Dirt is Beautiful

As part of Shiftworks’ Environment, Health, and Public Art Initiative, artist Mary Tremonte collaborated with Grow Pittsburgh to create Dirt is Beautiful, a project that advocates for healthy land and healthy communities. Developed through community engagement, research, and collaborative design, Dirt is Beautiful consists of two main elements: SHEd, a Soil Health and Education Cart, and Dirt Tales, a zine publication and broadsheet series.

Dirt is Beautiful raises awareness of soil health, remediation, and contamination in our neighborhoods, including lead and heavy metals contamination. The project is designed to increase the visibility of new and established community garden participants within Grow Pittsburgh’s service network, and provide them with more resources. The gardens of focus during this project include Food City, East Allegheny Commons, the Children’s Museum on the Northside, Whitaker, McKeesport, Duquesne, and Amity in the Mon Valley.

SHEd is a garden event resource and soil health information center on wheels. In consultation with Tremonte, the cart was designed and built by master cabinetmaker Gerty Tonjum and decorated by artist Gina Favano. The mobile cart, which can be borrowed from Grow Pittsburgh’s Garden Resource Center, contains all of the elements and activities needed to host a fun and informational community garden event.

SHEd was designed to be modular and mobile. It can be easily disassembled, transported in a car, and set up at any community garden. SHEd includes copies of the Dirt Tales zine; garden banners and other event decorations; outdoor games; and activity kits with hands-on activity supplies and instructions. These elements were developed in collaboration with Grow Pittsburgh staff and community garden participants to provide educational and entertaining activities that build knowledge about soil contaminants and soil health, from lead to nematodes.

Dirt Tales is a publication and broadsheet series about soil contamination and healing practices that investigates the soil, land histories, and cultures of various community gardens within Grow Pittsburgh’s network. These histories include that of neighborhoods, industry and contamination, indigenous relationship to the land, geological makeup, and remediation and soil building techniques, as well as general pointers for improving soil health. The content of the zines was generated through a series of community garden events, interviews and consultations with soil health experts, and Tremonte’s independent research.

Copies of Dirt Tales are available through publication distributors such as Justseeds and as part of select zine and art book fairs. To download a PDF of Dirt Tales, please visit the Online Resources section below.

Download a PDF of Mary Tremonte’s Dirt Tales zine.

Learn more about Mary Tremonte and her other projects on her website.

Learn more about Grow Pittsburgh on their website.