Michelle Cai '24

I supported organizing the Chinese elders who gather daily at Sisterhood Gardens. I got to know them through conversation in the garden and WeChat, and turned them out to community events and intergenerational field trips to other gardens and farms in SF so they could connect with Sisterhood Gardens' youth garden stewards and other gardeners across the city. At these events, I would translate or create bilingual resources for the elders so their participation would not be impeded by a language barrier. 

I led some elder specific programming - I facilitated the creation of a new banner for the garden through a series of intergenerational/multilingual workshops and volunteer sessions that brought together elders, adults, youth, and children to design and paint the banner. I planned a movement and breathing workshop for elders in conjunction with a local traditional Chinese medicine practitioner. I also did some admin work for the garden, including conducting 1-1 phone interviews with garden members to collect feedback and hear their visions for the garden. 

Connecting with one garden member led me to create some collage illustrations for the Sisterhood gardener's guide they had written. Once a week, I would support food pickup and small group facilitation for an youth environmental justice leadership program that brought

together working class Chinese and Latino youth. Through observing the adult leaders of this program, I learned what principles of popular education look like in practice. Lastly, I led the creation of a painted commemorative banner for CPA's annual summer celebration.