Results tagged “schoolgardens”

On Tuesday May 12th, the Environmental Media Association, along with Yes to Carrots launched their new partnership with the Los Angeles Unified School District to sponsor educational gardening in several of their schools. At an event held in the new garden at Helen Bernstein High School in Hollywood, many of the EMA's celeb board members were on hand to lend a hand and to share their interest in organic gardening and its role in both education and the Los Angeles community.

This week, the Environmental Media Association's Young Hollywood Board is putting on the gloves and digging deep in support of organic gardening in Los Angeles-area schools. Celebs on the Board, including Nicole Richie, Lance Bass, Rosario Dawson, members of Maroon 5, Amy Smart, Matthew Rhys, Emily VanCamp and Emmanuelle Chriqui, will each adopt an area school, help with the planting, and check in with their gardens during the school year, explains People.

The gardening trend is, without a doubt (and pardon the pun) growing.

During World War II they were called "Victory Gardens"--home-tended sections of land yielding money-saving produce for folks without much money to spare. While "Victory Gardens" might call to mind PBS programming an older relative might enjoy, the impulse to plant and grown has taken root once again nationwide. Now we call them "Recession Gardens" but by any other name the rose--or tomato plant--will still smell as sweet:

Industry surveys show double-digit growth in the number of home gardeners this year, and mail-order companies report such a tremendous demand that some have run out of seeds for basic vegetables such as onions, tomatoes and peppers. (Daily News)

Gardening at home, or in a community plot, has a very clear bottom line: "The National Gardening Association estimates that a well-maintained vegetable garden yields a $500 average return per year. A study by Burpee Seeds claims that $50 spent on gardening supplies can multiply into $1,250 worth of produce annually."

Not everyone has a yard, so for many, joining a community garden can be a solution; local ones are experiencing a surge in popularity. Many Angelenos believe now is the time to set up more such resources, like in West Hollywood, where vacant lots seem to cry out with potential. Although for many would-be gardeners, cultivating a green thumb might require a little extra learning (especially if it's an old dog/new tricks scenario), many school-aged kids in LA are fortunate enough to be able to participate in educational gardening programs; with the state of our economy we could all benefit from their savvy so long as our economy lets us fund the programs.