環境之友：在城市裏栽種蔬果

As More Americans try to adopt healthy lifestyles and environmentally friendly practices, the idea of growing their own food has become increasingly popular among city dwellers. That interest was evident at a recent urban gardening forum in Washington, D.C. Dozens of organizations and hundreds of residents got together to advance the local food movement.

越來越多的美國人在嘗試更健康以及對環境友好的生活方式。對城市居民來說，自己種植蔬菜水果越來越受歡迎。最近，首都華盛頓特區舉辦了一次城市種植研討會--“在華盛頓種植”。幾十個綠色組織和幾百名居民聚集在一起，推進地方食品運動。

Katie Rehwaldt, a coordinator for Rooting DC, says getting free seeds is one of the benefits of participating in the day-long urban gardening forum.

凱蒂·雷瓦德是“在華盛頓種植”研討會的協調人。雷瓦德介紹，在爲期一天的研討會上，參加者能夠免費拿到各種植物種子，而這只是很多好處中的一個。

“These are the seeds. We get about 36,000 pounds (16 metric tons ) of seeds packets a year donated to us, which otherwise are thrown away or destroyed. We distribute them to the civic garden projects all over the country.”

According to Rehwaldt, the purpose of Rooting D.C. is to bring community members together to learn about urban gardening and urban agriculture and to strengthen the community and develop more gardens all across the city.”

她說：“研討會的目的就是把社區成員組織到一起，學習如何在城市裏栽種植物，以及如何團結社區力量，在城市裏開闢更多的菜園。”

More than 550 people attended the 4th annual event.

一共有550人蔘加了第四屆研討會年會。

“I think they recognize gardening as a way to bring fresh, local, organic foods into their lives, into their communities, into their schools," says Rehwaldt. "So I think the interest in gardening has spiked because of that.”

雷瓦德說：“人們意識到，栽種能夠給他們自己、社區和學校提供新鮮、本地產的有機食物。我覺得，這些原因使人們對種植和園藝的興趣一路飆升。”

She says growing concern about the environment has also boosted interest. “Because we do not just grow food, but we protect the environment through sustainable gardening practices.”

雷瓦德還談到，對環境的日益關注也提高了人們對種植和園藝的興趣，“因爲我們不只是種植食物，我們還通過可持續的種植方式來保護環境。”

A cooking demonstration of simple but healthy meals using fresh vegetables was one of the highlights of the various workshops offered by more than 30 local non-profit organizations.

三十多家華盛頓當地的非營利組織爲與會者提供了不同的學習班，其中一個亮點是在一個廚藝展示會上，廚師用新鮮的蔬菜做出既簡單又健康的食物。“I am really interested in environment and sort of reconnecting with food and nature," says Scott Verman, a student of the American University in Washington, who came with his friends. "Certainly how to find local food and how to cook it well, and maybe sort of hopefully to get involved on my own with gardening or inspire others to do so.”

斯考特·維爾曼是美利堅大學的學生，她和朋友一起來參加研討會。她說：“我對環境很感興趣，我覺得自己和食物及大自然有共鳴。我當然想知道去哪裏可以找到本地產的食物，怎樣才能煮得好吃點，還希望能夠自己參與到種植園藝中去，或者鼓勵別人這麼做。”

Verman says his school has a community garden on campus. And for those who don’t have access to a large space, Dennis Chestnut of the urban gardening group, Groundwork Anacostia, says you don’t really need one.

維爾曼說，美利堅大學在校園裏專門開闢了一個社區花園。城裏很多人沒有大塊的地方可以種植，城市園藝組織“阿那卡斯提亞園藝活”的丹尼斯·切斯塔特說，其實人們並不需要大塊的地來種東西。

“We can grow our food in as small a space as a flower pot, but we work with residents to use spaces as small as three feet by three feet (0.9 meter)," he says. "So that is what we consider an ideal size for a small space garden.”

“我們甚至可以在花盆裏種瓜果。我們和當地居民就在那種一平米見方的小塊地裏種東西。這麼大小的地塊挺理想的。”

Several organizations that encourage school children to grow fruits and vegetables in creative and healthy ways also ran workshops at Rooting DC.

好幾個鼓勵學生用有創意和健康的方式種植蔬菜水果的組織也在研討會上開辦了學習班。艾琳·戈登是爲孩子們提供課外活動的組織“孩子們的力量”的成員。

“We are making newspaper flowerpots," says Erin Gordon, who is with an after-school program called Kids Power. "And newspapers are biodegradable material, so students can make the pot and then either put it directly into the ground, or they can put it into another flower pot. Any vessel can be a vessel for growing vegetables.”

她說：“我們用報紙做成花盆。報紙是可分解材料，學生們可以用它做成花盆，然後放到地裏或者放到另外的花盆裏去。任何容器都可以用來種菜。”

Alexis Baden-Mayer came to get information for her six-year-old daughter. “Two years ago we started a garden together at her school. So I need to figure out what resources there are in DC to support school gardens and helping us learn how to put one together.”

艾力克斯·梅爾來參加研討會，主要是爲了幫6歲的女兒獲得一些相關的信息。她說：“兩年前，我們一起在女兒的學校裏開出一塊地。我想看看華盛頓特區有什麼資源可以支持學校的菜園，或者幫助我們開闢一個菜園。”

Brian Stewart, a data base administrator, says gardening is a hobby that he can enjoy with friends. “I got some great tips from the seeds saving workshop for saving seeds for next year. I am looking forward to having some seeds and being able to trade with friends”

數據庫工程師布萊恩·斯圖爾特表示，園藝是他的一個愛好，他可以和朋友們一起享受栽種的樂趣。他說：“我參加了種子儲存培訓班，學習如何把種子儲存到明年用，我學到了很多很好的小竅門。 我希望能夠拿到一些種子，可以和朋友們交換。”

The organizers hope to launch a movement that will grow into a sustainable local food system for healthy communities in Washington, around the country and across the globe.

“在華盛頓種植”年會的組織者希望，這個活動能夠在華盛頓生根發芽，讓發展一個可持續的地方食物系統及健康的社區成爲華盛頓、全美國乃至全世界的一個潮流。