Crabtree Farms Community Book Club – “Braiding Sweetgrass: Indigenous Wisdom, Scientific Knowledge and the Teachings of Plants”
5:30 pm - 7:30 pm
Overview
The Crabtree Farms Community Book Club is a monthly gathering designed to foster thoughtful conversation around food, land, sustainability, health, and community. This program will expand Crabtree’s educational offerings by creating a reflective and relational space that complements hands-on workshops and farm-based growing and learning.
The book club will provide an accessible, welcoming environment for participants to engage with meaningful literature while connecting more deeply to the mission and work of the farm.
November 04: Braiding Sweetgrass: Indigenous Wisdom, Scientific Knowledge and the Teachings of Plants
As a botanist and professor of plant ecology, Robin Wall Kimmerer has spent a career learning how to ask questions of nature using the tools of science. As a Potawatomi woman, she learned from elders, family, and history that the Potawatomi, as well as a majority of other cultures indigenous to this land, consider plants and animals to be our oldest teachers. In Braiding Sweetgrass, Kimmerer circles toward a central argument: The awakening of a wider ecological consciousness requires the acknowledgement and celebration of our reciprocal relationship with the world. Once we begin to listen for the languages of other beings, we can begin to understand the innumerable life-giving gifts the world provides us and learn to offer our thanks, our care, and our own gifts in return.
Schedule
Frequency: Once per month
Start Date: May 2026
Meeting Time: First Wednesday of each month, 5:30-7:30 PM
Format (2 Hours)
• 5 minutes – Arrival & light refreshments (optional tea or seasonal farm sampling)
• 90 minutes – Guided discussion
• 15 minutes – Reflection activity or connection to the farm
• 10 minutes – Closing and preview of next month’s book
Participants must register monthly up to a week before the start date of the book club. For example, if the first book club is on Wednesday, May 6, the registration deadline is Wednesday, April 29.
Themes & Reading Plan:
The club will rotate themes to maintain variety and seasonal relevance.
Books available via the Chattanooga Public Library: https://catalog.chattlibrary.org/GroupedWork/24596cdb-7756-013f-7cb5-4b3574fde7e5-eng/HomesearchId=8304868&recordIndex=1&page=1&searchSource=local&referred=resultIndex.
For book purchases, we refer you to local bookstore Book & Cover: thebookandcover.com
Crabtree Farms Community Book Club members receive 15% off their order at Book & Cover by using the discount code CURIOUSCRB on their website: https://thebookandcover.com/. Books purchased are for in-store pickup.
About the Facilitator
Rogelio Cerezo serves as Director of Development and Administration at Crabtree Farms, where he supports the organization’s growth, partnerships, and community engagement. Rogelio has a passion for bringing people together through conversation and shared learning. An avid reader, he enjoys books that explore food, nature, culture, and community. Some of his happiest memories involve time spent in his family’s farm and in the gardens of different relatives, these experiences continue to shape his appreciation for the land and the stories that connect us to it. He’s excited to create a welcoming space for thoughtful discussion and connection through the Crabtree Farms Community Book Club.