Cultivating Place : The Power of Gardeners
The Film
A curated series of Gardener-supporting interviews recorded and filmed live in front of an audience in select locations around the country, exploring some of the most compelling & important lessons learned in the first 10 years of Cultivating Place about who Big G-Gardeners are and what they are growing in our world.
The Message
Since 2020, a near-record number of Americans self-identify as engaging in gardening.
That’s around 100 MILLION US households.
Approximately 1.3 billion acres of land in the US are privately owned by individuals.
More than 40 million of those acres, however, are non-native, chemically dependent, over-irrigated, turf grass or non-ecologically functional or intentionally decorative non-native plants with little to no connection to culture, care, or community.
When we collectively understand “gardening” beyond toxic lawn care and superficial decoration, numerous beneficial pathways are activated in our world. Progress towards solutions to some of the tragedies and horrors that worry us most: biodiversity loss; climate change; chemicals in our soil, water, food; food insecurity; the insect apocalypse; the decline of distinct languages and cultures, richly imbued with by the wealth of the natural world; a sane economic model; war versus life; loneliness versus community; loss of Faith in something bigger than us.
If even a fraction more of those 1.3 billion acres of privately owned land were tended for healthy food, for native plant habitat, for cultural and community knowledge stewarded for the future, for less resource use and greater community-based economic health, think what we might achieve: biodiversity gain, carbon stored, watersheds replenished, cultures strengthened, communities reconnected, scientific and sacred knowledge reintegrated into our daily lives.
OUR PURPOSE:
Cultivating Place elevates and expands the way we collectively think and talk about Gardening and Gardeners in our world to make visible the myriad, often surprising, ways that these cultivating humans (from backyard gardeners to artists to cultural land stewards) and their tended spaces grow our world better: socially, culturally, environmentally, economically, and spiritually.
When we see ALL that the best of Gardens and Gardeners grow, we value them more appropriately: in word, in deed, in pay, and protection for Gardens and Gardeners of all kinds.
When we value these growing people and spaces more appropriately, they can grow us all more intentionally, effectively, and beautifully.
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“Thank you for all the inspiration and information you share with us. As a gardener, writer, and reader, I deeply appreciate this holy work.”
Gardener & Listener, Cheryl Capaldo Traylor
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"Cultivating Place conversations are challenging, comforting, and inspiring in a way that encourages community and fosters stewardship. Keep this good work going!"
Gardener & Listener, Mary L
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“Cultivating Place lifts me up and empowers me to make my difference. Every interview is a ray of light in seemingly dark times.”
Gardener & Listener
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"Beauty matters. Place matters. Keep doing this work. Our future depends on the gardens of today."
Gardener & Listener, Nicole Tilde
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I wholeheartedly support the mission of Cultivating Place. These conversations are fascinating, thought-provoking, and an oasis in today’s environment.”
Gardener & Listener
JOIN US
As a partner/investor, we’d like to collaborate with you as we release Cultivating Place: The Power of Gardeners to audiences across the country through our National Outreach Campaign.
Our release will reach a broad audience and achieve our purpose and objectives through the following initiatives:
Festivals
Screening nationally to engage nationally.
Gardens & Groups
Garden & Environmental Groups Screening Campaign reaching Gardeners, not-yet Gardeners, and their communities, through conferences, conventions, and local events.
Educational Organizations
Horticultural, Environmental, & Garden educational organizations screening Campaign reaching educational organizations and their communities (Administrations, teachers/professors, and students at the beginning of their Garden-life journeys).
Policymakers
Policymaker Engagement Campaign in local, state, and national spaces across the country advocating for recognition and support of professional Gardeners & Gardened spaces (parks, municipal campuses, museums).
Streaming
Digital Release through strategically targeted platforms and audiences.
Public Television Broadcast
Public Television Broadcast reaching millions of viewers.
The Gardeners
Cultivating Place: The Power of Gardeners features a lively diversity of people cultivating place in different locations, of different ages, backgrounds, and motivations, all of whom tend to plants with great care and purpose in their places, and in the process, nurture beneficial results in often unforeseen ways. Among these cultivators of place are Lorena, Ben, and Mary.
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Lorena Gorbet
MAIDU SUMMIT CONSORTIUM
In Northern California, Mountain Maidu elder Lorena has for more than two decades cultivated a tribal consortium which has now re-restored wildlife, wetlands, and cultural tending to close to 3,000 acres of land.
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Ben Futa
BOTANY CO.
In South Bend, Indiana, Ben cultivates a plant shop, nursery, and flower farm, which in turn incubates a cohesive community, a vibrant locally-based economy, and a biodiversity of beautiful and ecologically functional Gardens and planted spaces across his city. These spaces work toward his belief that a Botanic Garden can be a laterally distributed resource for everyone, everywhere.
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Mary Jackson
GULLAH SWEETGRASS BASKET MAKER
In South Carolina, Mary, an elder Gullah sweetgrass basket maker and a MacArthur Genius Grant award winner, has worked on her craft for many decades while simultaneously ensuring the availability and access to its materials — the native sweet grass, palm, and pine of her region. In cultivating her craft, she has cultivated her place – re-energizing native plant ecosystems, mentoring younger artists in techniques handed down over centuries and generations, and inoculating the horticultural world with plants and ethics.
Jennifer Jewell
Creator & Host
This film project is a milestone in the legacy of writer Jennifer Jewell. Jewell conceived the project as a celebration of the many lessons she has learned over 10 years of hosting the award-winning public radio program & podcast, Cultivating Place: Conversations on Natural History & The Human Impulse to Garden.
Jewell’s greatest passion is the empowerment of Gardeners, and the possibility inherent in the intersection between places, environments, cultures, individuals, and the gardens that bring them together beautifully, for the betterment of ALL the lives on this generous planet.
Myriam Nicodemus
Director / DP / Editor
Myriam Nicodemus is a filmmaker, photographer, and entrepreneur from Guatemala. She founded both EM EN, a production company, and Area Hall Art House, a photography and film studio, as a haven for local artists, driven by her belief in the transformative power of storytelling and empathy.
Through these ventures, she empowers artists by providing access to space, resources, and knowledge, helping them build sustainable, professional art careers.
Khoa Huynh
Producer / Sound / Photographer
Khoa Huynh, a passionate entrepreneur originally from Vietnam, joined forces with Myriam, bringing his expertise and dedication to helping others achieve their goals by co-founding EM EN.
With a background in biology and entrepreneurship, Khoa's commitment to community empowerment is also evident in his work at the Harper Cancer Research Institute at the University of Notre Dame where he has been the Institute’s Programs Director for last 9 years.
THE TEAM
PERFECT MATCH
Jennifer’s purpose in uplifting gardeners through the Cultivating Place Foundation reflects a shared belief in the transformative power of cultivating people, growth, and connection.
Myriam strives to empower artists and foster connection through storytelling and empathy.
Khoa, co-founder of EM EN, dedicates himself to nurturing the next generation of scientists and researchers through programming at Notre Dame’s Harper Cancer Research Institute.
Together, their diverse yet interconnected efforts underscore the vital importance of supporting those who nurture creativity, curiosity, and development—whether through Art, Science, or Gardening. Their collective work exemplifies how investing in one another strengthens communities and creates a more vibrant, resilient world.