, how to manage a farm and live stock, how to grow in quantity, and turn my growing into medicine, and so much more.

Dre Estrada (All Pronouns)

Dre is an urban land steward and budding herbalist who looks to reconnecting to land as a healing modality and guide in ancestral remembrance. They are a first generation New Yorker from Jackson Heights, Queens born to Colombian migrants with campesino roots. Dre currently works with a horticulture crew learning and practicing ecological restoration. She also teaches food justice programs to youth in the Lower East Side. They find joy in building community and learning from the land! They are curious and passionate about the connection between food sovereignty and abolition and hope to one day co-create learning spaces for QTBIPOC to reclaim and remember earth based practices through environmental education programs.