Cultivating Place

The Power of Gardeners

When Gardeners thrive, so does the world around them.

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A 10-Episode Documentary Series

Cultivating Place: The Power of Gardeners is a documentary series shaped by more than twenty years of listening to gardeners and cultivators of place around the world.

Drawing from the first decade of the public radio program and podcast Cultivating Place, the series builds on Jennifer Jewell’s long-standing work elevating gardeners as cultural changemakers, weaving together ecology, history, and community.

Across ten episodes, the series follows ten cultivators whose purposeful relationships with plants and place deepen and expand our understanding of what gardening truly means.

Each episode centers on lived experience, revealing how care for land is inseparable from care for people, culture, and future generations.

Together, these stories present gardening not as ornament, but as a profound act of care, one that strengthens resilience in land, communities, and the systems that hold us together.

The Gardeners

  • Lorena Gorbet

    Chester, CA

    Cultivating tradition and resilience, Mountain Maidu elder Lorena Gorbet and the multi-tribal coalition she helped to organize, carry forward ancestral knowledge, helping to regenerate language, culture, and traditional care on reclaimed land.

    Maidu Summit Consortium

  • Abra Lee

    Atlanta, GA

    Cultivating history and pride, horticulturist and scholar Abra Lee honors the legacy of Black gardeners while inspiring future generations to grow.

    Oakland Cemetery

  • Ben Futa

    South Bend, IN

    Cultivating connection and belonging, Ben Futa grows inclusive plant experiences — more people, more plants, in more places.

    Botany & Co.

  • Mary Jackson

    Charleston, SC

    Cultivating resilience and heritage, Mary Jackson carries forward the Gullah Geechee tradition of sweetgrass basket weaving in the Lowcountry, regenerating environmental and economic pathways in the process.

    Mary Jackson

  • Gaining Ground

    Concord, MA

    Cultivating food and community, Gaining Ground farms with care for the land while ensuring fresh harvests reach those most in need.

    Gaining Ground

  • Leslie Bennett

    Oakland, CA

    Cultivating beauty, nourishment, and justice, Leslie Bennett designs gardens that connect food, culture, and community.

    Pine House Edible Gardens

  • Sandy Fisher & Durl Van Alstyne

    Chico, CA

    Cultivating resilience and opportunity, Sandy and Durl steward Golden State Linen with care that sustains community, environment, and economy.

    Golden State Linen

  • Sofia Laçin & Hennessy Christophel

    Los Angeles, CA

    Cultivating a sense of awe for our natural world.

    Studio Tutto

  • Civic Garden Center

    Cincinatti, OH

    Cultivating communal values and restoring collective optimism.

    Civic Garden Center

  • Kristyn Leach

    Sebastopol, CA

    Cultivating spaces and stories of food and seeds that deepen our cultural understandings.

    Second Generation Seeds

Why Gardeners Matter

Like the oak tree, keystone species that sustain entire ecosystems, Gardeners hold together the living fabric of our human world.

“When we cultivate place, we cultivate ourselves.”