Episode 6: Richard D. Garcia Your Healing Nature

Richard D. Garcia is Co-Founder and Executive Director of Alma Backyard Farms. Richard studied at St. John’s Seminary College and has extensive experience in pastoral ministry inside juvenile halls and prisons.  As a pastoral minister, youth advocate, and urban farmer, Richard knows how growing food is a transformative way of bringing people together.  Since completing an M.A.in Pastoral Theology at Loyola Marymount University, Richard incorporates principles of restorative justice into urban farming. 
 In this episode, Richard shares his root story, his family connection to the outdoors, fulfilling his calling via urban agriculture, how ALMA Backyard Farms is addressing trauma and bringing community healing, and so much more! 
IG: @_yourhealingnature
Email: info@yourhealingnature.com 
Music by Black & James, "Everyday (Walking in Sunshine)."
Website: https://jamesandblack.org/ IG: james.and.black
To learn about Alma Backyard Farms . . . 
IG: @almabackyardfarms    
Website: https://www.almabackyardfarms.com/
Books
Gregory Boyle, Tattoos on the Heart
Robin Wall Kimmerer, Braiding Sweetgrass
Dawn B. Mabalon, Journey for Justice: The Life of Larry Itliong
Other sources . . . 
Homeboy Industries
Website: www.homeboyindustries.org  
http://homeboyindustries.org/wp-content/uploads/2019/01/media_kit-Bio-Father-Greg-FINAL-7-2-12.pdf 
Rethink Outside: Blue Sky Funders Forum
https://rethinkoutside.org/
California EnviroScreen
https://oehha.ca.gov/calenviroscreen/report/calenviroscreen-30 
City and Community Health Profile: Compton
Published by the LA Public Health Department, June 2018
http://publichealth.lacounty.gov/ohae/docs/cchp/pdf/2018/Compton.pdf 
How A Predatory Real Estate Practice Changed The Face of Compton
By Ailsa Chang, Jonaki Mehata, Christopher Intagliati, NPR, May 5, 2021
https://www.npr.org/2021/05/05/993993572/how-a-predatory-real-estate-practice-changed-the-face-of-compton
Articles/Blogs
Potli Blog: Alma Backyard Farms on Reclaiming Lives, Repurposing Land, and Reimagining Community, May 18, 2021
https://www.potlishop.com/blogs/the-drip/alma-spotlight
Los Angeles County’s Forgotten Farming History (PBS)
February 7, 2019
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