This month we caught up with Pam Richart of the Eco-Justice Collaborative. Pam, along with several other RE-AMP members, served on the Agriculture Project Team who spent over a year pouring over data and interviews in order to publish a new report, Transforming Agriculture in the Midwest. Our Network hosted a webinar this month to highlight the findings and discuss opportunities to equitably eliminate greenhouse gases from this sector. If you’re interested in food systems and/ or agriculture please join our Agriculture Hub or contact Erica Flores, RE-AMP Program Coordinator, at erica@reamp.org for more information.
Tell us a little about yourself and where you live.
Pam Richart: I am a land use planner who became a co-owner of a land use and environmental planning firm in the western suburbs of Chicago. The other co-owner? Well that was Lan, my husband and life partner. Lan started the firm with an architect planner, and they hired me. Lan and I purchased the firm from the senior partner, and became sole owners. Lan is an ecologist. Together, along with a staff of 18, we were fortunate to have both public and private clients. Some of my favorite work was associated with Environmental Impact Statements, where I evaluated the impacts of major public projects, including the High Speed Rail proposed to be built from Chicago to St. Louis, on agricultural lands.
Tell us about the Eco-Justice Collaborative.
Pam Richart: After a series of trips to central America, I became convinced that our work needed to include a focus on justice. Lan, a conscientious objector, agreed. We sold our firm to our senior professionals, and worked with them for several years to ensure that they were able to successfully transition into ownership. During that time, we laid the groundwork for Eco-Justice Collaborative, a non-profit that advocates for solutions that address environmental, economic, and social justice. We moved from Chicago to central Illinois (Champaign-Urbana) in 2014, when we started a campaign to adopt a coal-severance tax that would help communities reliant on coal to diversify their economies.
Today, we work collaboratively with other groups, rather than maintain a staff, as we once did. Our organizing has been successful over the past 15 years, as we re-ignited the call to close Chicago’s two coal-fired power plants located in two predominantly Latin-X neighborhoods; pushed for the removal of coal ash from Illinois’ only National Scenic River; and initiated the development of the Coal Ash Pollution Prevention Act, passed in 2019. I started a Natural Climate Solutions Working Group of the Downstate Caucus of the Illinois Clean Jobs Coalition last year. We are hoping to be able to take advantage of incentives offered by the newly passed Climate and Equitable Jobs Act to develop community-scale agrivoltaic systems in central and southern Illinois. The goal is to pair solar farms with deep-rooted native plants that can attract pollinators or be part of a managed grazing system, and sequester carbon, and / or provide access to land for farmer training, or farmers and growers who do not have access to land. By encouraging regenerative farming on the edge of communities, we hope to provide a source of local food in areas experiencing food apartheid.
Why did you decide to join the Agriculture Project Team, who worked on the report, Transforming Agriculture in the Midwest?
Pam Richart: I have been interested in regenerative agriculture since 2018. When I learned there was an application process for this report, I pretty much begged to be on it. I’ve had experience with urban agriculture and community gardens;, transforming a Chicago city lot to a permaculture garden (with chickens of course), working with communities preparing comprehensive plans to encourage them to curb sprawl and preserve their natural resources, including farmland; and, together with Lan, hosting two Bioneers conferences, where we brought together innovators like John Edel, from Plant Chicago (a closed loop system that has created a circular economy based on food in a former meat-packing plant in Chicago’s Back of the Yards) with Albert Bates, who introduced me to biochar; to Vandana Shiva, and her whole-systems approach thinking about saving seeds, food economies, and climate. All of this has emphasized the importance of building just systems, together with people who have been marginalized, rather than given a seat at the table. 
The whole team worked on the report. We had interesting discussions and debates about what to include; how to frame the problem and the solutions; and how to keep equity and justice front and center. The guiding principles were proposed by Rachel, who was the primary author. They REALLY add an important frame for evaluating solutions! Rodger made sure we didn’t forget the importance of urban agriculture and food systems. Matt and others championed the farmers, making sure that we lifted up their role in systems change and regenerative agriculture. Kayla honed in on the legislative pieces. Scott was a good sounding board, and understood the importance of livestock and “ranchers” (not just farmers). Tara was key in pointing out the importance of perennials, and the good work Wes Jackson has done on food. Kathryn, was the voice of reason, softly intervening when most needed, with her reason. Chelsea jumped right in whenever needed, and wrote the chapter heading text. She, too, reminded us of the importance to lift up and celebrate the work of farmers acting on climate, rather than vilify them. Melissa, of course, co-authored the report, and we had many conversations about how to produce it.
Why are you passionate about transforming agriculture in the Midwest?
Pam Richart: I believe that we cannot preserve our climate without moving towards land-based strategies that can sequester carbon. Our food and agricultural systems favor large-scale agri-businesses, but there are many points of intervention to make a difference. Transforming agriculture in the Midwest will reduce greenhouse gas emissions generated from the way we manage soils and livestock. It can revitalize local communities. If we do this right, we can address the historic harms thrust on Black, Indigenous, other farmers of color, and women. And, of equal importance, transforming agriculture can revitalize degraded ecosystems, building healthy soil that potentially can sequester carbon (but put a stop to most of the emissions), while restoring water quality, biodiversity, and wildlife habitat. Because animals are so integral to building soil health, taking them out of concentrated animal feeding operations will also improve their quality of life.
What would you say your superpower is?
Pam Richart: I work from passion, it becomes “catchy”, and can bring others along. And that has resulted in many of the successes I previously described. Passion, combined with hard work and a desire to bring about positive change has served me well!
Anything else you’d like members to know?
Pam Richart: I have three children, who now also have children, and I adore each and every one of them. Two of the three (and their families) live in Washington DC, and COVID has kept us apart (except last summer, when we all spent a week together). Lan and I have become guardians for a 16-year old, unaccompanied minor from Guatemala who has become an important (and delightful) part of our family. We live happily together, along with our two golden retrievers. When I have time, I pick up my guitar, and sing!