Urban farming after school program!

Here is a briefing about our Green City Schoolyards program that was posted on the MassPTA website. This is a pretty basic overview of what the program looks like, but it definitely gets the point across. Check it out to see if this is something your school, or a school you are involved with, would be interested in:

GREEN CITY SCHOOLYARDS

GREEN CITY SCHOOLYARDS An Urban Farming After School Program providing urban students with the opportunity to grow and harvest organic vegetables in their own schoolyard. The program gives students a hands-on practical experience growing food -- learning to think globally and act locally. Students build a sense of community while creating a productive outdoor space. They gain an understanding of the science of farming, nutrition and agriculture. Students also gain confidence as they watch the plants they have nurtured grow and then take the produce home to feed themselves and their families. The students will also recieve a 5-gallon bucket-garden to grow their own vegetables at home.

The GREEN CITY SCHOOLYARDS teachers are organic farmers experienced in gardening, sustainability, nutrition, and education. The 4'x16' raised-bed farm can be built anywhere: pavement, parking lots, a roof, or schoolyard. The vegetables will be grown and harvested on a rotating basis for each program. Depending on the season, students grow a variety of vegetables such as mixed greens, carrots, radishes, cucumbers, tomato, spinach, potato, broccoli, and onions, parsley, celery, cabbage, kale, and beets.

For more information contact: Gabriel Erde-Cohen and Jessie Banhazl
Green City Growers: urban farming and sustainable education 508 395 1987