Posts Tagged ‘kids’

This weekend I had the distinct pleasure of passing on my love of gardening to the next generation – my three year old neice in Tucson.  Before leaving, I searched the book store for the perfect gift to share with her.  I knew I wanted to get her something to do with gardening and food, but there’s not much out there for the 3-4 year old set.  I settled on the Klutz book, Good Growing: A Kid’s Guide to Green Gardening.  The book is definitely a bit too adult for 3-4 year olds, but the good part is that it comes with a kid-friendly seed starting kit.  We flipped through the book and looked at all the pictures, and I explained how food comes from the tiny seeds that were included with the kit.  “That’s really cool!” she said.  I was watching a gardener born before my eyes! We decided

One of my first and favorite posts was titled “Gardening with Children: A Lifetime of Engagement.”  In the post, I argue that once a child is turned on to the joys of gardening and the wonders of nature, they never forget it.  At least, I never have.  That’s why, on a recent trip back to Staten Island, I took extra time to reflect on how my parents backyard has changed over the past several years, and how it’s changed me.  The backyard has eroded and changed, become overgrown in places, but the lessons it taught me have definitely taken root!

Welcome back, Prince of Petworth readers. Given the recent surge of interest in urban gardening (where to, how to, when to, etc.) the great Dan Silverman afforded me the opportunity to be a guest contributor to his blog. This is week 5 of 8 scheduled guest posts. So you’ve made your way here. First and foremost, this is a blog about all things urban as they relate to gardening and food systems. From time to time, I’ll discuss things such as farmland preservation, but for the most part, it’s all about the city. I focus on a few main areas: Do It Yourself (as a young apartment dweller, I had to learn quickly how to grow things with limited space and budget); Policy and Planning (this is where my urban planning degree – and google skills – come in handy!); and feature articles, where I explore everything from guerrilla gardening,

I pass the Barbara Chambers Children’s Center at 1470 Irving Street NW every morning on my way to work.  The other day, I noticed 3-4 newly-constructed, raised beds!  Something’s coming.  I must admit, despite living next to the Children’s Center, I don’t know much about their programs. Does anyone have an idea of what the programming is for these beds?  Is it part of a larger urban gardening initiative for the children?

This is part 4 of a 4 part “Grown in Louisiana” series on urban gardening initiatives in the state of Louisiana. Part 1: Grown in Louisiana: Donaldsonville, LA freedom garden teaches kids about their roots Part 2: Grown in Louisiana: What’s Growing in the Freedom Garden? Part 3: Grown in Louisiana: How Signage Enhances the Garden Back in April, I had the distinct pleasure of visiting the River Road African American Museum on my travels to Louisiana.  Their freedom garden teaches young children about the history of the community and the history of the underground railroad through something we all connect to: food.  From the website: In 1990, Congress directed the Secretary of the Interior, acting through the Director of the National Park Service, to conduct a study of the alternatives for commemorating and interpreting the Underground Railroad and the approximate routes taken by enslaved people escaping to freedom before

 This is part 2 of a 4 part “Grown in Louisiana” series on urban gardening initiatives in the state of Louisiana. Yesterday, I posted about the concept behind the River Road African American Museum’s Freedom Garden.  Today, I’ll show you what’s actually growing there.  Janice Linton explained that every item chosen for the garden is purposely selected to teach a lesson – these are items that newly freed slaves would have relied on for sustinance, for celebratory meals, or for medicinal purposes.  The crops are rotated throughout the seasons, so that the soil is evenly replenished.  On my vist, we saw onions, shallots, collards, garlic and peppergrass.  Peppergrass, Jacice explained, was often cooked down to season items like collard greens.  I had never tasted it before, but it had quite a bite in its raw state.  Tomorrow, I’ll have more about this delightful garden, including how lessons are taught through beautiful, museum-like placards throughout the grounds.

This is part 1 of a 4 part “Grown in Louisiana” series on urban gardening initiatives in the state of Louisiana. During the 2010 National Planning Conference in New Orleans, my colleague Ryan and I had the opportunity to go to Donaldsonville, Louisiana – a community located between Baton Rouge and New Orleans – for the Community Planning Workshop.  While at the workshop, I had the opportunity to meet Kathe Hambrick Jackson, Executive Director of the River Road African American Museum who told Ryan and I that we absolutely had to stop by the museum if we had the time. The museum was incredible – a topic for another post – but I noticed a small sign that said “community gardening education.”  I asked Janice Linton, one of the museum’s curators, what the sign meant, and she proudly explained the freedom garden.  When I asked to go see it, she