Ecological and Social Restoration

The DMC understands climate change is the outcome of colonialism and capitalism, forces that have negatively impacted the health of our bodies, our societies and the planet. We work to restore balance through repairing critical relationships that were fractured through these projects. As such, restoring the place of Indigenous peoples as leaders in their ancestral lands and creating opportunities for people to reconnect to land is critical to our work. We partner to uplift their priorities and work together to bring the best of different systems of knowledge to improve the health of the systems of we work with.

On the 1-acre rooftop farm in Oakland was designed by Benjamin Fahrer, who brings his 25 years of ecological farming together with his design and building experience to rewilding the urban landscape, while providing nutritious organic food to historically marginalized communities. The Rooftop Medicine Farm creates habitat for butterflies, birds, bees and other beneficial insects. The plants contribute to offset urban heat island effect and the living roof helps to manage stormwater. Through productive successional plantings, the rooftop farm becomes an example of how urban farming can function as a carbon pump. We partner with Poor Magazine, the City of Oakland, People’s Programs, Essential Food and Medicine and UCSF Children’s Hospital Oakland to demonstrate how urban agriculture working at scale can provide multiple ecological and social benefits.