Growing communities through school gardening

Many schools are benefiting from the natural learning environment provided by the introduction of a school garden. In a joint project involving Growing Communities, Brisbane’s Northey Street City Farm and Health Promotion Queensland, many of Queensland’s local State schools are being encouraged to foster learning environments emphasizing gardening, healthy food choices and outdoor activity. Critical to the success of these projects is the involvement of as many community participants as possible. Each school aims to involve staff, students, P&C, as well as numerous other groups from the broader community. Children participating in school gardening projects enjoy hands on learning, physical activity, fresh air and clean food prepared simply. Inspired teachers also use the garden as a place to teach Maths, Science and English. This is a neat little video for anyone considering starting their own school-based organic gardening project.

City kids learn by growing their own food

One of the best ways for children to learn the importance of making positive food choices is to get them actively involved in growing their own food. That’s exactly what’s happening at Winchester School in Toronto Canada. In this video, Mary Ito reports on how Winchester’s inner city children are being provided with the opportunity to learn about growing their own fruits and vegetables. In doing so, the children learn about soil preparation, planting from seed, bugs, weeds, harvesting and the importance of consuming good foods. All of the food grown by the children is used in the school lunch program. This is a really worthwhile program in which the children benefit from eating fresh produce as well as learning about where their food comes from.

Reaching out in New Jersey

Mikey Azzara is the Outreach Coordinator for the North East Organic Farming Association of New Jersey. Mikey’s an inspirational young man who’s performing some really important work connecting New Jersey’s organic farmers with the local communities they serve. In his quest to learn more about how our food is grown, as well as the sustainable practices needed to support future generations, Mikey has studied extensively and has also travelled to Italy to learn from Italy’s much-respected organic farmers. Mikey’s rightly proud of his New Jersey roots and with his obvious leadership capacity and stated desire to bring organics to the youth generation, he’s someone we’re bound to hear a lot more of. Keep going Mikey - we’re right behind you!

Marin Organic School Lunch Program

There are some exciting models emerging within the organic community. Some of these aim to connect local farmers with schools. A wonderful - and hugely successful - example of this type of model exists in Marin County. Marin Organic are an association of farmers, ranchers, agriculture advisers and marketing experts. The organization serves the local community by linking growers with local consumers. In this video, Scott Davidson, School Lunch Program head, explains how Marin Organic is forming a bridge between organic farmers and local schools. Apart from helping to provide approximately 12,000 children each week with nutritious locally produced food, the program also enables children to learn about, and connect with, where their food comes from. Great stuff!

Better food in schools

In most Western countries we treat the symptoms, rather than identifying and addressing the root causes, of disease. It’s no surprise that the leading cause of premature death in Western society is heart disease. Our never-ending quest for efficiency, convenience and uniformity is making us sick. We’re overweight, we’re stressed and we’re tired. In this video, four children let us know that they are aware of the problem and would like us to do something about it. They’re asking for better foods to be served in schools. It’s a simple yet important message they have to share. With so much of our children’s learning taking place in the school environment these days surely it makes sense to teach the benefits of consuming positive foods from an early age?

Zestful Gardens

Community Supported Agriculture provides a great way for people from local communities to invest in and share the benefits and risks associated of small scale organic farming. When you invest in CSA you are partnering with your local farmer. How does it work? Basically, you pay a portion of your local farmers operating costs during the winter months. This entitles you to enjoy a portion of the produce when it is harvested. This interesting video provides a tour of Zestful Gardens, a 30-acre farm situated in the heart of the Puyallup Valley in Tacoma, Washington. They produce some wonderfully fresh organic vegetables, including a number of heirloom varieties. If you’re a local, why not get in touch with them by checking out their website.

GROFUN - a Bristol community gardening initiative

How about this for a great idea - GROFUN. What does it stand for? Growing Real Organic Food in Urban Neighborhoods. This grass-roots project, which started in Bristol, brings together neighbors and locals with the aim of growing organic produce for everyone to consume and enjoy. It’s a simple idea, but it’s the sort of community involvement and shared sense of responsibility that really makes a place livable. It’s nice to see so many people come together for a common goal. And the range of skills brought to bear certainly makes projects such as this entirely more manageable. One of the things that strikes me in this video is the capacity for projects such as this to bring together all manner of people. Great stuff GROFUN!

Organic farming on the rise in India

With the global demand for organic food continuing to outstrip supply, it comes as no surprise that India is emerging as an important supplier of staple and commodity-based organic food items. However, with the dramatic increase in the number of farms coming under organic management in India, the country’s training systems are being stretched to the limit. This video looks at the increasingly important role India is playing in global organic markets and how, through the formation of large family-based partnerships, it intends to continue its growth. The video also addresses the often-overlooked reasons regarding why chemical intensive agriculture was becoming untenable (and unsustainable) in many regions within India.

Organic farming on the Isle of Man

Andrew Moore is an organic farmer from Balladoole on the Isle of Man. Concerned with the quality of food available, Andrew switched to organic farming several years ago. In this video he explains why he made the switch from conventional to organic farming, what the switch entailed for him, as well as the traditional seven year crop rotation cycle he now uses to maintain soil fertility. We’re also introduced to the beautiful Belted Galloways he rears on his farm. I think this video will make you wish you lived on the Isle of Man. At the very least, I’m sure you’ll be left wishing you could routinely access the wonderful fresh produce (spuds, beetroots, cabbages, and turnips) Andrew sells at the local farmers’ markets. This is great viewing!

Following the trail of the genetic conspiracy - Part 3

Europe is not immune from Monsanto’s political and bureaucratic influence. Part 3 of this series explores the pressure exerted by U.S. GM companies in Europe. It also looks at claims made by these biotech companies that GM soy would require lower doses of herbicides and contrasts this claim with the Argentinean experience. Argentina’s soy farmers, who were among the first to adopt GM technology 10 years ago, are now faced with having to use increasingly large quantities of chemical herbicides to control herbicide resistant super weeds.

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