Blu Au

The Center for Regional Food Studies (CRFS) student award supported Blu Au's academic place-based research, specifically exploring how Black, Indigenous, People of Color (BIPOC) community health outcomes are influenced by their relationships to cultural land practices- which can include- traditional foodways, traditional medicinal practices, cultural practices and spiritual practices.

During Summer 2020, Blu worked with the Dunbar Pavillion Community Garden on an earth-based educational project that focuses on reconnecting BIPOC communities to plant-based health and wellness practices, while recentering, revaluing and elevating the historical and cultural knowledge of BIPOC communities. The goal of this project is to empower BIPOC communities to reclaim agency over their own health and wellness in order to make more informed decisions about how they treat and advocate for treatment of themselves.