Growing Green Community Teaching Garden

Garden Information :

Dates/Hours: June 1 st – August 31 st • • • • Mondays 10:00-noon Wednesdays 5:00-7:00 Fridays 10:00-noon Saturdays 9:00-11:00 September 1 st -October 6 th • • Mondays, Thursdays & Saturdays 10:00-noon Or by Appointment Contact: [email protected]

*Note: you must email us before you can be added to the volunteer website . Volunteer Website: www.lotsahelpinghands.com

Location:

Greenmead 20501 Newburgh Rd.

Livonia, MI 48152

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The Growing Green Community Teaching Garden

Collaboration between Madonna University, Schoolcraft College, the City of Livonia and Livonia Public Schools. The project gives Livonia residents an opportunity to learn about healthy eating, sustainable agriculture and the benefits of gardening. MU and SC students will provide tours and classes throughout the summer.

Research activities will be done in STEM classes.

The Main Theme of The Growing Green Community Teaching Garden:

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Healthy Food is a Right for all persons.

Healthy food comes from a healthy food system.

• Food System = the set of operations and processes involved in transforming raw materials into food and nutrients into health outcomes. The full cycle from food production to health consequences.

Our current industrial food system is not sustainable and does not promote healthy diets.

Healthy Food Comes from a Healthy Food System

Healthy Food System

Economically Sound Environmentally Sustainable Social and Health Equity

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A Healthy Food System:

Is ecologically sound—inputs promote conservation, wastes are recycled, biodiversity is conserved, and renewable resources are used.

Provides for Social and Health Equality— the foods provided works to promote the health of future generations, is culturally acceptable and is provided at affordable prices. Is economically viable—evenly distributed economic controls (no monopolies) and financial enhancement of local communities.

Healthy Eating—The importance of fruits and vegetables

• • People who consume recommended amounts of fruits and vegetables have reduced risk of type 2 diabetes, heart disease, obesity, hypertension, and some cancers Fruits and vegetables provide us with many vitamins and minerals, along with countless phytochemicals.

• Phytochemicals = substances found in foods that have health promoting properties.

Women Men Girls Boys

General Recommendations for each day:

Fruits

1 ½ – 2 cups 2 – 2 ½ cups 1 – 2 cups 1 – 2 ½ cups

Vegetables

2 -3 cups 3- 4 cups 1 – 3 cups 2 – 4 cups A plant-based diet is best!

Fill your half your plate with fruits and vegetables.

Key Nutrients in Vegetables and Fruits

• • • Vitamin A— vision support, skin health, fights off infection, support reproduction, growth, and the production of red blood cells. Found in dark leafy greens, sweet potatoes, carrots, red pepper and orange-flesh squashes. Vitamin C— collagen production, body structure, fights infection, wound healing, keeps teeth and gums healthy, important for iron absorption and an antioxidant. Rich in berries, sweet potatoes, broccoli, cauliflower, cabbage, and green and red peppers.

Calcium – Yes, there is calcium in many vegetables! Dark green leafy veggies are the best sources.

Key Nutrient in Vegetables and Fruits

• • • • • Vitamin K- coagulation, bone health. Rich in green leafy greens, cabbage and broccoli.

Folate— metabolism, cell builder. Rich in green leafy vegetables, legumes, and asparagus.

Potassium—muscle contraction, healthy blood pressure. Rich in watermelon, sweet potatoes, tomato, and legumes.

Magnesium—strong bones and teeth, enzyme builder. Dark leafy greens are a great source.

Fiber—Aids in glucose control, diets rich in fiber lower risk of heart disease and some cancers. Varying levels found in all fruits and vegetables.

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Eating a Rainbow of Fruits and Vegetables

It is important to focus on eating a variety of vegetables and fruits everyday. Color is important – eat a rainbow to cover all your needs!

• Green: Vision, strong bones & teeth, lower risk of some cancers.

• Orange/Yellow: heart health, vision, lower risk of some cancers, immune system.

• Red: Memory function, urinary tract health, lower risk of some cancers.

• White: Heart health, maintains healthy cholesterol levels.

• Purple or Blue: Urinary tract, memory, healthy aging, lower risk of some cancers.

Additional Resources:

• www.fruitsandveggiesmorematters.org

• www.mypyramid.gov

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Benefits of Gardening:

Community gardening improves one’s quality of life by providing community involvement, exercise and recreation.

• Physical equivalents (Cooking Matters, Eating Right, p. 51) : • 10 minutes of active gardening burns 50 calories • 30 minutes burns 149 calories • 45 minutes burns 223 calories • 1 hour burns 297 calories • • Promotes environmental sustainability!

What have you grown lately?

Benefits of Gardening for Kids:

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Gardening is an excellent nutritional teaching tool for children:

• Children learn about the origins of food and how to grow it correctly.

• Children who are an active part of the growing cycle are more likely to try the foods they have grown • Children who participate in the preparation and growing of food are more likely to try new foods.

• According to a survey conducted by the National Gardening Association, children involved in the gardening showed improvements in: • environmental attitudes (94%), • self-confidence (90%), • social skills (90%), • • attitude towards school (86%), leadership skills (81%), • volunteerism (78%), • nutritional beliefs (69%), • scholastic achievement (67%)

Eat Locally Grown Foods:

• • • • • Economic viability is an important part of a healthy food system.

• Food Sovereignty = Democratic, local community control over our food system. Communities choose where and how there food is produced.

Michigan is a diverse agricultural state.

If every household spent just $10 per week on local foods we could generate $40 million weekly for our state economy.

Shop at local farm markets.

Buy locally grown foods at stores.

• Vote with your food purchases!

Eating Locally Grown Foods

• • • • • Enhances the local economy.

Provides heightened nutritional value—fruit and vegetables lose nutrition the longer they sit.

Optimal freshness—often foods sold at local farmer’s markets are picked the day before. Less travel time—thus a reduction in the reliance of non-renewable resources.

Find a local farmer’s market: www.localharvest.com

Growing Green produce benefits local food insecure Livonia residents.

• • Food insecure individuals do not have reliable means economic or otherwise to obtain foods necessary to pursue an active and healthy life.

Growing Green produce donated to : • Trinity Park: a 501(c) charitable organization providing low-income housing to seniors and disabled • Focus Hope: Coordinates food procurement and delivery to low-income mothers, children and senior citizens. www.focushope.org

“1 in 8 Americans, including 600,000 in southeast Michigan, worry about where their next meal is coming from.”

Gleaners Community Food Bank of Southeast Michigan www.gcfb.org

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Environmental Benefits

The benefits of sustainable food systems, such as an organic community food garden, go beyond the benefits of health. They support the health of the community.

• Sustainability is defined as processes that can be maintained indefinitely without impacting future generations to meet wants. Organic community food gardens are an important part of a healthy food system.

Organic Farming

• Environmental benefits include: • Creates healthy soils: • 600 million-1 billion organisms in 1 teaspoon of organic soil vs. 100 organisms in 1 teaspoon of chemically treated soil.

• Diverse crops: • Crop rotation & use of cover crops promotes nutrient cycling.

• Eliminates synthetic fertilizers • Decreases nitrogen & phosphorous in groundwater • Conserves fossil fuels • Decreased pesticides persisting in the environment.

• Decreased soil and water contamination.

• Improved community impact by reductions of pesticide and chemical exposure in farm workers. Exposures have been linked to female and male fertility issues.

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How does Organic Farming impact the consumer?

Higher levels of antioxidants Possible higher levels of nutrients Improved taste is often experienced Decreased exposure to organophosphorus pesticides.

• Recent studies have positively correlated pesticide exposure to ADHD occurrence.

• The average non-organic fruit and vegetable eater is exposed to about 15 pesticides per day.

Research in the Garden:

• • • Throughout the summer there will be a number of research projects.

Examples: • Soil testing on microorganisms, pH, chemicals • Bug counting on organic vs. conventional plants As results are available we will post the information in the garden.