Would love a copy of the book for some future garden planting & teaching with our 2 year old son.

I personally think school gardens are a wonderful thing and would love to see more of them in the public school systems.

All children love growing things. They joy they get from seeing something they have loved and nurtured produce something beautiful is a feeling of accomplishment. It is especially beneficial for children who struggle with school. It is important for children to learn to care about their surroundings.

Growing food is a waste of time? Huh, I learn something new everyday.

Schoolyard gardens and habitats are becoming more and more of the norm around the region. The Farm to School Movement is helping to promote this cause nation-wide. We also feature some great examples of schoolyard gardening on our blog, check them out, http://blog.baybackpack.com/?tag=gardening.

Our school has a 'Reading Garden' at the moment and there are teachers like myself who would like to take things to the next level and start growing vegetables the children could actually eat. Our students were so excited to watch the growth of spring bulbs and couldn't believe the beautiful spring flowers came from those little brown bulbs they planted in the fall. It was a wonderful experience for them. This garden, with the addition of vegetables, could be the ultimate outdoor classroom. Thank you for sharing the info on this book. I will be putting it on my back to school list!

And school gardens have also been criticized for giving poor and minority students the wrong message - that they have not moved beyond the sharecropping, migrant-working lives of their ancestors.

Wow. That just takes my breath away. Lot of unhappiness in that reasoning.

Catcha sez: scenery happy. Well, yes!

It is a truly ugly sentiment....-- Susan

"School gardens have been criticized as unsafe, unhealthy and a waste of time."

"And school gardens have also been criticized for giving poor and minority students the wrong message - that they have not moved beyond the sharecropping, migrant-working lives of their ancestors."

Links please?

Lazy Gardens: There was a story in, I think, the NY Times about this cause they banned them in the city. And my Google alerts keep me posted on this stuff, so I swear I am not making this up! It is hard to believe, I know! -- Susan

Found it - in the Atlantic! My, she did go on a bizarre rant, didn't she?

Makes me wonder if I should volunteer in South Phoenix (mostly poor Hispanic and Black residents) to teach them how to garden on the cheap. Would it be good to help improve their diets and health and save money, or would that be oppressing the residents and forcing them back into the melon fields?

Am I being a kind human being or is a guilty conscience over my white privileged upbringing driving my actions?

:-)

PS: ROFLMAO your verification words are "bordello warder"!

Lazy girlfriend. Yes. Right. The Atlantic. But I think NYC or some other big city official was opposed to school gardens. PS. You are the winner of the book. Send me your snail mail address! -- Susan