Think Green Live Clean

In a time of economic recession , budget cuts, and funding limitations for the California public school system, a new program aimed at sustainability and community is taking root and flourishing. Families, celebrities, company owners, and local residents are coming together to create edible gardens in public schools in Los Angeles and other urban area. Several figureheads in the food industry are striving to alleviate costs by donating soil, seeds, food for the volunteers, and other supplies from local farms and nurseries. Such projects have looked to the precedent set by Alice Waters and her Edible Schoolyard program, which now certifies other garden programs and provides advice and support. Waters’ program, a seed-to-table initiative that was begun in Berkley, California has recently gone national. Across the nation Edible Schoolyard is assisting schools to create academic programs centered around a garden on campus, and has founded school lunch programs that are sourced by locally grown, organic food. Intended to quell both environmental degradation and obesity, Waters is continuously pushing for support from the federal government.

Many have begun to argue for the projects, explaining the myriad of benefits that extend from the maintenance and cultivation of the garden. Students find a sense of community, commitment, and meaning in being part of a collective project, and it has kept many off the streets. Related projects have taken root, such as Food from the Hood, a student run business founded by graduates of the garden programs at their school in Crenshaw. According to the students who participated, it provided the opportunity for kids in this poor urban community to find a sense of belonging away from the dangers of their gang-ridden environment. This summer, these students are partnering with volunteers, teachers, and Starbucks employees to participate in a project founded by the Garden School Foundation, whose president Nat Zappia has pushed for a curriculum surrounding the gardens created. History, art, geography, science, and nutrition can all be incorporated, and all students can participate. Regardless of the tough economic climate, many are working towards making these projects sustainable and successful. The Environmental Media Association and Yes to Carrots are two groups that have recently partnered with the Los Angeles Unified School District to sponsor new garden projects. There is the general sentiment that a growth of such projects can and will inevitably lead to the blossoming of a newly educated and
passionate generation.

To learn more visit LA TIMES

To get involved visit Garden School Foundation