LENS.cast
Stories of environmental justice and imagination in California and beyond, from UCLA's Laboratory for Environmental Narrative Strategies. LENS.cast tells stories about environmental art, activism, policy, and imagination, with a focus on questions of environmental and multispecies justice. How do built and natural environments embody histories of oppression and possibilities for change? How do different communities value and protect the nonhuman beings they live with? How do artists and activists push us to think differently about our more-than-human relations? How can communities ensure that marginalized people and places are at the center of plans for ecological futures? What should you think when you see a coyote? What does it think of you?
LENS.cast
Heirlooms of Conquest: Trees + Justice in Los Angeles
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LENS
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Season 1
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Episode 1
In the first episode of LENS.cast, we explore the history and future of Los Angeles's remarkable trees.
California is more than palm trees: it is, according to University of Pennsylvania historian Jared Farmer, an incredible arboretum—a collection of species from all over the world—and an "heirloom of conquest." Trees record the history of colonial destruction in California, but they could also be an important part of a more just, resilient future as LA faces the realities of climate change.
We speak with Farmer, with Rachel Malarich, LA's first City Tree Officer, and with Maria Adame and Miguel Vargas of the nonprofit group TreePeople, about the many meanings of LA's trees.