🕵️♀️ The Climate Propagandist Newsletter #3
Propaganda lessons from the "Victory Gardens" + your climate propaganda digest!🐛
Welcome back to The Climate Propagandist Newsletter, a bi-weekly playbook that aims to inform and equip storytellers to become spin doctors for climate action!
In this edition, we draw inspiration from war propaganda campaigns to ask: “How do we inspire people to start gardening, grow their own food, and re-wild their neighbourhoods?” As always, we have a treasure trove of climate propaganda resources for you to explore. Keep scrolling to the end to find our curated list of recommendations!
🔦 INVESTIGATIVE PIECE: Propaganda lessons from the “Victory Gardens”
I recently partnered with author and speaker Ellen Miles to explore the potential of guerrilla gardening as a powerful form of climate propaganda. Our collaborative work aims to highlight how this grassroots movement can ignite action, nurture autonomy, and spark contagious social change (you can check it here).
This got me thinking: How do we inspire people to start gardening, grow their own food, and re-wild their neighbourhoods? How can we effectively communicate the urgent need to plant in public?
In my quest for answers, I found inspiration in the annals of history—the "Victory Gardens.” During both World War I and II, these gardens bloomed as a result of the government's endeavours to encourage home gardening. The intent was two-fold: to express patriotism and to bolster the war effort by freeing up food production for soldiers. This massive campaign now serves as an incredible source of ideas for framing the importance of nurturing local communities and ecosystems during times of crisis.
The “Victory Gardens” campaign, U.S.
One poster depicts a family cultivating food that "is fighting," a metaphor symbolising the pivotal role of homegrown food in supporting the war effort. In this context, gardeners were elevated to the status of real war heroes, their act of tending to the land directly contributing to the strength and resilience of the nation.
Another poster, perhaps even more iconic, features Miss Columbia—personifying the United States—proudly sowing seeds so that she can “have a part in Victory.” Who wouldn't want to be part of the winning team?
The “Dig for Victory” campaign, U.K.
British propaganda posters were not only punchy and graphic, but also portrayed gardeners as stylish and smiling figures (notice the sex appeal of the farmers here…). The campaign did more than just encourage gardening; it made it look cool. As a result, over 20 million “Victory Gardens” were planted in the U.S., producing almost half of the vegetables grown during the war. In the U.K., even the lawns outside the Tower of London were transformed into vegetable patches.
So, what can we learn from “Victory Gardens”? Weaving narratives of resilience and triumph, can empower individuals to “have a part in Victory” and win the fight against climate change. Why not borrow the lexicon fields of war to add some urgency to the message of nourishing people and the planet? After all, the climate emergency demands a call to arms for collective climate responsibility and action. Who knew gardening could be so badass?
💼 CLIMATE PROPAGANDA DIGEST:
Don’t miss out on these handpicked resources for climate propagandists. Here’s a curated list of what to read, watch, listen to, and engage with…
📑 Reading material
ARTICLE: Is Exxon declaring war on E.V.s?
You may have seen the new TV commercial from Mobil1, which was first uncovered by investigative journalist Amy Westervelt. In this article from ExxonKnews, Emily Sanders analyses the fossil fuel ad that "depicts electric vehicles as shackling and oppressive, contrasted with the unbridled freedom of… getting your gas from Exxon." The article investigates ExxonMobil's efforts to block the transition to electric vehicles.
GUIDE: Building a larger us: Five questions for change-makers
An engaging and profoundly enlightening read on how to bring about positive change in the world - but by bringing people together, not by dividing them. The guide is written by Alex Evans, founder of Larger Us - “a community of people who share the aim of bridging divides rather than deepening them, who want to transform relationships rather than defeat enemies, and who recognise that achieving these things is about psychology as much as politics.” This is a must-read!
📻 Audio content
PODCAST: Herb, a Miniseries on the Corporate Free Speech Movement
You MUST listen to Drilled’s new season, Herb, “focused on the fossil fuel industry's role in galvanizing the corporate free speech movement and laying the legal groundwork for its primary defense of climate deception today.” Drilled is a true-crime podcast about climate change, hosted and reported by award-winning investigative journalist Amy Westervelt.
EPISODE: “Petromasculinity | Cara Daggett”
In this thrilling episode by Planet:Critical, researcher Cara Daggett explains how sexism manifests in our energy systems and how the concept of energy is weaponised by the oil and gas industry. This conversation is a fantastic introduction to a topic I have been fascinated by - petromasculinity. “The concept of petro-masculinity suggests that fossil fuels mean more than profit; fossil fuels also contribute to making identities, which poses risks for post-carbon energy politics.”
📹 Video resources
WEBINAR: Communicating Climate Change
In this webinar by The Communications Network, communications professor Melissa Aronczyk discusses how discuss how communications professionals “can and should create effective and impactful climate comms strategies for connecting with their audiences in today’s climate-affected world”. The session investigates the challenges and opportunities of communication in the era of climate change and explores creative approaches to climate communications.
🎟 Special events and offerings
EVENT: “Climate Emotions and Activism: A Psychologist's Perspective,” August 6th
“Climate Emotions are a key missing piece to motivating action at scale. To unlock transformative changes in individuals and societies, we are going to need to integrate the reality of the climate emergency into all elements of our being— our feelings, our identity, our morality, and our actions.” In this event, climate psychologist and author Margaret Klein Salamon will share practical advise on how to transform despair into effective action.
EVENT: “The Ins and Outs of Getting Climate Coverage,” August 10th
Getting media attention for climate progress isn’t always easy. In this session by the Future Leaders Climate Initiative and Redwood Climate Communications, you’ll have the opportunity to learn from expert climate communicators on what makes an effective climate story. Looking forward to it!
🐛 SPECIAL SHOUT-OUT: Get Guerrilla Gardening
Becoming a guerrilla gardener is like becoming a painter: all it takes is action! To join the movement, there’s nothing to sign or subscribe to, all you have to do is start greening your streets.
If you’re eager to try guerrilla gardening and you’re not sure where to start, grab a copy of the global handbook: Get Guerrilla Gardening: A Handbook for Planting in Public Places by Ellen Miles.
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