PDX Solarpunx

Move quietly, and plant things. Solarpunk is a genre and school of thought that catalyzes all of humanity’s existing technological, cultural, and biological wisdom into tangible practice for the challenges of our time. No far off future renewables, no technological magic bullet, just people working together with what we know now for a better future.

And it starts with you, the soil, and some plants

Who are we? Your friendly, rag tag collective of neighborhood guerilla gardeners! PDX Solarpunx is a community of neighborly plant nerds of all ages challenging the crises of climate change, biodiversity loss, and food sovereignty through native guerrilla gardening, plant based mutual aid, and community connection.

What is Guerrilla Gardening? Guerilla gardening is defined as plant cultivation in areas without permission that may be degraded, neglected, or ignored. In Portland, this includes our many vacant lots, road medians, empty sidewalk strips, bioswales, and other marginalized spaces!

Why Native Plants? Solarpunx currently gardens with native plants, or plants indigenous to the Portland area, which are the species most likely to: support pollinators, sequester carbon, increase biodiversity, reverse cultural plant loss, and survive harsh urban settings. In other words, native plants create the best, most vibrant home for our living community. This makes native plants vital, and perhaps the most vital partners in combating the dual crises of climate catastrophe and mass extinction.

Why it matters. Our community is currently experiencing dual crises of climate catastrophe and mass extinction, Many of the most severe challenges like wildfire, drought, extreme heat, and ecological collapse are already present in Portland, OR. With these challenges in mind, Solarpunk envisions a positive future where our communities are safe, healthy, nourished, sustainable, and self governed by principals of free association and mutual aid. We have the power right now to confront these challenges together with guerrilla gardening modalities, our collective knowledge, shared love of living things, and a desire for a bright future!

What is the Living Seed Library? And how is it greening urban spaces, building plant communities, and cultivating climate resiliency?

Solarpunx PDX tends to multiple small plots of public land at LGL to facilitate our native guerrilla gardening efforts. Our goal is to use nursery techniques to supply native plants, seeds, and materials to our community for free. This project is a collaboration by the community and for the community with the goal of sharing knowledge and mutual aid that makes a positive impact on the ecology of our shared urban environment, as well as strengthening our relationships to our immediate surroundings. We practice this by proliferating native seed bombs and building guerrilla gardens – as well as sharing seeds, skills, resources, and supporting other local land organizations through direct action. Anyone with a love or curiosity for things that grow are welcome! People of all ages and abilities have a place in our community.

ALL POWER TO ALL THE PEOPLE -PDX SOLARPUNX-

Read about An Interview w/Solarpunx