During pre-covid times we would see our social media feeds filled with images of loved ones and their communities choosing to celebrate the day by working directly with soil via volunteering in a local garden, farm, nursery or any other earth based activity.

The history of what we now call Earth Day started in 1970 and is revered as the day the environmental movement was born in America. The goal initially of Earth Day was,

And it did just that,

“By the end of 1970, the first Earth Day led to the creation of the United States Environmental Protection Agency and the passage of other first of their kind environmental laws, including the National Environmental Education Act, the Occupational Safety and Health Act, and the Clean Air Act.”

Because of the realities of climate change in our everyday lives and the birth of the environmental justice movement (which was born out of criticism to the mainstream environmental movement), Earth Day became more than just a day to only talk about environmental concerns & environmental policies from a mainstream perspective. Earth Day became a way for different communities across the world to share their earth based narratives with their global community — everything from: challenges farmers are facing, to better ways to steward earth, to the intersections of environmental justice and social justice and of course information for folks to learn to grow their own food.

With much love and respect to the origins of Earth Day, Farmer’s Footprint is choosing to celebrate this day in our own way. This year we’ve decided to pour our love for Momma Earth on to the earth based couples who dedicate themselves to stewardship of our planet not only as individuals but even more so in their romantic partnerships.

Not only is this a celebration of love, but a celebration of widening conversation around the lifestyles of farmers and their partners.

The USDA reported that,

With young folks becoming more and more engaged in getting into agriculture based or land based work, it’s important that the conversations to these newcomers are not just about growing techniques, scalability and profitability. There are some real life personal and communal adjustments that come with entering this space on any level — and one of those is romantic relationships. It’s important that farmers or aspiring farmers ages 17-35 understand how entering this type of work also understand how to navigate their personal life along with their professional, as they go hand in hand.

If you survey the digital ag space, as in podcasts, articles, videos, etc. there are very few resources available regarding the intersection of young farmers, relationships, romantic relations and lifestyle. And even when you ask your local, elder farmer for their wisdom on this topic, you’ll find that their narratives are so specific to the time in which they started farming and what they chose to do/how they chose to have income from ages 17-35. A lot of elder farmers did not start farming in their late teens/early twenties, a lot of them left previous careers and already had a romantic partner by the time they started their farm. As beautiful as these stories are, they don’t serve as supportive advice to help orient the younger generation of farmers in understanding how to integrate romantic partners into their farm based lifestyle.

We are here to change this by holding space for a conversation that needs to be had. We are happy to introduce you to four couples who chose to stand in vulnerability and share their experiences navigating their love for Momma Earth and how this love extends into their romantic relationships.

Meet Shankari and Dan. This beautiful earth based couple began their journey working together with Momma Earth in 2017. They purchased their homestead shortly after in 2018, and from thus Waddle Om Farm was born with the mission to
“grow and expand, and offer farm fresh, local options to the Blue Ridge Mountain communities around Charlottesville, Virginia. We are dedicated to preserving the soil and using the art of permaculture and regenerative farming to sustain the land and animals.”
This couple shows what it looks like to care for each other just as deeply as they care for the earth. Their dedication to each other is rooted in being in harmony with Momma Earth.

Watch their interview below:

Meet Ashley + Paul of The Farm Life. The Farm Life is rooted in human connection with a mission to “to provide connective experiences, wellness education, and trustworthy resources to our community. To thrive, you must have healthy relationships centered around low maintenance (no drama) and high unconditional love (total, relentless support with healthy accountability interjects as needed). The Farm Life Movement is centered around human connection.”

This couple has turned their love for Momma Earth not only into a functional farm but also into a family. Ashley holds the wisdom of what it’s like to grow your family while growing your farm. She also shares what it’s like to mother 4 children while being mothered by Momma Earth.

Read her full interview below:

Meet Amber Tamm and Anochi. This earth based couple is rooted in liberating black communities via food. Through their love for each other, their love for Momma Earth, their love of food and their love of their community — they’ve come together with a vision of making food free for all.

Watch their interview here:

Meet our last couple, Leia and Greg. This couple holds an important coordinate as they are on two very different sides of agriculture with the same love of Momma Earth. Leia is our lead content producer here at Farmer’s Footprint and a visual powerful earth based storyteller. Greg, on the other hand, is a skillful production veg farmer, with a vision of teaching communities how to grow their own food.

Read Leia + Greg’s full interview below.