Land Together at Big Green & California Native Plant Conferences this month

Big Green Annual Conference, Atlanta

Land Together Program Manager Lauren Beatty-Harris and Christina Davalos, a graduate of our program at Central California Women's Facility, presented together at the Big Green Annual Conference in Atlanta in February. They shared reflections on Land Together's work inside prison gardens, with a focus on how the program fosters agency, stewardship, and food justice within highly constrained environments.

Christina spoke from her own lived experience. It was her first time public speaking, and she was powerful. It was a reminder of why we work to create spaces where directly impacted voices don't just participate in the conversation - they lead it.

California Native Plant Society Conference, Riverside

Also this month, Lauren presented at the California Native Plant Society 2026 Conference alongside Shelagh Fritz, Executive Director of Alcatraz Gardens, and Ashley Borrego, Community Partnerships Coordinator with the National Park Service. The conversation centered on restoration as both ecological practice and relationship: to native plants, to landscape, and to forms of stewardship emerging within environments shaped by constraint, history, and care. We're grateful for the connections made and the shared sense of purpose that carried through the gathering.