2020
Yordanose Solomone: Equitable Engagement with MetroBlooms
Hannah Grosse and Evelyn Jauregui
An integral part of the Environmental Justice (EJ) course was learning about, and from, activists surrounding various EJ issues. Amongst those is Yordanose Solomone, the Director of Equitable Engagement for Minneapolis-based environmental organization, Metro Blooms. Despite the virtual barrier of interviewing over Zoom, Yordi’s passion and drive for environmental justice activism was apparent. Furthermore, her background in community organizing has paved the way for her work with Metro Blooms and the Minnesota community.
Yordi Solomone is a graduate from the University of Minnesota, where she studied Environmental Science Management and Policy. Her focus was on sustainability and outreach for marginalized communities. Between 2018-2019, Yordi was a member of the GreenCorps and worked with Metro Blooms. Towards the end of her position in the GreenCorps, she was offered a chance to continue her position with Metro Blooms. However, it was important for her to continue her personal community organizing and find a job that allowed her to develop that work. As a result, Metro Blooms created a position for her as the Director of Equitable Engagement.
Metro Blooms is a non-profit organization based in Minneapolis, Minnesota, whose mission is “…partners with communities to create resilient landscapes and foster clean watersheds, embracing the values of equity and inclusion to solve environmental challenges” (Metro Blooms, 2020). The relationships developed, and goals promoted, are tailored with equity, environmental justice, resilience, and sustainability in mind.This mission is based upon the beliefs that everyone deserves access to clean air, water, and land. Metro Blooms’ ultimate goal is to provide access to resilient green spaces and infrastructure to underserved communities, an environmental justice issue. The organization is committed to achieving this goal through equitable engagement, which they define as creating and providing the conditions for community stakeholders to be meaningfully involved in the organization’s projects. Metro Blooms also aims to ensure that the local communities are engaged in the decision making for the systems and policies made in their area. Yordi helps lead this organization in its development and the maintaining of deep, meaningful relationships with the community, and its residents. The relationships developed, and goals promoted, are tailored with equity, environmental justice, resilience, and sustainability in mind.
One of the most common programs that Metro Blooms provides is the implementation of rain gardens and pollinator gardens. Due to community response, they have also worked to provide more livability elements for green spaces. This includes general shade and nature play, as well as playgrounds, and outdoor seating (Metro Blooms, 2020). More specifically, Yordi’s position is focused on stormwater management and green space expansion in BIPOC communities, where natural space is lacking.
The disproportionate access to resilient green spaces and infrastructure primarily impacts the BIPOC communities of the Twin Cities. This environmental injustice results in BIPOC communities suffering from the urban heat island effect, caused by more impervious surfaces and less natural landscapes, as well as more pollution than the surrounding white neighborhoods. Metro Blooms’ goal is to eliminate this disparity by implementing rain gardens and bioswales in the local communities. Yordi’s passion for Metro Blooms stems from her passion in forming and maintaining connections with the communities involved.
Within cities, green spaces and gardens are crucial in helping to reduce the effects of pollution experienced by those living in the city (Why We Need Green Spaces in Cities). They also help to reduce the heat island effect, where cities experience warmer temperatures due to a lack of tree cover and green space. The city structures absorb and trap the sun’s heat, resulting in higher temperatures. Not only is the heat island effect reduced with an increase in tree cover and gardens, but it also helps reduce the pollution that enters surrounding bodies of water, watersheds in the city, and the air pollution experienced by the residents (Heat Island Effect, 2020).
It is important to note that due to redlining, and systemic racism, those who live within cities, and who are disproportionately impacted by pollution and the urban heat island effect, are BIPOC communities and those of lower income. Redlining was brought on by the Home Owners Loan Corporation (HOLC), which classified certain neighborhoods as “red”, being more risky for loaners, which was also where the residents were majority low-income and BIPOC identifying. Neighborhoods that were designated “green” were less risky and typically high income and White identifying (ArcGIS). As a result, the existing environmental injustices are centered in the “red” areas because the wealthy did not want to invest in the infrastructures and amenities in these neighborhoods.
While Metro Blooms originally started as a group of volunteers who loved gardens and gardening, it soon developed into a non-profit organization that aims to benefit underserved communities with the implementation of community gardens and greenspaces. Regarding public green spaces in Minneapolis: “The neighborhood parks that get the least money for certain types of recreational spending, such as lessons, supplies, and maintenance, are disproportionately in North Minneapolis…Some of the city’s poorest communities are located there, with a large concentration of ethnic minorities. Four of the 12 neighborhood parks that received this stream of spending in North Minneapolis received less than $85,000 last year, and three got less than $25,000. Meanwhile, no neighborhood park listed in the city’s affluent Southwest area received less than $150,000” (Campbell, 2016). The lack of greenspaces, and the insufficient funding of greenspaces in BIPOC communities is the environmental justice issue that Metro Blooms seeks to mitigate.
One of the projects MetroBlooms work towards implementing in the Northern Minneapolis neighborhoods are rain gardens. Rain gardens are shallow depressions in the ground that help to capture rainwater and runoff using plants native to the area. This prevents the water from flowing over driveways, streets, sidewalks, etc. which the water would collect pollutants from before it enters storm drains. Rain gardens act as a medium to collect the water and its pollutants, ultimately improving water quality. It also helps to prevent localized flooding. The capture of rainwater also allows the water to be absorbed into the earth, preventing localized flooding. The use of native plants also helps to create habitats for pollinators and other wildlife (Metro Blooms, 2020).
The program begins by having a consultation with a resident to help determine the best location for a rain garden. Once this location is determined with the community’s discretion, the rain garden is designed to best fit the yard and the resident’s interests. Plants are ordered, and the installation is scheduled. The Conservation Corps MN (CCM) helps in providing a crew to help with the installation which includes any excavation or mulching. Residents can also pick up their own plants and do their own planting with the help of a provided guide. This allows residents to get to know the plants and the future pollinators and wildlife that will be in their yard.
In her work with Metro Blooms, Yordi considers herself as a liaison. Her work is focused on the transitional period towards environmental justice. Some of the questions she asks are, “How do we keep those types of institutions accountable? What does accountability look like [for them]” (Yordanose Solomone, 2020). She bridges the gap between communities and larger organizations with the power to address those questions. Yordi ensures that the work Metro Blooms does is in line with their own missions and vision and, if it isn’t, she problem solves a way to get them back on track.
Another major project that Metro Blooms has focused on are Boulevard Bioswales. Bioswales are conveyance systems that provide an alternative to storm drains in the capture of stormwater runoff (Bioswales, 2020). There is both a lack of funding and infrastructure to combat the increasing threat of flooding in BIPOC communities. Climate change has contributed to the increase in rainfall occurrences and to the extreme, heaviness of them. Not to mention that most stormwater infrastructure was designed in the 1960s, and this infrastructure can not keep up with the increasingly heavy rainfall (Farber, 2019). Metro Blooms has worked to replace the traditional turfgrass boulevards with native plants to help improve the water quality and provide habitat for pollinators and wildlife, similarly to rain gardens. Bioswale boulevards help to reduce stormwater runoff, and improve the ecological resilience of the community, which is defined as “the ability of an ecosystem to maintain its normal patterns of nutrient cycling and biomass production after being subjected to damage caused by an ecological disturbance” (Ecological Resilience). They also increase the visual appeal of the landscape with flowers, and strengthen communities by bringing them together to work on this project. Metro Blooms coordinated this project by partnering with community organizations, volunteer leaders who helped to recruit community members to help facilitate and engage in the project. Metro Blooms was also able to turn the installation and planting into paying jobs for local community members, providing supplemental income and stormwater infrastructure. This showcases another component of Yordi’s work: capacity building for communities in need. Her goal is to provide them with the necessary resources and support so that they can build their own cohorts and do the work in their own communities. This helped to form closer relationships within communities and to Metro Blooms, which is the driver of Yordi’s work at Metro Blooms.
In the community space, Yordi takes on the role of “a supporter and an amplifier of… whatever is happening” (Yordanose Solomone, 2020). Her work has focused heavily on relationship building between various BIPOC individuals and groups. Instead of concentrating on the outcome of the project, like most other environmental justice campaigns do, the work that Yordi does is based in fostering those strong connections from the get go. For example, when there are meetings with a council person, or others, Yordi will be there if someone needs a body from another environmental justice organization to be present. She is the support system acting with transparency and integrity.
To those that are looking to get involved in environmental justice, Yordi recommends that you take your time. Don’t rush into a movement just for the sake of getting involved. Spend some time soul searching. To those that are looking to get involved in environmental justice, Yordi recommends that you take your time. Don’t rush into a movement just for the sake of getting involved. Spend some time soul searching. When Yordi first got into activism it was centered around anti-policing work. At that time, it was performative activism, something that she rushed into. That type of activism was unsustainable, and she had to take a break for two years until she really figured out what she wanted. Her measure of success shifted. She found more and more value in relationship building and the connection with others. It’s important, “to really invest in relationships. Invest your time, and it may feel like a waste of time because you’re not out there, like protesting,… but at the end of the day, if you are feeling like you don’t have a reason or a foundation, or something you can land back on, you’re not gonna last” (Yordanose Solomone, 2020). It’s important to make time to figure yourself out and understand why you want to get involved.
Metro Blooms is an organization dedicated to providing clean air, water, and land for all. Their work is centered around equitable engagement, and implementation of their programs and projects to underserved communities. Their primary project is that of rain garden installations which help the water and land of pollutants, and provide habitat to pollinators and other wildlife with the use of native plants. Metro Blooms works to provide additional green spaces throughout these communities, and educate the community on the importance of green spaces, resilient landscapes, and clean watersheds. They have also made a commitment to environmental justice. Yordi has been crucial in building capacity, supporting communities, and holding larger power structures accountable in the work that Metro Bloom has done. Her work as the director of equitable engagement helps facilitate deep connections between and within the BIPOC communities in Minnesota. Her passion and drive for strengthening community relationships are apparent in the environmental activism work she does for Metro Blooms.
References
https://www.nrcs.usda.gov/Internet/FSE_DOCUMENTS/nrcs144p2_029251.pdf
https://www.britannica.com/science/ecological-resilience#:~:text=Ecological%20resilience%2C%20also%20called%20ecological,caused%20by%20an%20ecological%20disturbance. https://www.epa.gov/heatislands#:~:text=Heat%20islands%20are%20urbanized%20areas,as%20forests%20and%20water%20bodies.
https://www.southwestjournal.com/news/2019/07/flood-risk-on-the-rise-as-rain-storms-gain-intensity/
https://www.theatlantic.com/business/archive/2016/09/inequality-in-american-public-parks/502238/
