Not Featured

With the number of families experiencing food insecurity on the rise, gardening is in the spotlight as a way to provide affordable, nutritious food. Growing fresh food not only provides ready access to fruits and vegetables, but studies show it actually motivates kids to eat them, too -- what a winning combination!

Despite a short growing season, New England educators can make autumn and spring rewarding times in a schoolyard garden by sowing fast-maturing, cool-season salad crops. Radishes are the ultimate fast food, sprouting up and springing from the earth in a matter of days. Lettuce and greens emerge as quickly as grass seed -- some germinating in just a day or two, and students can often harvest micro greens after about 14 days. Each week the fruits of their labor are visible.

Growing up, I was lucky enough to have fresh, home-grown vegetables to eat. We purchased produce from the store, too, but even then I knew it wasn't quite the same. Through the years, I have continued to garden both on my own and with the children at my school. At times, gardening is frustrating and challenging, and I ponder whether it is worth the work. But then I look at the quality of the harvest, along with the gratification of having taken something from a tiny seed to a beautiful and bountiful product of nature, and of course the answer is yes.

Texas Discovery GardensThe butterflies are coming! Youth gardeners in north Texas have a new opportunity for hands-on learning with the opening of the Rosine Smith Sammons Butterfly House at the Texas Discovery Gardens at Fair Park. The two-story conservatory -- showcasing native and tropical butterflies, insects, and botany -- brings the rainforest to Dallas, Texas.