Special Recognition Award
Common Ground High School
New Haven, CT

Organic farming is the core of Common Ground, giving students experience in growing food without inputs of industrial agriculture. It is the focus of many social events, and provides alternatives to genetically engineered foods. Our practices are completely environmentally friendly.

The Harvest and Politics of Growing Food classes provide students with the greatest exposure to studying organic agriculture. The garden is a useful resource, which enables hands on experiences and easier understanding of organic food production. It has influenced us to start a garden at home.

Maintaining the garden is hard work, requiring a serious attitude. A neglected garden will not be fully productive. The annual process of our beds starts with a soil test, which determines if the soil lacks any essential nutrients. We use natural fertilizers like limestone to amend the soil. Next, students add compost, which is made here. Raised beds compromise the upper garden, enabling plants to be grown intensely in a small space. No harmful chemicals are ever used.

Our techniques are environmentally friendly. The alternatives to pesticides include fencing to keep out the rodents, growing trap crops to deter pests, and growing food in raised beds. The garden is weeded by hand every few days, eliminating the need for herbicides. Most of our seeds are started indoors, using grow lights. Most of the work is done by hand; we only use the tractor to plow the lower field, which would take too long to do by hand, and to turn the massive compost pile. For irrigation we rely on the rain or a soaker hose system which drips directly onto the soil, reducing erosion.

The garden has a big impact on me and all who visit the school. In its entirety it reflects pure beauty. It provides the best tasting, most nutritious food. The garden influenced me to work after school for two years. The garden has shown me how hard work pays off. It has given me an organic mindset. I learned how to make compost as well as the chemical process involved. I have acquired the taste for organic foods. I have learned so many things here that are not common knowledge for teenagers. I have also had many unique experiences here. When I came to Common Ground, I thought I never knew that such a serene place existed in a city.

Our gardens are used not only as an education tool for the students attending but also for children enrolled in our weekend programs or summer camp. In our block classes, outside work is an integral part of class. Students are assigned a bed with a partner and then taught how to maintain it and what would be best to plant there. This is done entirely by the students and their teachers. We learn about all the plants that grow in our gardens by talking to one another and having presentations throughout the course of the class. As we speak, students in our Politics of Growing Food Class are giving reports on different vegetables from the gardens. From tomatoes to melons, we are learning the history, growing season, and use of many vegetables and fruits. Summer campers and weekend students are also taught in similar ways about the importance and use of our gardens. We learn not only where and when vegetables may be used but also how to plant and maintain them.

Over the summer and on vacations there are many people who take part in caring for our gardens. Students can be paid to work in and around the gardens and community members are also welcome to work or volunteer. Year-round staff includes a garden professional to oversee work and an animal caregiver. Common Ground holds organic gardening sessions once every two months or so in order to teach the community about the importance and "how to" of organic gardening. There is also a Farm Festival on June 7th every year celebrating the gardens and the people who have maintained them.

The produce of our garden is used in a variety of ways. Some of the food is donated to the downtown New Haven soup kitchen. Students deliver this food when they go to volunteer there. Lettuce and other salad ingredients are used daily in season to make salad that is served to students and teachers at lunch. Anyone who helps care for the garden is welcomed at anytime to take home healthy, organic food that they need or want. During the summer most of the food our farm produces is sold at a local farmers market. Students then take part in growing, harvesting, and selling the food on our farm. The farmers market also accepts WIC checks so that women and children can get healthy, fresh vegetables.

By Jeffrey B. and Kristen W., students from Common Ground High School