Mariana Islands Conservation Conference: Sharing Seeds of Sustainability and Food Security

Earlier this month, Guahån Sustainable Culture (GSC) had the opportunity to engage community members at the 7th annual Mariana Islands Conservation Conference (MICC). The weeklong conference shined a light on ongoing conservation efforts across our region, including GSC’s work towards strengthening sustainability and food security here on Guåhan.

MICC attendees tour our Food Resiliency Hub.

MICC attendees had the chance to tour our Food Resiliency Hub in Yona, and learn more about GSC’s vision to transform the former Hamamoto Gardens into a space for education, cultivation, and the promotion of food sovereignty and self-reliance. As Guåhan’s food system continues to depend on imports to put food on our tables, it’s become more critical than ever to support local agriculture and restore the CHamoru cultural legacy of growing our own food. At a panel discussion on the impact of militarization on local conservation and sustainability efforts, GSC co-founder and president Michelle Crisostomo talked about the importance of local food sovereignty and land conservation efforts.

MICC attendees tasting fresh fruit from our orchards.

The conference also gave GSC the chance to invite more community members to learn about local food waste and join our Composting In Every Village program. Our program workshops not only educate folks about the importance of redirecting food waste away from our landfill and into our gardens, but also gives participants the opportunity to receive a free composting system and produce bags in exchange for reporting data on how much food waste they’re diverting from our landfill. During our MICC presentation, Michelle Crisostomo shared that 42% of waste going to our landfill is compostable, representing over 20,000 tons of food waste annually that would otherwise go towards nourishing our gardens, and by extension, our people.

We’re so thankful to the organizers, organizations, and community members who came together at MICC to learn from and collaborate with each other to conserve our islands’ natural wealth and and all it provides to nourish our people.

Michelle Crisostomo, GSC co-founder / president, joins a panel on the impacts of militarization on local conservation and sustainability efforts.