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<TD class=contentheading width="100%">The People's Garden: to Promote
Healthy Food, People and Communities Across the Nation </TD>
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<TD vAlign=top align=left width="70%" colSpan=2><SPAN class=small><FONT
face=Tahoma color=#cfcfcf size=1>Written by Green Liver
</FONT></SPAN> </TD></TR>
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<TD class=createdate vAlign=top colSpan=2>Thursday, 23 April 2009 </TD></TR>
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<P>Washington, DC - Yesterday in honor of Earth Day, Agriculture Secretary
Tom Vilsack declared the entire grounds at the USDA Jamie L. Whitten
Building as 'The People's Garden' and unveiled plans to create a
sustainable landscape on the grounds.</P>
<P>"USDA is an every day every way kind of department and this garden will
help illustrate the many ways USDA works to provide a sustainable, safe
and nutritious food supply as well as protect and preserve the landscape
where that food is produced," said Vilsack. "The garden will help explain
to the public how small things they can do at home, at their business or
on their farm or ranch, can promote sustainability, conserve the nation's
natural resources, and make America a leader in combating climate change."
</P>
<P>The People's Garden is designed to provide a sampling of USDA's efforts
throughout the world as well as teach others how to nurture, maintain and
protect a healthy landscape. If practiced, these garden concepts can be
the general public's, government's, or business' contribution to providing
healthy food, air, and water for people and communities. </P>
<P>In response to the overwhelming public support and hundreds of letters
the 'People's Garden' concept has received, Secretary Vilsack challenged
USDA facilities around the world to plant their own 'People's Gardens.'
</P>
<P>Deputy Secretary Kathleen Merrigan officially kicked off the Earth Day
event at the Whitten Building with Cheyenne River Sioux Tribe Chairman
Brings Plenty who performed a traditional song and planted seeds at a
ceremonial Three Sisters Garden to celebrate American Indians'
contribution to American agriculture. Merrigan led volunteers and USDA
staffers in planting vegetables, herbs and flowers to complete the first
phase of The People's Garden. Eventually, the garden will include organic
raised vegetable beds, organic transition plots, an organic urban
container garden, an organic kitchen pollinator garden, rain gardens and a
bat house. </P>
<P>A Three Sisters Garden is a traditional garden consisting of corn,
beans and squash that has been planted by American Indians for centuries.
Stories of the Three Sisters refers to a tradition of interplanting corn,
beans and squash in the same mound. It is a sophisticated, sustainable
planting system that has provided long term soil fertility and a healthy
diet to generations of American Indians. </P>
<P>The People's Garden is not confined to USDA headquarters in Washington,
DC. Secretary Vilsack has challenged all USDA facilities-across the
country and around the world-to create similar gardens and create
healthier landscapes. </P>
<P>The garden at the Whitten Building was first dedicated on Feb. 12,
2009, to commemorate the 200th birthday of President Lincoln. USDA is
planning to have the garden fully certified organic within three years.
USDA's vegetable garden will provide a great variety and amount of organic
produce, which will be donated to a local food bank. </P>
<P>To expand the People's Garden, USDA partnered with 75 representatives
from other federal and state agencies, universities, non-governmental and
non-profit organizations to redesign an innovative and sustainable
landscape for USDA's headquarters. This landscape will demonstrate
environmentally responsible practices and will educates and engages the
public through accessible exhibits.</P></TD></TR></TBODY></TABLE></DIV>
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<DIV><FONT lang=0 face="Gill Sans MT" size=2 FAMILY="SANSSERIF"
PTSIZE="10"><BR><BR><BR><BR><BR>Laurie Davies Adams<BR>Executive
Director<BR><B>Pollinator Partnership </B><BR>423 Washington Street, 5th
floor<BR>San Francisco, CA
94111<BR>415-362-1137<BR>LDA@pollinator.org</FONT><FONT lang=0 face=Arial
color=#000000 size=2 FAMILY="SANSSERIF" PTSIZE="10"><BR><BR></FONT><FONT lang=0
face="Gill Sans MT" color=#0000ff size=4 FAMILY="SANSSERIF" PTSIZE="14"><B><A
href="http://www.pollinator.org/">www.pollinator.org</A></B></FONT><FONT lang=0
face="Gill Sans MT" color=#000000 size=2 FAMILY="SANSSERIF"
PTSIZE="10"></B><BR><A
href="http://www.nappc.org/">www.nappc.org</A><BR><BR></FONT><FONT lang=0
face="Gill Sans MT" color=#000000 size=3 FAMILY="SANSSERIF"
PTSIZE="12"><B><I>National Pollinator Week is June 22-28, 2009. <BR>Beecome
involved at <A
href="http://www.pollinator.org/">www.pollinator.org</A></I></FONT></B></DIV></FONT><br/><font style="color:black;font:normal 10pt arial,san-serif;"> <hr style="margin-top:10px"/>Access 350+ FREE radio stations anytime from anywhere on the web. <a href="http://toolbar.aol.com/aolradio/download.html?ncid=emlcntusdown00000003">Get the Radio Toolbar</a>!</font></DIV></BODY></HTML>