While many of us wouldn't even consider eating some of the stuff found on the schoolyards we grew up on, there's a program afoot to change all that for at least some students in America. It's called the "Edible Schoolyard" and it's the brainchild of Alice Waters, owner of Chez Panisse, a restaurant in Berkeley, California, and the author of several cookbooks including a storybook and cookbook for children. In essence, she realized that students need to learn how to eat healthy if we're going to slow the growing epidemic of childhood obesity in this country, and that kids will also learn environmental responsibility while cultivating a preference for fresh and local produce at the same time. Of course, this in turn will help to support local, sustainable agriculture that has a myriad of benefits, not the least of which is the fact that it helps put all of us on a low carbon diet. So how does the program work? Well it helps to foster edible gardens on school grounds which students can cultivate with their own hands, connecting them with nature before they bring the finished produce inside to learn how to cook it in a healthy manner while still at school. Ultimately working to raise their sense of environmental stewardship while making healthy food choices for themselves and the planet at the same time.

Green Clean: Its the Small Things That Make the Difference

Salmon Return to the Thames