As I write to you, I’m thinking of the stream that runs through the grove behind my house, now dry. I’ve been cutting honeysuckle out of that grove, in the hopes of planting native diversified species and watching the understory thrive one day.
Elston Tortuga
Pronouns: They/Them/Theirs
Email: elston@iowaipl.org
Phone: 515-257-6614
elston is a queer/trans Jewish and Unitarian Universalist artist farming for climate resiliency on Oceti Sankowin and Ioway land in Adair County. The intersection of faith and farming inspires them with the possibilities of magic, germination, and building a gentler future that honors the truth of the past and the dignity of the present. They love rural landscapes, learning from animals and plants, and building unlikely alliances through challenging conversation. elston is a huge cat person, and likes to mix up herbal remedies with their feline familiar, King.
National Farmers Union Women’s Conference
Last weekend, I arrived in Nashville, TN to attend the National Farmers Union Women’s Conference. The conference focused on co-operation and interdependence, reflecting the reality that farming is a communal effort and centering the female experience of working in ag.
Drumroll…Faith Farms and Climate Takes Root in SW Iowa
We are excited to announce that we will be running our Faith Farms and Climate program in Harlan, Atlantic, Red Oak, and Earlham this winter!