I was growing up, a vegetable garden was an integral part of our family’s life. The same was true as my boys were young. Today, too many children in urban communities have no concept of where carrots, radishes or tomatoes come from. Hence, they are less likely to even enjoy eating them.

Across the country, there is a movement afoot to bring children and communities together through school gardens. Teachers, parents and students are working together to plan, plant and nurture gardens. These outdoor gardens are an important part of the curriculum - teaching children science, math, reading, art, music, writing and social studies. There is an incredible organization in Fort Worth, Texas. REAL School Gardens www.realschoolgardens.org, currently provides support for school gardens in 57 public elementary schools in North Texas. The staff is superb, the enthusiasm of the teachers is infectious and, most importantly, the students are thriving from the efforts.

In Dallas, Mark Painter and others started a school garden at Stonewall Jackson Elementary in 1995. It became a 20,000 square foot outdoor science lab beloved by all the students. This past fall, Mark’s garden and his position were victim to the Dallas school district budget cuts. An amazing bunch of volunteers is raising money to continue maintenance of the garden and find a way to keep Mark on board for the rest of the school year. It is a worthy cause.

I hope that these new generations will learn to garden and garden organically. I am excited