Avery Rech Gardens Journals Self-Guided Tour of the Pinetum On September 22 I visited my local nature preserve in my hometown, Medford

New Jersey. The pinetum is a component of the Lewis W. Barton Arboretum and nature preserve at Medford Leas. Medford Leas is a continuing care retirement community for older adults, founded by the Quakers in 1914. The Leas provide active adults over the age of fifty-five several residential choices in a beautiful arboretum setting. Situated on 168 acres, the Medford Leas perimeter is lined with beautifully landscaped grounds, courtyard and patio gardens, meadows, recreational areas and woodlands. The outdoors are easily accessible for the elderly and ones that are confined to wheel chairs. There are extensive activity paved paths and trails which are enjoyed and explored by both the residents and visitors. There is a diverse array of horticulture including over 1,300 specimens of trees. During my exploration along the arboretum path I stopped to enjoy the community garden. There were Zinnias growing in a flower bed, and red jersey tomato ripening on the vines. Since I visited in the middle of September, the garden season was coming to an end, it looked like allot of community members were involved in the cultivation of the garden. It was large and lush, full of life. The pamphlet given to me on the self-guided tour was very informative and distinctly pointed out the species of tree correlated to the number on the tree and in the pamphlet. It explained that the sandy well drained soil provides favorable growing conditions for the pine and conifer families including Fir, Spruce, Hemlock, Cedar, Larch, Juniper and Cypress. Specimens are being added to the pamphlet from time to time. My self guided tour was leisurely and aesthetically pleasing. My friend and I passed several elderly couples and their families walking through the trails. We stopped at a picnic bench alongside a steady flowing creek to stop and enjoy the scenery and the whistling of the local birds. The arboretum is maintained by the Horticulture Department of Medford Leas in consolation with the staff of the Morris Arboretum of the University of Pennsylvania, and is a member of the Greater Philadelphia Gardens, a consortium of outstanding public gardens in the Delaware Valley and Garden State Gardens Consortium. Reflection Garden in Freedom Park On October 9 Medfords Mayor Randy Pace gave a few uplifting words at the dedication of the Memorial Bench Reflection Garden in Freedom Park. There are four benches that face each other surrounded by pink roses. Volunteers from Medford Works and the Womens Club of Medford coordinated the gardening effort. Donations from JL landscaping, Jersey Pools and LL Redi Mix Inc made a huge contribution for the garden. A grant from Medford Township Clean Communities also made the garden possible. I visited the garden a couple weeks later on my walk through Freedom Park and noticed that the garden has flourished. It sits in front of the Medford skate park in a circular drive. I sat at one of the benches to reflect and enjoy the fresh air. At the center of the garden there is a young maple tree which should grow mighty and tall in the years to come. The garden and the rose bushes will surely grow bigger and bushier with the passing of the seasons. It will be a frequent pit stop on my walk with my dog on the weekends I am home. I appreciate that Medford is making an effort to intertwine reflection gardens in our local parks. The creation of the garden gives visitors of the park another place to sit and relax

underneath a mighty maple tree. It is an aesthetically pleasing place and provides the young and old a sanctuary to clear their minds while taking in the sweet smell of roses. Visit to Alder Middle School Learning Garden On November 15 Cristabelith and I visited the Alder Middle School learning garden which was our assigned location to interview the head gardener and learn about what goes on there. John Jones is the head gardener who was previously a landscape contractor before becoming a teacher. His background in garden layouts gave John inspiration for the creation of an outdoor garden classroom when he became a teacher. He started with constructing a pond and places students could sit down and enjoy the aesthetics the outdoors had to offer. The pond is still the centerpiece of the school garden today, cattails spring out of the pond giving an authentic outdoors feel in midst of the schools campus. Over the past ten years the garden has vastly expanded. With the addition of two box gardens and a large tilled field the garden can cultivate several crops each season. The garden can be used cross circularly. In math classes students can calculate the volume of water collected in a rain barrel. In English classes students use the garden to expand on their sensory writing skills. John says that there is never a lack for help during the summer time. Students are highly involved in this project and really enjoy the fact that they can cultivate their own vegetables. My time at the school garden has given me a great hope for integrating edible classrooms at any school. I believe meeting John Jones will give me an insight to starting this revolution. I am very interested in making gardens a possibility for every school in South Jersey. I know it is a tall order but one must think globally and act locally. This edible garden can start a green revolution for the next generation. There are so many benefits from teaching children in an outside garden setting. They will begin to appreciate the land more, eat healthier, and spread their knowledge to their peers and family. I hope that I can keep in touch with John and start a great relationship on the road for a greener future. Lawrenceville Elementary School Garden Award The Edible Jersey Magazine along with the New Jersey Farm to School Network recognized the Lawrenceville Elementary School garden for the 2012 garden of the year contest. The schools efforts were awarded at a special ceremony on October 18. The Farm to School program encourages school district food service providers to use locally grown fruits and vegetables and incorporate them into the lunch menu. It increases opportunities to link local farmers with the schools. Ms. Mount a teacher at the school head started the garden program eight years ago. She stated that children need to eat vegetables and fruits which is necessary to make them grow up to be strong, healthy, and smart. School gardens are essential because it truly gives students a perspective to how their vegetables are cultivated. The gardens can be used cross circularly and provide a place for students to let the sunshine on them and enjoy what the outdoors has to offer. Visit to Egg Harbor Community Teaching Garden After my visit to the Alder School garden John recommended I go look at the Egg Harbor Community Garden located on West Jersey Avenue. The garden sits right next to the Great Egg Harbor Township Historical Society Museum. The community garden is the latest phase of the districts ever growing Catawba Project environmental education program. The garden is created and tended by the Catawba project students and Egg Harbor Township Schools. It is generously funded by State Farm youth advisory board. John Jones is the project leader which is why he

recommended visiting this place. The garden is a vast area; it includes a beautiful rock water garden with a gentle waterfall and pond. There is a large wooden gazebo constructed by the students, and a fenced in cultivated garden. The garden features organic vegetable beds, native plants and shrubs, a state of the art water harvesting system donated by JSA Contracting Enterprises LLC. The garden will serve as a community hub where members can till their own garden plots and where students and teachers can co-educate the public about growing their own food using organically sound gardening techniques. The garden also includes a composter and native trees and shrubs that will attract native wildlife and use rain water more efficiently. Students will take the knowledge they learn in the classroom and teach community members about taking care of Egg Harbors watershed. The Catawba project members plan to host workshops and presentations at the garden so community members can come and learn. The hard work and dedication the Catawba project put into the creation of the community garden exemplifies how students can make a greener difference in the world. They are thinking globally and acting locally. I was thoroughly pleased to learn that out of nearly four hundred classes across the nation that participated in the Disney Planet Challenge the Catawba project was chosen as the third place winner. The Disney Planet Challenge is a project-based environmental competition for grades 3-8. It encourages students to make a difference in their schools, their communities and at home. It also teaches kids about the earth while empowering them to make a positive impact on their communities and planet. In addition, Disney Planet Challenge rewards those who make a difference in the environment. This is an outstanding award for a community garden that was constructed in our area! I am happy to know that there is hope for a greener tomorrow and that community gardens in our area are making an impact. Virtua Garden My mother is a nurse at Virtua Hospital and recently told me about the healing gardens located at the hospital. An article from the Burlington County Times told the story of the ribbon cutting event for the garden. The healing garden opened at Virtua Memorial located in the Madison Avenue facilitys center courtyard. The garden is intended for the staff, volunteers, patients and visitors a place to unwind. The garden is definitely an environment for healing and provides quiet solitude. Features include a falling water fountain, garden lighting, and circular stone pathways. The flowers, shrubs, and trees provide fragrance and color while sculptural benches and sets of caf tables allow visitors to relax and eat lunch. There is also a reflexology path for patients to touch different textures and work on building up their physical strength. This is a great alternative to modern medicine, patients get to enjoy the outdoors, and breathe fresh air which is always needed for a good health. I believe hospitals should have a meditation garden like the one at Virtua. It is a place where patients and their families to get out of the germy hospital and enjoy some needed sunshine and fresh air. Galloway Community Garden On one of our Wednesday class labs we visited the Galloway Community Garden. The garden is situated near Town Hall off of Jimmie Leeds Road. The garden consists of raised beds available for residents to use. There are also three handicapped assessable garden beds. This garden is beneficial to members of the community who are restricted to land use because they live in townhouses with minimal arable land. We visited the garden right towards the end of the summer season. There were still some ripe tomatoes on plants. What was really astounding was the Luffa plant that was growing on the fence. After some research I discovered these plants produce a

long green vegetable that looks similar to a Zucchini Squash. If you let these green pods dry out, the skin will flake off and you are left with a Luffa sponge that can be used in the kitchen and the shower. The garden is situated in the hub of Galloways public recreational buildings. There is the police station located in the front, and the library and skate park on either side. The location of the garden is perfect! The community can really get involved and take advantage of the public recreation Galloway has to offer all in one confined area. The garden also had rain barrels to collect rain water for the use of the plants, and a composter. These tools are essential to have in an eco friendly garden. Even though our time was brief at the Galloway garden I truly got a sense for what a community garden can look like. I was satisfied to know that I live right around the corner from a community garden, it shows that Galloway is making steps to a greener brighter future. Jahs Creations One fine crisp Wednesday our class headed to Jahs Creation in Egg Harbor Township. I remember when I pulled in and took a quick glance at Matthew I knew he was a spiritual man who truly enjoyed organically farming. His long swirly dread was crazy looking! But the dirt on his sweatshirt and his rough hands proved that he was a farmer and put allot of time, dedication and labor into his career. The farm was established in 1997 on the very land that Matthews grandfather cleared and farmed by hand. Today Jahs Creation is a community supported agriculture farm where customers receive up to 34 weeks of fresh organic produce. At the farm Matthew grows many different and unique varieties of vegetables, herbs, melons and cold season crops. Some of which are heirlooms and specialty crops from around the world. Jahs Creation offered 300 CSA shares for the 2012 season. Since their first CSA in 2008, they experienced nothing but success as they had to turn people away because all the shares were sold. Since then Jahs Creation have been selling produce to local restaurants and farmers markets along the Jersey coast. During our tour we got to experience the true meaning of organic farming. We first walked over to a green house which housed the seedlings before being planted in the ground or in a hoop house. We learned that the black tubing lining the benches where the seedlings lay are to keep the flats warm and for the seedlings to germinate and grow strong. We then proceeded to walk past a massive forest of bamboo that was at least six inches thick! I found the dense bamboo to be very intriguing and eye catching. We then walked into another greenhouse where Matthew talked to us about organic farming for a bit more. After that we hopped into our cars to drive a mile down the road to experience the expansive organic field. Here Matthew showed us his winter season crops which included Asian Lettuces. He explained how crops can become contaminated with pests which we noticed on one of the lettuce crops. He also enlightened our class on the benefits of plastic mulch cover. He told us that it helps deter weeds since organic farming cannot use herbicides/pesticides. We then proceeded to walk to the large green house where Matthew was trying to cultivate Zucchini Squash. Outside of the greenhouse there was a cover crop which will grow for the remainder of the winter season and be tilled for the spring crops. Matthew explained how beneficial and imperative it is to rotate crops. Matthew has not grown the same crop on the same plot of land from season to season. Rotational cropping puts nutrients back into the organic soil, and doesnt deplete the natural balance of the soil. Overall my experience at Jahs Creation was unique, and gave me hands on and a behind the scenes look into organic farming. I learned that organic farming is clearly time consuming but offers great benefits in return for all the hard work. I will totally remember my experience at Jahs creation and hope to learn more about organic CSAs.

Planting Box Gardens at Atlantic Care Over the course of the semester our class visited the Pediatric Day Health Center and installed box gardens for the seniors and children to grow their own vegetables. We first learned about how to situate the box gardens according to the layout design. We decided where to put the box gardens due to the suns rays at the height of the day, proximately to a water source, how wide the aisles must be to fit wheelchairs, and the drainage area. We then dedicated our next lab time to constructing the box gardens. This took team work and allot of measurements and nails. The next week we revisited the seniors to place the box gardens in their designated place and fill them up with eco soil donated by ACUA. The seniors were all too excited to plant our seedlings in the box gardens. I watched over the seniors who planted with such care and time. They began to reminisce and tell us stories of when they were younger and had their own vegetable gardens. I remember one man distinctly who was a cook over at the Atlantic City casinos and was naming all the herbs and vegetables he used in his cooking. It was truly a heartwarming experience to work with older adults who still enjoy gardening. It is a realm of horticultural therapy which I believe is a great alternative to modern medicine. Everyone young and old can still find pleasure and a feeling of taking care for another living thing through the use of gardening. I hope that in the spring season the garden is used to its full potential with the help of the senior citizens and the children in the daycare. Both the old and the young can learn from each other and enjoy a greening experience of gardening. New Roots in Glen Ridge The community garden project is funded by A Lot to Grow. On November 22 the members of the group teamed up with the Girl and Boy Scouts of the Glen Ridge area and installed six raised beds at the Glen Ridge Congregational Church. The church supports a number of area food pantries through its outreach programs, and the outreach members wanted to supplement their food donations with fresh vegetables. With weather permitting the program hopes to start planting in late February in the raised hoop house beds. The plants will be early spring crops such as lettuce and peas. A Lot to Grow will handle the administrative work, while the church will provide the volunteers and the maintenance. This seems like a great fit! The community is coming together to successfully achieve one main goal, to install a garden that will flourish. This garden couldnt have been created if it wasnt for the help of the Girl and Boy Scouts, donated land from the church and the funding and layout design of the Lots to Grow program. This garden is a great way for different aspects of community to come together for a great cause. The vegetables grown here will be donated to local food pantries. This also keeps the environment in mind, because the food pantries will have to rely less on vegetables that has to be imported from outside sources. This will cut down on food miles, and provide the local community members nutrition and satisfaction of locally grown foods. S.A.V.E. Garden at Stockton I have been a member of the environmental group here at Stockton since freshman year. It is honestly a great group of people who love to help out our dear mother earth. Over the past two years Stockton Action Volunteers for the Environment has cultivated a garden here on campus over by the freshman dorms. It is organically run and operated. We have a compost pile where I take my vegetable scraps to on a bi-weekly basis. We also use the rain collecting techniques with large blue rain barrels. It is a great place and I believe more students should be aware of the

garden and come help out! The group is working on putting in a wind turbine on our newly constructed pole barn. We also have a station set up in our garden that collects rain and we regularly test the pH to see how acidic Stocktons rain actually is. There are multiple box gardens located on the site. The eco soil was donated by ACUA. Last spring we planted peppers, squash, spinach and assorted lettuces. The spring season was a great success! There is also a small scale farm located across from Stocktons arboretum. Here we plant vegetables to use in our own personal salads. In mid-October the group went out to the field and helped till the land to get ready for the next growing season. I am glad to be part of this group. I believe that our efforts are truly making a difference. Long Wood Gardens Every year it is a family tradition to visit Longwood gardens and enjoy the lovely scenery and the lights at Christmas time. Over thanksgiving break my family and I took our annual visit to Longwood. During our visit we viewed an ornate illuminated musical fountain show. The colors light up the cold night and the music fill the air. There are exquisite flowers, majestic trees, dazzling fountains, grand conservatories, a thunderous organ and plenty of twinkling lights. This place is a definite horticultural showstopper where gardens come to life. Longwood is the living legacy of Pierre S. du Pont inspiring people through excellence in garden design. I read that Longwood is dedicated to conservation and sustainable practices. Longwood Gardens began its compost program in the early 1990s. Today, all horticultural debris and food residuals are collected, composted and returned to the Gardens to enhance their site. The Terrace which is the main place to eat on the garden campus works with local farmers to provide guests with fresh locally grown seasonal foods. By buying locally grown vegetables means a reduction in transportation emissions and packaging. Longwood also seasonally grows herbs, fruits and vegetables in the Idea Garden, which are used in the 1906 Fine Dining Room. Each year, at least four different agricultural crops are grown on site. Other conservation efforts include increasing pollinator diversity and soil quality through the use of conservation strips and no-till land management, such as enhancing natural bird nesting habitats by delaying hay cutting dates until after July 15.The gardens invite people from all around to enjoy its wondrous and elaborate gardens. I enjoy my annual visit to Longwood because I get to experience wondrous gardens with my family in the great outdoors. Edwin B. Forsythe National Wildlife Refuge One October weekend my friend Tom and I decided to visit Forsythe. Tom had previously told me this a great place to watch migrating birds sitting on a long wooden pier on top of marsh looking towards Atlantic City. When we arrived at Forsythe we took a long walk into the wooded area before the marsh. We noticed several trees species including pitch pine, oaks, and white cedar. These wooded communities provide habitat for grassland nesting birds and increase habitat diversity. As we walked along the path Tom pointed out birds including, woodcocks, black ducks, common terns, great egrets, and ospreys. After our walk we returned to our car to explore the wildlife drive which is approximately a two mile loop through the tidal marsh area. Here we stopped to look at birds through Toms binoculars and made a quick pit stop to climb on top of the bird watching tower. The loop is interesting in the fact that it is manmade and created two different ecological habitats. On the outside of the loop, the bay area created a tidal marsh area and on the inside of the loop is a fresh water habitat. Forsythe has the option to let salt water enter the fresh water habitat through the use of a pipe system. Recently Forsythe has been using

this system to try to weed out invasive plant species in the fresh water area. The salt water will eventually dry out these invasive species and let native plant life flourish. Since Hurricane Sandy the drive has been closed, it was flooded over and the salt habitat met the fresh water habitat. This storm could have some serious repercussions on the wildlife loop, and the species that migrate to Forsythe. Since the storm the foot paths have been reopened to the public. I am definitely interested in revisiting Forsythe to see what ramifications Sandy brought. I hope that the native wildlife that journey to Forsythe are able to reconstruct their habitat and live peacefully after the storm. B&B CSA Farm The Sea Salt CSA is located in Galloway Township on Mannheim Ave. Last year I was enrolled in Linda Smiths class Sustainability and Agriculture. One week we visited Jennifer Lamonacas CSA. The land is a perfect fit for an organic CSA. We visited in the off season, but we definitely learned allot and experienced how a CSA operates. Jen is the manager of the Sea Salt CSA. Prior to farming she was a marine researcher. Vegetable and flower production was always an interest to Jen. She explored farming opportunities and reevaluated her goals as an environmental steward. For two years Jen was an apprentice for Fernbrook Farm CSA and decided she wanted to field her own crops one day. She rented land from the owners of B&B Farms and continues to expand her organic farming today. The CSA is managed separately from B&B Farms. When we pulled onto the dirt road leading up to the farm we stopped at an old red barn. Jen explained that this is where the CSA customers come during the summer months to pick up their vegetables; she called this the Farm Shop. Here they can see where their food is grown, walk in the pick you own fields and see who is growing it and how it is handled. Sea Salt offers certified organic produce on a weekly basis from mid-June through October. When we visited Jen she explained her passion for the marine environment. Today, Jen now offers a CSA seafood option to intertwine farming and marine biology. The seafood comes from local Jersey coast farmers who believe in a sustainable environment. The seafood is grown organically and cultivated at a nondepleting rate. As we continued our tour around the farm we got to see her tractor barn she shares with the B&B Farm owners. The owners we so kind to let her borrow a vintage tractor that still work to this day. You could tell by the monstrosity and intricate machinery work that this tractor was vintage and has tilled fields for decades. Jen explained that she had to take lessons from the owners on how to operate the machine that required strenuous labor. After our tour in the tractor garage we walked over to the fields. Jen told us several methods she uses to keep weeds to a minimum. Every day at the crack of dawn Jen and her crew return to the fields and hand pull weeds or use a specialized garden hoe down every row. The second technique they use is flame. It is quite dangerous but the method is strapping a gasoline tank on your back which is connected to a long hose that administers a flame. They point the flame nozzle close enough to the vegetable plant to kill the weeds that grow in-between. Also in the beginning of the season, after the fields have been tilled they take the flame to the rows and kill any weeds before they plant the seeds. Visiting Sea Salt CSA gave me a greater understanding on how labor intensive running an organic farm truly is. If you honestly want to run your own farm Jen highly recommends getting in some experience before making your final decision. She offers one apprenticeship for each summer so one lucky fellow can get hands on learning experience in the CSA operation. Jen is dedicated to her work, running a CSA is a labor intensive job even in the off season. Jen has to sell her CSA shares and strategize a growing plan for the summer season in the winter months. Overall the Sea Salt field trip was one I will remember. I am glad I had the

opportunity to take the Sustainability Food and Agriculture Class which gave me my first experience at a CSA. White House Fall Garden Tour On October 14 my mother and I drove down to Washington DC to visit the White House Gardens. When we reached the South Lawn we passed under majestic magnolia trees that were planted by Andrew Jackson. Linden, Black Gum, and Oak trees line the storied grounds as well. In the Jacqueline Kennedy Garden and Rose Garden, chrysanthemums and roses surround the White House in the shades of autumn. We also got to see the kitchen garden firsthand. Fall is the main harvesting month, the garden is loaded with fall squashes, peppers, and sweet potatoes which are donated to local food banks. The White House Garden grounds are the oldest continually maintained landscape in the United States. On March 20, 2009 First Lady Michelle Obama planted the White House kitchen garden on the west side of the lower south lawn. The garden includes raised beds which grow a variety of plants including herbs, fruits, vegetables, and heirloom varieties. In its first nine months the garden yielded over a thousand pounds of produce. A majority of the food is donated to Miriams Kitchen, a local charitable organization that provides services to address the causes and consequences of homelessness. The Kitchen Garden is a great initiative for all Americans. Today more and more children are overweight due to their poor unhealthy diet, the kitchen garden is calling for a change in childhood obesity. Michelle Obamas campaign is one for a healthier America. A garden on the White House lawn proves that America is willing to take a healthier step in the right direction. Planting a garden is simple and one can reap so many benefits including a healthier life style, saving money on groceries, horticultural therapy, and enjoying the fresh air and sun. I believe Michelle Obama picked a cause that is perfect for America at this time. Our environment is suffering and people are increasingly becoming less in touch with where their food actually comes from. Overall my experience at the White House Garden tour was great. I got to visit our nations capital, walk on the White House lawn and expand my views on the revolution of kitchen gardens. I hope Lady Obamas gardening campaign continues to flourish and the idea of kitchen gardens becomes a revolution. Only time will tell but, I believe this is the wave of the future. This movement not only creates and promotes a healthier life style but, also makes mother earth smile that much bigger. Roof Top Gardens in the Big Apple A farm constructed on top of a 40,000 square foot rooftop is named one of the largest rooftop farms in the United States. At the Brooklyn Grange located in Queens New York, sunflowers strain to peek over the low border wall, to the west the Manhattan skyline shimmers in the summer heat. Flanner is the head farmer of Brooklyn Grange, along with a few apprentices and volunteers they tend to the rooftop garden in the sweltering summer. In addition to at least 7 rooftop enterprises, there are 17 ground-based farms in the Big Apple and 1,000-plus community gardens, far more than in any other American city. Growing food in the city's dense core, urban farmers say, can turn back the diesel-chugging trucks hauling salad mix across the country, lower energy bills by replacing hot black-tar roofs with cool greenery, and let children reared on concrete learn the joy of yanking a carrot from the soil. The farm sends dozens of varieties of herbs and vegetables, a third goes to farmers markets, a third goes to customers who support the Granges CSA and the rest goes to high end restaurants. Flanner cultivates vegetable plants such

as, hot peppers, assorted lettuces and tomatoes. The garden uses a special lightweight soil called Rooflite made from mushroom compost and mineral aggregates that was dressed with the farms own compost. I am amazed at the number of productive rooftop gardens there are in the state of New York. It just goes to show that anyone can get their hands dirty and grow their own garden even in a city setting. Gardens can bring the community closer together socially, physically and culturally. Introducing a garden in a city center can get the community involved in a new and innovative way that brings the farming to them. City dwellers are able to enjoy the sun and get their hands dirty and a fresh new way by participating in gardening while keeping the community socially active. In the future I definitely foresee more rooftop gardens in the city hub. People are going green and new adaptations for city dwellers are making it easier to do so. Rooftop gardens are just one of the green initiatives people are working to make mother earth a little happier. I think rooftop gardens are a great idea and only advancements in technology can make them more possible on all rooftops and produce more with each crop.