Edible South Florida Spring 2012 : Page 15

Why edible school gardens are a powerful and necessary teaching tool. By Dylan Terry 8EFK?<I;8P#8EFK?8I;<E > iving our youth a connection to where food comes from gives them a sense of trust and appreciation in what they eat. organizations working to strengthen this growing movement. Among the local ones, three were actively involved in school gardens: Slow Food Miami, Fairchild Tropical Botanic Garden and The Education Fund. The end of my internship coincidentally coincided with one of the Edible Garden festivals at Fairchild. There I met Claire Tomlin of The Market Company. Within 10 minutes I was hired. I would be the in-house graphic designer part time, and would manage an emerging side business of hers working with The Education Fund to install edible school gardens the rest of the time. We installed about 30 over the course of a couple months. For the rest of the school year I was the “master gardener” of the Education Fund program, going back to see each garden regularly and advise how to make them better. Through all of this, I realized how impressionable kids are and that whatever they are taught at a young age remains with them for the rest of their lives. I also realized how the youth of low-income communities had restricted access to healthy foods, and that teaching the skills of growing food and eating fruits and vegetables could have an even greater impact on the lives of these children. ?fn[`[pfljkXikpflifne\[`Yc\ ^Xi[\e`e^Ylj`e\jj6 I became interested in striking out on my own and garnered the support of my parents in starting Ready-to-Grow Gardens. The first year was mostly learning the ropes of managing my own business. Towards the end of spring 2011 I was approached by the president of Slow Food Miami, Renée Frigo Graeff, and Wendy Levitz, the director of gardens. I was asked to install 35 new garden beds for the Slow Food Miami school garden program. At the beginning of the new school year my helper and I installed them all in about two weeks! Slow Food Miami plans to continue to support the creation of new gardens and Editor’s note: Dylan has been involved in planting more than 100 edible gardens in South Florida schools and communities over the past months. He talked about his experiences, observations and plans for the immediate future. N_\i\[fpfljkXikZ_Xe^`e^X jfZ`\kpk_Xk[\dXe[j`dd\[`Xk\ ^iXk`ÔZXk`feXe[k_\cfngi`Z\jf] c`m`e^`eX]Xjk$]ff[eXk`fe6 One of the best ways is through edible gardening with kids. Not only do we change their attitudes towards food, but we reap endless benefits of teaching organic gardening to children, including fostering environmental stewardship (empathy for living things), beautifying the schoolyard, teamwork, exercise and cooking skills. The school garden also can be used for teaching all subjects, including, science, math, language arts and visual art. 8e[k_\i\Xi\Xcjf^i\Xk_\Xck_ Y\e\Ôkj% Yes, it’s safe to assume that most gardeners eat more fresh produce than non-gardeners, and a greater variety of it. The nutritional benefits of high vegetable and fruit diets are well known and the more varied the selection of natural food, the greater the range of nutrients you eat. ?fn[`[pfl^\kpflijkXik6 As an intern at Knight Foundation almost three years ago, I was able to distinguish multiple edible gardening programs sprouting up around South Florida. My main assignment was to develop an overview of Miami’s urban agriculture movement, and eventually advise the director’s decision to fund the most promising one. I had a hard time picking one as being the best because the choices were so different from one another. Little did I know that my short internship would turn out to be a springboard into a career with edible gardens. In the internship, I identified both national and local K8I8D:E8D8I8 is accepting applications for grants. Since the initial garden installation, many schools have expanded their gardens on their own. I’ve also gotten to work with other school gardens, including preschools and Montessori schools. I’ve also been able to work directly with teachers participating in The Fairchild Challenge through workshops that help them with the edible garden portion of the program. Teaching teachers is an interesting position to be in, and I really enjoy helping them to jumpstart their initiatives. N_XkËje\ok6 I plan to continue being involved in the proliferation of edible school gardens – I believe it’s one of the best ways to influence the eating habits of the next generation, in addition to a wide array of other benefits. Giving our youth a connection to where food comes from gives them a sense of trust and appreciation in what they eat. The United States has one of the highest obesity rates in the world. Eating more fruits and vegetables is one of the best ways to change this. We must instill the importance of a healthy lifestyle and eating habits into the future generation. Our collective health as a nation depends upon it. Questions about edible gardening? Email ^Xi[\e7\[`Yc\jflk_Õfi`[X%Zfd and Dylan will answer it in our next issue. &#1e; edible SouthFlorida.com | spring 2012 | 17

The Edible Gardener Q&A

Why edible school gardens are a powerful and necessary teaching tool. By Dylan Terry ANOTHER DAY, ANOTHER GARDEN Giving our youth a connection to where food comes from gives them a sense of trust and appreciation in what they eat. Editor's note: Dylan has been involved in planting more than 100 edible gardens in South Florida schools and communities over the past months. He talked about his experiences, observations and plans for the immediate future. Where do you start changing a society that demands immediate gratification and the low prices of living in a fast-food nation? One of the best ways is through edible gardening with kids. Not only do we change their attitudes towards food, but we reap endless benefits of teaching organic gardening to children, including fostering environmental stewardship (empathy for living things), beautifying the schoolyard, teamwork, exercise and cooking skills. The school garden also can be used for teaching all subjects, including, science, math, language arts and visual art. And there are also great health benefits. Yes, it's safe to assume that most gardeners eat more fresh produce than non¬gardeners, and a greater variety of it. The nutritional benefits of high vegetable and fruit diets are well known and the more varied the selection of natural food, the greater the range of nutrients you eat. How did you get your start? As an intern at Knight Foundation almost three years ago, I was able to distinguish multiple edible gardening programs sprouting up around South Florida. My main assignment was to develop an overview of Miami's urban agriculture movement, and eventually advise the director's decision to fund the most promising one. I had a hard time picking one as being the best because the choices were so different from one another. Little did I know that my short internship would turn out to be a springboard into a career with edible gardens. In the internship, I identified both national and local organizations working to strengthen this growing movement. Among the local ones, three were actively involved in school gardens: Slow Food Miami, Fairchild Tropical Botanic Garden and The Education Fund. The end of my internship coincidentally coincided with one of the Edible Garden festivals at Fairchild. There I met Claire Tomlin of The Market Company. Within 10 minutes I was hired. I would be the in-house graphic designer part time, and would manage an emerging side business of hers working with The Education Fund to install edible school gardens the rest of the time. We installed about 30 over the course of a couple months. For the rest of the school year I was the "master gardener" of the Education Fund program, going back to see each garden regularly and advise how to make them better. Through all of this, I realized how impressionable kids are and that whatever they are taught at a young age remains with them for the rest of their lives. I also realized how the youth of low-income communities had restricted access to healthy foods, and that teaching the skills of growing food and eating fruits and vegetables could have an even greater impact on the lives of these children. How did you start your own edible gardening business? I became interested in striking out on my own and garnered the support of my parents in starting Ready-to-Grow Gardens. The first year was mostly learning the ropes of managing my own business. Towards the end of spring 2011 I was approached by the president of Slow Food Miami, Renee Frigo Graeff, and Wendy Levitz, the director of gardens. I was asked to install 35 new garden beds for the Slow Food Miami school garden program. At the beginning of the new school year my helper and I installed them all in about two weeks! Slow Food Miami plans to continue to support the creation of new gardens and is accepting applications for grants. Since the initial garden installation, many schools have expanded their gardens on their own. I've also gotten to work with other school gardens, including preschools and Montessori schools. I've also been able to work directly with teachers participating in The Fairchild Challenge through workshops that help them with the edible garden portion of the program. Teaching teachers is an interesting position to be in, and I really enjoy helping them to jumpstart their initiatives. What's next? I plan to continue being involved in the proliferation of edible school gardens – I believe it's one of the best ways to influence the eating habits of the next generation, in addition to a wide array of other benefits. Giving our youth a connection to where food comes from gives them a sense of trust and appreciation in what they eat. The United States has one of the highest obesity rates in the world. Eating more fruits and vegetables is one of the best ways to change this. We must instill the importance of a healthy lifestyle and eating habits into the future generation. Our collective health as a nation depends upon it. Questions about edible gardening? Email garden@ediblesouthflorida.com and Dylan will answer it in our next issue.

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