This episode is the third installment of the three-part series on “Homelands and histories.” Liz Harris is the co-founder of the Glass City Goat Gals and Sean Nestor is the co-chair of the Lucas County Green Party. They discussed food access and land use in Northwest Ohio, sharing how local organizations are working to address food-related issues in our communities.

Transcript:

Speaker 1:                               From Bowling Green State University, and the Institute for the Study of Culture and Society, this is BG Ideas.

Jolie Sheffer:                          Welcome to the BG Ideas podcast, a collaboration between the Institute for the Study of Culture and Society, and the School of Media and Communication at Bowling Green State University. I'm Jolie Sheffer, an associate professor of English and American culture studies and the director of ICS. This is the third and final episode of a three-part series on Homelands and Histories in which we talk to people making big impacts on local communities through their work on land use and cultural heritage.

Jolie Sheffer:                          The word homeland can evoke comforting feelings of patriotism or cultural identity for some, but it can also be used to attempt to justify expulsion or even genocide. Similarly, the word histories is meant to call attention to the many points of conflict, debate, erasure, violence, and silencing that accompany efforts to describe and interpret the past. Today, we are joined by Liz Harris, co-founder of the Glass City Goat Gals, and Sean Nestor, co-chair of the Lucas County Green Party.

Jolie Sheffer:                          The Glass City Goat Gals is an agribusiness located in a densely urban area of Toledo. The Goat Gals have established a goat farm and community garden, and their mission is to provide affordable produce and education regarding wellness, healthy eating habits, and environmental sustainability.

Jolie Sheffer:                          The Lucas County Green Party is lobbying for the city of Toledo and surrounding area to enact policies that support local urban agriculture. And Sean has personally advocated on behalf of community gardeners facing resistance from local government.

Jolie Sheffer:                          Both of these activists are here to discuss how food access and land use figure into the history of our own homeland of Northwest Ohio. I'm very pleased to welcome Sean and Liz to BGSU. Thank you for being here.

Liz Harris:                                Thank you for having us.

Sean Nestor:                          Yeah, thanks.

Jolie Sheffer:                          One of the things that we've been interested in is how different modes and methods of activism can address pressing social issues from a variety of angles. Can you introduce yourselves, tell us a little bit about how you got involved in urban food activism in Northwest Ohio, and how your current projects are supporting that work?

Liz Harris:                                Okay. I got involved, I actually worked at Toledo Grows. But prior to Toledo Grows, working there, I took the urban agriculture courses at Owens Community College. And really just saw a need in my community to create a healthier climate in my community. So took some courses, graduated, worked with Toledo Grows, and really got to get to know the community, got them out gardening. Just wanted to take a step further.

Liz Harris:                                And so right around where I live, there was a bunch of abandoned homes. We tore those homes down, started very small, few raised beds. I mean the response for the community, you would see families come up with little a grocery bag, picking up some vegetables for dinner. And so we expanded that. I brought the goats in as a source of income to sustain the farm. And so we started there. And it grew. And