Christina Matua reflects on her neighborhood and why environmental health matters.
I grew up in Visitacion Valley in San Francisco and the Crocker area of Daly City. Although I don’t live there today, my parents still do. I now live in the hillside area of Daly City, just about ten minutes from where I grew up. Many working-class communities and communities of color in these areas face invisible environmental dangers every day.
My immediate family does not have asthma and allergies, but environmental health has still touched our lives. My daughters have struggled with asthma, environmental allergies, and severe eczema conditions that were new to our family and raised questions about how our surroundings affect our health. These experiences made environmental risks feel personal, not abstract.
Environmental health is not just about air, water, or soil. It is about who bears the burden of pollution and who is left unprotected. Environmental health is social justice. In our home, caring for the environment is woven into our culture and daily life. We teach our children about herbs, spices, fruits and vegetables that connect us to our roots and to the land we live on now. By visiting local farmers markets and cleaning our street, we show them that urban communities are not separate from nature and that food, culture, and environmental health can thrive even in city spaces.
Imagine children learning how to grow food, feeling the soil in their hands, and connecting to the land beneath their feet.
Urban agriculture is more than planting gardens. It is planting seeds of knowledge, culture and resilience. By pairing environmental health education with urban farming, we can help young people see the connection between clean soil, clean air, and their own well-being. Gardens and environmental education should be in our schools and neighborhoods.