REMARKS
Expanding urban agriculture through school and learning gardens
1:06:16
·
3 min
Rachel Atcheson and Qiana Mickie discuss the integration of urban agriculture and food education into New York City public schools through school and learning gardens.
- The food education road map aims to integrate urban agriculture into as many NYC public schools as possible
- MOUA's reimagining farm to school initiative seeks to activate green spaces and increase growing space in schools
- There's potential for scaling up food production and climate education through school gardens
- MOUA emphasizes the need for relevant agreements and contracts to support urban agriculture practitioners and create business opportunities
Rachel Atcheson
1:06:16
And just to add on there, while sometimes, various community districts do not have as many community gardens, for instance, we are, through our food education road map work, integrating more both urban agriculture and just food education broadly into as many New York City public schools as possible.
1:06:36
So, while we might not be seeing, it as many places, sometimes it is behind the walls of school buildings, that we we do actually have some access.
Qiana Mickie
1:06:46
Thank you, Rachel.
1:06:46
Really glad you mentioned that.
1:06:48
It I almost totally forgot.
1:06:49
I'd be remiss to not mention school and learning gardens.
1:06:55
Council member Brewer and I recently were on our rooftop of the high school environmental studies thinking about that.
1:07:02
One of the things that the Office of Urban Agriculture, through our reimagining farm to school initiative, is considering is how to activate a green space and growing space and increasing the square footage.
1:07:15
And school and learning gardens are able to do just that.
1:07:18
We've had some, again, in you know, initial success.
1:07:22
We're creating the education program through reimagining form to school, connecting, school gardeners.
1:07:28
And we tell them they are the climate stewards of the future to their existing urban farmers.
1:07:33
But again, there's, you know, some untapped school gardens, kind of similar what you were saying, council member, about, in your district.
1:07:42
There's school and learning gardens that could probably be activated more.
1:07:46
And in order to do that, it's not just having the access to land.
1:07:50
It's having relevant agreements and contracts that urban agriculture practitioners are eligible for that the city can provide that will create not just the active not just this the green space to go from underutilized, or fallow to active, but you need the labor to do so.
1:08:08
And it's, you know, oftentimes done by the volunteers, our students, our teachers, or even our community gardeners.
1:08:17
But to really make this sustainable and to really increase the scaled food production, we wanna see the scaled education of climate and agriculture education.
1:08:27
We need to continue to create more agreements and contracts that are relevant for emerging businesses and enterprises that are rooted in climate and education.
1:08:36
I think we have a lot of great urban agriculture stakeholders right now.
1:08:40
There's there's some here, behind me.
1:08:43
But, again, we need more folks to feel like they are part of New York City success, not just in their sweat equity, but in their business opportunities.
1:08:52
And if they don't feel like they can create a business, then we're missing out.
1:08:56
And so again, I think for our office, it's kind of building different initiatives that support our partners at different stages, but also inform and work with other city agencies to move our larger initiatives forward.
1:09:09
And school gardens, I think, have been somewhat under tapped.
1:09:13
Not not due to their great community partners doing that work and other existing initiatives, but we see a lot of great potential of scaling up food production in education.
1:09:23
And we think with more, continued work in the reimagining, we'll be able to reimagine school and learning gardens in the city.
Amanda FarÃas
1:09:31
Thank you so much.
1:09:32
Recognizing Councilmember
Gale A. Brewer
1:09:34
Brewer.
1:09:35
Thank you for being a rock star.
1:09:37
That's what you are.
Qiana Mickie
1:09:39
Thank you, Councilmember Brewer.
