Gardening Against Obesity
Working under the notion that a garden in every school can combat some of the serious health problems facing children, garden policy experts will descend on Des Moines, Iowa, September 7-8, 2006, for the first-ever National Summit on Garden Policy to discuss the social, environmental and health benefits of gardening.
On the agenda is the establishment of a set of Principles for Garden Policy, which experts hope will help people and public officials see gardening as a means to create a better lifestyle for themselves and their communities.
“Gardening is such a powerful tool because it offers people so many benefits,” said summit organizer Neil Hamilton, director of Drake University’s Agricultural Law Center, Des Moines, Iowa, and a member of the board of the National Gardening Association. “Everyone is equal when gardening. It provides people with common way of communication and can be an entry point to many different civic discussions.”
Other topics of interest during the conference include a presentation from the Center for Disease Control on “Gardening’s Contribution to America’s Wellness” and discussions on “Gardens, Prisons and Healing People,” “Urban Gardens: Beautifying Communities, Feeding People and Educating the Public” and “The Future of Gardening in American Society.” There will also be a session on “School Gardens and Educating Children.”
“Increasing plant-base education in America’s schools could have a profound effect on the health of the nation,” said Hamilton. “By learning about plants and food production, students will achieve a greater understanding of the nutritional value of fresh produce. School gardens may also boost students’ consumption of vegetables and promote healthier eating. By taking care of a garden, they will learn to enjoy eating the fruits of their labor.”
The 2006 National Summit on Garden Policy is sponsored by the Drake University Agricultural Law Center and State and Local Food Policy Project in cooperation with the National Gardening Association. Bruce Butterfield, director of research at the NGA, will be presenting results of a new attitudinal survey that looks at “What Gardeners Think.” The Drake Agricultural Law Center will publish the conference proceedings as a special report in 2007.
Other key presenters include Cathrine Sneed, founder of The Garden Project; Lynn Fredericks, founder of FamilyCook Productions and chair of Les Dames d’Escoffier International’s Green Tables Initiative; and Will Rapp, founder and president of Gardner’s Supply Co.
The schedule for the conference, titled “Gardens For All: People, Plants and Policy,” is posted at www.nationalgardenmonth.org/index.php?page=garden_policy
.
Videos
