However, one thing that I truly learned from the experience is that while so many people are interested in getting their gardens going in their homes or communities, they don’t know much about the basics of sun, soil and water. So, I created a quick step-by-step guide for those thinking about starting a garden.

STEP ONE: Study up on growing food

There are so many resources for growing food. Go online, buy a book or talk to people who grow food (ie, garden specialists at nurseries, farmers at the farmer’s market, your neighbor with the beautiful garden).

STEP TWO: It’s all about SUN, SOIL, and WATER

* Does your space get enough sunlight?

* If you are planting in-ground, have you gone to a garden center and checked your soil? Does it need to be amended? The garden specialist will be able to help you.

* Do you have a means to regularly and easily water your garden?

STEP THREE: START YOUR GARDEN!

* For the first-timer, start with plants that are low-maintenance and are appropriate for the season.

* Sunset Magazine has great monthly suggestions of plants and ways to make your garden grow.

* Be sure to read all instructions on seed packets or pay attention to the instructions given to you about the starts you purchase.

* ORGANIC PEST CONTROL TIP: Surround your new plants with onion, garlic, alyssum and marigolds to help ward off pests.

STEP FOUR: Regularly water and check up on your garden

* Pay attention to the growth of plants

* Are there any critters eating your plants?

* Pull weeds that are overcrowding your plants

* Add mulch to your plants to help keep the soil from losing moisture.

STEP FIVE: Keep learning, reading and asking questions.

Useful Resources:

http://eartheasy.com/grow_menu.htm

http://www.sunset.com/garden/

http://www.farmerd.com/

http://celosangeles.ucdavis.edu/Common_Ground_Garden_Program/Grow_LA_Victory_Garden_Initiative.htm

One of the many things I will be discussing is how gardens and green spaces on school campuses help enhance learning challenges and innovations discussed. I truly believe that the more educators discuss on-line learning, the more they should also be discussing hands-on, nature education; the ying and the yang to our modern world and the challenges we face.

I was recently inspired by an article from the National Environmental Education Foundation (2010) which summarized a number of research studies pertaining to the learning in green spaces. Some highlights of the article include:

• Children’s stress levels are lower when they spend time in natural environments (Wells & Evans, 2003).
• Exposure to natural environments can reduce the symptoms of attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (Taylor, Kuo, & Sullivan, 2001; Kuo & Taylor, 2004).
• Access to natural environments is associated with reduced risk of suffering from depression, anxiety disorders, and other mental health issues, as well as various diseases and digestive problems (Maas et al., 2009).
• Those who live in the greenest environments are less likely to die from all causes, and green spaces may reduce socioeconomic inequities in overall health (Mitchell & Popham, 2008).
• Children living in greener areas are less likely to become obese (Bell, Wilson, & Liu, 2008).
• Green school grounds promote increased and more vigorous physical activity (Council on Sports Medicine and Fitness & Council on School Health, 2006).

The rest of the article can be found here:

http://world.edu/content/school-gardens-improve-health-academic-performance-reduce-discipline-problems/

I’m all for high performance and high tech, but I’m also aware of the power of an outdoor, hands-on education and the impact it has on a student as a learner and as a human being.

Here’s to more gardens in our schools!

I want to dedicate this time and space to say thank you to Evonne Marzouk, the brain behind Jewcology. She’s a smart cookie and a good egg and any other food analogy you can think of. She’s also a true team leader and creative thinker.

I have worked in the professional Jewish community for ten years now doing all sorts of environmental work. And I can honestly say that working with Evonne is a gift. I constantly learn from her and regard her ear and wisdom at the highest level. She’s professional and she’s kind, to boot.

Although I love the work I do in gardens, on the trail and in the classroom, sometimes engaging the Jewish community in positive environmental ethic can be really challenging; especially after TuBShvat has come and gone. It’s one thing to do a planting, sing songs, and eat the food of the TuBShvat seder. But it’s totally another to be truly mindful of your waste, where your food comes from, and walk as lightly as possible on the Earth. Evonne does it all of this and she does it in a way that truly inspires other to be more mindful as well.

Thank you, Evonne, for being a wonderful leader in making the world a better place. Keep it going!!

My next blog entry will continue to focus on the growing garden movement in Los Angeles.

I recently attended the Hazon Food Conference in Sonoma, CA. There, I met numerous others who are working with gardens of all stripes; urban, suburban, rural, educational, communal, and private. I want to highlight a few of the interesting garden or farm projects in California. By sharing these projectsI hope others can learn about what they are doing to engage their communities in environmental and food learning.

First, the Urban Adamah in Berkeley. My understanding of the Urban Adamah is that there are fellows who live together and work at the farm and engage the surrounding community in food and environmental justice. What is most interesting to me at this point is that the Urban Adamah is being designed for mobility and the ability to be replicated. For more information: http://urbanadamah.org/.

Second, I learned about the Haynes Valley Farm in San Francisco. This farm, in the center of the city, engages the community by creating educational programs and showing films in the summer. Only a year old, the farm has classes on topics such as yoga, water, and soil. The farm is run mostly by volunteers and those who work the land reap the benefits. For more information: http://www.hayesvalleyfarm.com/

The third garden is Levana’s Garden at the San Diego Jewish Academy in San Diego. The garden was built in memory of a beloved kindergarten teacher at the school. The school has a large property and is in the process of figuring out how to best create curriculum for the school and garden to work together. I really look forward to seeing how they evolve.

If you know of other gardens that can be highlighted on this blog, please let me know!!

This week I am wrapping up the first semester of my 11^th grade Judaism and the Environment course. Each semester I have a new crop of students and I try to experiment with new ways of teaching the texts and contemporary examples to highlight the major concepts. For the sake of context, I covered three units this semester: Land Use, Water and Food. In each unit we study the major biblical and rabbinic texts and laws associated with each category and then I try to underscore these concepts with modern examples.

There are several goals for this course, one of which is to teach the language of sustainability so that eventually, it will become second nature. My experience the past three semesters of teaching this course has shown me that that the language associated with sustainability and the entire process of farm to table is relatively new to high school students. While this isn’t shocking, it does underscore an essential point for the need to provide a language and context for kids to think about the food they eat; where it comes from, how it is grown, how it got to their plate, and the myriad of healthful and ethical issues which surround the entire process.

Slowly I am coming to know more and more impressive people in Los Angeles who are making the issue of sustainability into the common vernacular. So, this semester I experimented with bringing in some of these up and coming powerhouses of goodness and had them share with my students.

We kicked off the week of guest speakers with Rav Shmuly Yankolwitz from Uri L’Tzedek, the orthodox social justice organization. Rav Shmuly, amongst other things, took the time to teach the students about Tav HaYosher, the ethical seal for kosher restaurants. http://www.utzedek.org/.

Elana Havusha of the Shemesh Organic Farm at the Shalom Institute taught about the modern applications of ancient Jewish land use laws and led us in the creation of our class compost project. http://www.jewishjournal.com/tribe/article/where_a_love_of_judaism_is_deeply_rooted_20100526/

Samantha Kaplan of Good Life Organics is a more familiar face to our students, as she is on campus each Wednesday after school for our weekly CSA program, Tuv HaEmek (Good for the Valley). Samantha not only lectured on issues of modern organics, sustainability and farm to table practices, but she brought in delicious persimmons, tangerines, apples and grapes picked from a local farm for the students to enjoy. http://www.mygoodlifeorganics.com/

I want to thank Rav Shmuly, Elana and Samantha for doing the fantastic work you do and for being such fun, cool and knowledgeable partners. Rav Shmuly, Elana and I will all be presenting at the upcoming Hazon Food Conference December 23-26, 2010.

Becca Bodenstein is the Director of Jewish Life, runs an organic garden and teaches Judaism and the Environment at the New Community Jewish High School, in West Hills, CA. She also works as a consultant for individuals and institutions in different stages of environmental growth. She will be speaking at the Hazon Food Conference December 23- 26, 2010, on gardens at Jewish institutions and environmental curriculum.

http://www.hazon.org/go.php?q=/food/conference/2010FLF/theHazonFoodConference.html

Gardens are popping up across the U.S., and terms such as trowel, compost, mulch, organic, and community-supported agriculture are becoming part of our daily vocabulary. And increasingly, Jewish institutions are beginning to see another potential of community gardens: using them as a shamash or a light unto the world; a beam for the future. In this technological age of wonder, the ancient agricultural practices of our people are have never been more relevant.

Having a garden is a wonderful thing in and of itself: gardens are beautiful, provide additional space for reflection and spirituality, and smell and taste great. But once you have fruits, vegetables, herbs and flowers growing in your place of communal learning, then the relevancy of nutrition, hunger, water usage, land ethic and waste are no longer theoretical or statistical; these issues are living in your backyard and in our every day lives. Having a garden makes these issues concrete, and creates the imperative to effect positive change.

Over the course of the next several months, I’ll be writing about gardens and the environmental movement from where I sit: in Los Angeles, CA. Together we will examine gardens in various stages of development and the people who are changing their communities through these gardens. I will also share tips on ways to get kids and adults alike excited about spending some time outside. If you have no idea how to get a garden started and are interested, I’ll be covering the start-up process as well. And of course, if you have questions about community gardens, you’re welcome to ask anytime.

Chanukah begins this week: as you start buying presents for one another, think about the best gift you can give your loved ones: health. Pool some money with your friends, family and community, and make a donation to start your own garden in your school, synagogue, camp, JCC or any other place where a kid might get to taste what an actual tomato right from the vine tastes like. The ability to produce fresh food with your community can work health miracles for our collective family.

Becca Bodenstein is the Director of Jewish Life, runs an organic garden and teaches Judaism and the Environment at the New Community Jewish High School, in West Hills, CA. She also works as a consultant for individuals and institutions in different stages of environmental growth. She will be speaking at the Hazon Food Conference December 23- 26, 2010, on gardens at Jewish institutions and environmental curriculum.

http://www.hazon.org/go.php?q=/food/conference/2010FLF/theHazonFoodConference.html