Trouble knocked at the door, but hearing laughter, hurried away.
-Benjamin Franklin
Mother Jones magazine (March 2009) describes how green growers in Oregon and California are taking advantage of "backyard farms." We leave it to the creativity of our readers to figure out what applications these ideas might have in your own programs....
"Unable to find an affordable spot to start an organic farm in Oregon, Donna Smith launched Your Backyard Farmer and now tills 47 plots in Portland. Clients pay her $1,575 a year to plant and tend home gardens that yield enough organic produce for three. Meanwhile, in Oakland and San Francisco, Forage Oakland and MyFarm help their members share their backyard harvests with one another. MyFarms's Chris Burley envisions a food chain where produce travels just '20 feet from farm to fork.'"
Rusty Keeler has compiled a life's work of his ideas into his beautiful book,
Natural Playscapes: Creating Outdoor Play Environments for the Soul. This book is about a new movement in children’s outdoor play areas, natural playscapes, where the entire space is filled with art, hills, pathways, trees, herbs, open areas, sand, water, music, and more.... This magnificent 316-page resource contains close to 500 color photographs and illustrations.
Comments (2)
Displaying All 2 CommentsMt Kisco Day Care Center
Mt Kisco, NY, United States
I am the program director for a child care center in Westchester county in New York. We have raised bed gardens on all of our playgrounds. Children as young as 18 months and up to 11 years old plant and harvest the same food the kitchen uses to make their lunches. Of course we cannot grow enough to sustain ourselves, so we buy all of our produce from local farmers to support local agriculture. This has provided a tremendous opportunity for children to learn about where food comes from, how it grows and how you cook and eat it! For more information contact Dawn Meyerski at [email protected]
NE Symposium on Play
Wakefield, Rhode Island, United States
Over the years of my teaching and directing in a number of Early Childhood Programs we always had gardens! Flowers, Veggies and Fruits!
All of the children participated and it was a wonderful way for staff and children to enjoy the natural world of flowers, plants,
fruits, vegetables and sharing the joys of nature!
How about your own Early Childhood Backyard Gardens!?
Bill Strader, coordinator, the New England Symposium on Play
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