dankulpinski's photostream (CC)

Summer may be in full swing, but a number of Los Angeles schoolyards are full of life as students, teachers and community volunteers prepare edible and educational gardens for the coming school year.  Growing a garden in L.A.’s heat myself has presented new challenges, but they’re nothing compared to the obstacles facing these new and renewed gardening programs.  Yet, despite summer school cancellations, loss of the $1.7-million California Instructional School Garden Program, and a budget crisis that has left so many teachers unemployed, many schools are finding much needed support from celebrity chefs, movie stars, parents and other community members. 

While grassroots organizing is vital to the survival of these programs and high-profile contributions help, ultimately these blossoming programs and others across the country would benefit tremendously from federal support to ensure that they flourish.  Alice Waters, the edible schoolyard trailblazer, sees the gardens as integral to addressing the growing trend of childhood obesity:

Now we need a curriculum that’s about ecology and about gastronomy so that we can make sure that children are making the right kinds of decisions for themselves, and for the planet. There’s no way to address the issues of obesity unless you let children come into a relationship of food that’s positive, restorative and desirable.

Gardening programs go beyond nuturing healthy relationships with food, they can also be used for lessons throught a school’s curriculum, including science, social studies, art and more, not to mention the potential for locally sourced school lunches.  Michelle Obama has brilliantly helped set the national stage for a gardening renaissance, let’s hope the tireless efforts of those committing their summer hours to help these gardens flourish will soon gain even more recognition and support.