🌱 Slow Growth. Deep Roots.

What permaculture teaches us about healing, rebuilding, and starting over—especially for veterans.

In permaculture, we’re taught that fast growth often leads to weak roots.

A tree that shoots up too quickly without establishing a solid root system might look impressive—for a while. But the first drought, the first storm, and it topples. The strength wasn’t there underneath.

I think about that a lot when it comes to life after military service.

For many veterans, the transition to civilian life comes with an invisible pressure to "bounce back." Get a job, go to school, fix the routine, stay busy, stay strong.

Fast growth.

But that kind of growth—without taking time to build a foundation—can leave us just as fragile as those shallow-rooted trees.

At Vital Roots Foundation, we’ve been walking this principle out in real time.

We started as just an idea—planted like a seed. The belief that nature, community, and purpose could help veterans reconnect and heal. From that tiny start, we’ve been growing something real. But not fast.

We’re still waiting on official tax-exempt status. We’ve had to say no to big opportunities because we weren’t ready.

We’ve felt the financial pressure of growing a mission too fast on too little soil.

I’ve leaned too far forward more than once.

But every time we slow down, take a breath, and focus on the root system—building trust, finding the right mentors, planting in good soil—we get stronger.

This isn’t just a metaphor. It’s how we design gardens. And it’s how we build lives worth living after service.

Slow Growth Looks Like:

• Saying “no” to burnout so you can say “yes” to longevity.

• Prioritizing mental health over appearances.

• Creating peer support systems that don’t just look good on paper, but actually hold when life gets hard.

• Building projects rooted in community instead of hustle.

For veterans, it might look like:

• Taking time to figure out who you are without the uniform.

• Getting your hands in the dirt and letting the land teach you something new.

• Admitting that you don’t have to have it all figured out by next month.

• Letting relationships, routines, and purpose develop slowly—like deep roots.

We're not here to grow fast. We’re here to grow strong. To grow food. To grow community. To grow healing. Together.

Want to be part of it?

We’re not a finished product—we’re a living system in progress.

• 🌿 Come join us for Coffee in the Garden on Thursday mornings in Fullerton.

• 💸 Support us financially if you believe in slow, intentional healing rooted in nature.

• 🤝 Or just share this with someone who needs a place to grow.

We're building slow—but strong. We’d love to have you grow with us.

👉 www.vitalrootsfoundation.org