Cultivating Justice

By S. Perl Egendorf, PhD, and environmental students Brooklyn Staab ’26 and Isabella Salicetti ’27

On May 2, 2025, 25 Pace students, staff, faculty, and a handful of community members gathered in a circle at the Pace Land and Labor Acknowledgement Farm. Lauren Peters, of the Mashpee Wampanoag tribe, led the group in a series of traditional practices, handed down by generations, to plant corn, and later plant beans, squash, and sunflowers, at the site. This was the final of four Cultivating Justice events held at the farm, funded by the Pace Center for Wellbeing. The farm is a collaboration between the Anti-Racist Advocates, the Office of Multicultural Affairs, the Pace Sustainability Initiative and the Department of Environmental Studies and Science.  

At each event, Pace students and community members worked at the farm planting, making compost, building trellises and wheelbarrows, and getting their hands dirty. After a few hours of farm work, a meal of chicken, rice, vegan curry, and salad were catered by Cafewal, a local nonprofit that provides jobs and culinary skills training for people seeking asylum. In prior weeks, Lauren Peters led a session of chair yoga, and Dior St. Hillaire facilitated a workshop and conversation on compost and hip hop. Over lunch, students, staff, faculty and community members discussed strategies to center wellbeing, connections with nature, and broader environmental justice. Pre- and post-event surveys revealed that participants experienced reduced stress and anxiety, and increased calm and gratitude.

Two students, Environmental Studies major Brooklyn Staab ’26 and Environmental Science major Isabella Salicetti ’27 coordinated the events. Reflecting on the experience, they write, “Coordinating these events was a wonderful way to get more involved on campus and connect with the Pace Community. It taught us the practical skills of event coordination, community outreach, and working with a team. However, it also taught us, from a new leadership perspective, the value of community and connection to Earth. The benefits we received were beyond just practical skills, but a sense of purpose within our community.”