Gardening

Environmental Justice, Film Review, Food, Gardening, Interview, Podcast, Sustainable Living, Urban Agriculture, Wisconsin / 20.10.2017

It was the summer of 2017 and I was just coming off a major reporting project. I’d spent the better part of a year working on series of stories about the private land owners, farmers and ranchers and their relationship with the natural world. Modern agriculture is such a big deal, because things like soil health and water quality directly impact the nutrition, physical health and wellbeing of people all over the world.  But farms no matter how big or small also have a profound effect on the...

Capital Region Business Journal, Charitable Giving, Environmental Journalism, Gardening, Madison, Magazines, philanthropy, Sustainable Living / 22.06.2011

Teachers, students and parents gathered to celebrate the destruction of a school. Defunct for many years the building that once housed Badger Rock Middle School was finally demolished in late March to make way for a new vision of secondary education. A modern construct will stand its place to offer lessons in growing vegetables, healthy nutrition and living in a sustainable community.
Gardening, Urban Agriculture / 10.04.2011

It’s really cool to see the cycle come full circle. We just cracked open the last jar of pickles from the fall canning. And today we planted our first row of spring vegetables.  After a long cold winter we still have a little pesto left in the freezer and soon we’ll have fresh salad greens to enjoy through the summer. There’s a lot of satisfaction in knowing where your food comes from. And as the seasons change the same appetites for outdoor recreation compels us to spade the ground with the fervor of paddling a kayak or an SUP board or peddling our bikes.

Capital Region Business Journal, Charitable Giving, Gardening, Madison, Magazines, philanthropy / 21.12.2010

Local and sustainably produced foods are enjoying a bit of renaissance across America. Surrounded by rich farmland and endowed with a long-standing tradition of agriculture the Madison area is no exception. A new restaurant called the Underground Kitchen aims to bring the bounty of Wisconsin farms to diners Downtown while supporting Capital Region charities that encourage good nutrition.
Commentary, Gardening / 20.03.2010

Despite two inches of new snow overnight the spring growing season in Madison officially began today. The annual Eagle Heights Community Garden Seed Fair opened to a capacity crowd of hobby gardeners eager to till the soil in the warmer days yet to come.

“I am SO pumped for this!” said our plot mate Jennifer Harrington. “We’re gunna have SO much yummy produce.” My wife Shamane and I share a patch of land about two miles from our home with friends near the University of Wisconsin campus. More than 1,300 plots are available for area residents to grow a modest garden of vegetables or flowers. The cost is a mere $35 for the season. And local organizers during the fair provide an assortment of seeds free for the taking.
Capital Region Business Journal, Gardening, Madison, Magazines / 17.03.2010

Jesse Kurzicki is one of those rare kids who loves eating his vegetables, and not just the peas and carrots his mom piles on his supper plate. The 7th grader enjoys garden produce he grows himself. “I grew up with gardens,” Kurzicki said. “Strawberry gardens my mom loves so much. And my dad who lives up north has a garden with corn and beans and carrots. All the green that comes from them, I think they’re great!” At 12 years-old Kurzicki is a member of the Sherman Middle School garden club. This after school program provides a small plot of land for the cultivation of vegetables. There students can grow everything from tomatoes to broccoli to cucumbers. But in addition to offering a fun outdoor activity, the garden club also helps young people acquire a taste and an appreciation for fresh nutritious food.