As a government employee for the U.S. Department of Agriculture, I often find myself having to justify my job. Since the mid‐1940′s and the start of the green revolution, many believe that there has been no need for agricultural research or education. Advances in breeding, mechanization, fertilization, and pest control have brought food surpluses and kept prices low in the grocery stores for the last sixty years.

Lately, however, additional costs associated with the way we farm have come to light. We’ve contaminated our drinking water with the herbicide atrazine and damaged the ozone layer with the use of methyl bromide. By planting in monocultures, we’ve facilitated the evolution of pests that overcome the resistance we breed into crops and the chemicals we spray. Our soils are eroded and reduced in fertility from over‐tilling. Our fisheries are disrupted by the over‐application of fertilizers leading to nitrogen run‐off and algal blooms. Most importantly, we’ve increased our dependence on fossil fuels to manufacture fertilizers, power farm machinery, and to transport produce over long‐distances. Pollution, UV radiation, global warming, red tides, infertile land, and fossil‐fuel based wars are no doubt among the most serious problems facing society today, all of which are directly intertwined with the way we farm.

Despite all our technological advances, there is much to be gained from growing vegetables the old‐fashioned way. This year I am gardening in Maryland on the Sandy Spring Friends School campus. No doubt many parents are wondering why they are paying good money to send their child to a private school to learn about farming (among other things of course)! In the process of getting the garden started, however, I have found that I am not the only one with the desire to have a sustainable farm associated with the school. Thanks to the support of many in the community, the maintenance department, and a school chef with an enthusiasm for local fresh produce, the school garden is really growing (cheesy pun intended). It is my hope that the garden goes beyond supplementing the school cafeteria and will help facilitate thought on the source of our food and our impact as consumers. Students may better understand why the recent cut back in farm subsidies will benefit sustainable agriculture. There is no doubt that the application of sustainability to contemporary farming practices will remain a pertinent political issue for decades to come.

While planting seeds, spreading compost, or weeding, students have familiarized themselves with the living things, soils, and nutrient cycles in the garden. Students in the 7th and 8th grades have learned about the scientific method, hybrids, heirlooms and plant families by comparing seed germination rates. Their pea and lettuce seedlings from these experiments have already made their way to the garden. I’ll never forget the amazement in their faces when they realized how quickly their bean plants grew when compared to the other crops or the similarity of pepper, tomato and eggplant seeds, all from the same plant family. Through projects like these, students are beginning to learn just what goes into the production of healthy food.

Beyond the practical and educational reasons for having a school garden, we hope that students realize the pleasures that gardening can bring. Gardening connects us to the natural world. Gardeners are aware of overnight frosts or the next forecasted rain or bright green bathwater after walking through the tomato patch! Gardeners eat new things like beet greens, bok choy, kohlrabi, and swiss chard. They appreciate their food and finish every last bite, because they know how much work and resources went into the production of their meal. Ultimately, gardeners are out there year after year, only in part because of the environmental benefits of producing their own food, but largely because of the thrill of a new start in the spring and the joy in realizing the abundance that their hard work can bring.