The burgeoning range of people now turning their urban backyards into homesteads is wide and varied, from families with young children, to immigrants recapturing their original culture, to idealistic twenty-somethings seeking community. Many of these farmers have a special lesson or inspiration to share with those who aspire to, or simply appreciate, the urban farm lifestyle.

Backyard Roots is a unique project by California-based photographer Lori Eanes that evocatively and intimately explores the lives of 35 urban farmers in Northern California, Oregon, Washington, and British Columbia. In these stories and photos you’ll find people like Laura Allen, the Oakland-based cofounder of Greywater Action, a policy and education nonprofit that promotes the use of greywater systems. In Vancouver, aquaponic farmer Jodi Peters sustainably grows and harvests tilapia in sync with her organic vegetable garden. Or meet Jonathan Chen, a young cancer survivor who now manages the Danny Woo Community Gardens in south Seattle, where a group of Southeast Asian immigrants farm in a vibrant mix of cultures.

From the elderly to the young, the trendy to the purely functional, here are inspiring stories, ideas on how to make it happen, tips on everything from chicken keeping to community health, and so much more.