Brady Brazell, NRCS Civil Engineering Technician and Julie Tosten, NRCS Soil Conservation Technician, admire the goats taking a walk around the farm.

USDA’s Natural Resources Conservation Service (NRCS) is working with Land’s Sake, a non-profit organization in Weston, Mass., to improve soil health and to install an irrigation system and a high tunnel on their working organic farm.

The Land’s Sake farm has been in operation since 1980, when the town bought the land from Harvard University, which owned it as part of the Arnold Arboretum. Land’s Sake’s mission is to connect people with the land through farming and forestry through educational programs on their farm and local conservation lands. Read more »

The Power Panther get the crowd “powered up” at the July 10th Boston SFSP Kickoff Event.

On a sunny July afternoon, a long line of students, ranging in ages from 4-18, listened eagerly as Boston Mayor Thomas Menino and representatives from USDA’s Food and Nutrition Service (FNS) and Boston Public School System kicked off for the Summer Food Service Program (SFSP). Cafeteria staff from Lila Frederick School in Dorchester, Mass. cooked and served a BBQ lunch for about 100 eligible SFSP students from the local neighborhood. On the menu: turkey hot dogs, grilled chicken, corn on the cob, fresh slices of watermelon, grape juice and fat free milk. Read more »

ALB damage featuring tunneling and exit holes on cut trees

Imagining our communities without trees is hard to fathom.  Unfortunately, there is an insect that threatens the trees we love – the Asian longhorned beetle (ALB).  It’s an invasive insect that feeds on certain species of hardwood trees, eventually killing them.  Since its discovery in the United States, the beetle has caused tens-of-thousands of trees to be destroyed in Massachusetts, New Jersey, New York, Illinois, and most recently in Ohio. Read more »

The mobile market delivering fresh produce residents of Spartanburg County, South Carolina.

Three community supporters of Let’s Move are moving towards healthier lives. Inspired by First Lady Michelle Obama’s Let’s Move Faith and Communities initiative, these communities are leading the way in creative solutions to health issues through mobile grocery markets, convenient bicycle accommodations, and safe routes to school. These innovative ideas are brought to life through the funding and partnership of organizing group Active Living by Design. Read more »

With “grate” skill, Bellingham, MA team transforms yams into Tasty Tots as part of Recipes for Healthy Kids competition.

Cross posted from the Let’s Move! blog:

Students at Bellingham (MA) Public Schools found the key to attracting some top individuals to their school for lunch:  they asked a state senator, state representative, a food industry executive, the state Child Nutrition director and me to judge the school’s entries in the national Recipes for Healthy Kids competition.  The school had much to be proud of because their terrific team created not one, but two semi-finalist recipes:  “Tasty Tots” and “Mediterranean Quinoa Salad.” Read more »

Recently, I visited Tohono O’odham Community College, in Sells, AZ, one of the tribal colleges that the Department of Agriculture supports around the country to level the playing field and open the doors of higher education to more young people. The Tohono O’odham or “Desert People” live in the Sonoran Desert on tribal lands in the southern part of the state, bordering Mexico. The terrain is flat, dry desert and presents numerous agricultural challenges that USDA helps students address through research and hands-on training, teaching traditional scientific disciplines – but through the lens of the tribe’s needs and culture.

The college is doing a lot of work to keep their tribal language alive, providing language classes for all students. But science professor Dr. Teresa Newberry has taken that to a whole new level by building a Web-based database of plants that is built in three languages: English, Latin and Tohono O’odham. It’s the kind of project that integrates the native culture into learning in a practical, living way. Read more »