[Pollinator] The People’s Garden Initiative Celebrates 3 Years of Growth

[Ladadams at aol.com]

>From the USDA Blog - 
_The People’s Garden Initiative Celebrates 3 Years of  Growth_ 
(http://blogs.usda.gov/2012/02/17/the-people’
s-garden-initiative-celebrates-3-years-of-growth/) 
Posted by _Livia Marqués, Director of The  People's Garden Initiative_ 
(http://blogs.usda.gov/author/bfrank/) , on February 17, 2012 at 5:04 PM 
 
Three years ago this week, on February 12, 2009, Agriculture Secretary Tom  
Vilsack commemorated President Lincoln’s 200th birthday by creating  the  
first USDA People’s Garden at the “People’s Department.”  This People’s  
Garden at Department headquarters in Washington D.C., initially started as an  
opportunity to showcase what we do at USDA, and to encourage folks to 
consider  local production and local consumption.  It was USDA’s way of walking 
its  talk by providing an example to the rest of the country.  We’ve grown 
quite  a bit in that short period of time. Thousands of USDA employees and 
over 700  local and national organizations are participating in over 1,500 
gardens. 
Last night, the People’s Garden along with Abraham Lincoln, in honor of our 
 namesake and _USDA’s  150th Anniversary_ 
(http://www.usda.gov/wps/portal/usda/usdahome?navid=USDA150) , recognized employees, agencies and partners  
for their contributions to the Initiative at The People’s Garden ‘Golden 
Shovel’  Award Ceremony and Reception.  And the categories are… 
 
(http://www.fsa.usda.gov/FSA/webapp?area=home&subject=landing&topic=landing)  
Golden Garden Gnomes will travel from People's Garden  to People's Garden 
in Iowa and Maryland in honor of their contributions to the  Initiative. 
Golden Shovel Awards_
Farm  Service Agency_ 
(http://www.fsa.usda.gov/FSA/webapp?area=home&subject=landing&topic=landing)  received a ‘golden shovel’ in honor of their 
commitment to  volunteerism. FSA employees are creating gardens as ways to 
connect with  neighbors and local organizations in their communities. They have 
set the  standard for innovative, collaborative work and volunteered a total 
of 1,791  hours  of service in 2011. 
_Natural  Resources Conservation Service_ 
(http://www.nrcs.usda.gov/wps/portal/nrcs/main/national/home)  (NRCS) was presented a ‘golden shovel’ for  
being the agency with the most number of People’s Gardens. NRCS has created 
385  gardens over a three year period. These gardens range in type from 
growing  healthy, nutritious food to conserving, restoring and protecting our 
nation’s  natural resources. 
Golden Garden Gnome Awards
Golden garden gnomes were presented to two ‘Top  States’ – Iowa and 
Maryland. More People’s Gardens are growing in Iowa – 73 to  be exact —  than any 
other state. And People’s Gardens in Maryland donated  more produce – over 
700,000 lbs – during the 2011 growing season than any other  state. In 
total, USDA donated 1.1 million pounds of fresh produce to local food  banks and 
charities across the country through our ‘Share Your Harvest’  effort. 
These gnomes will be a fun way for participants to share their passion and  
excitement about their projects with each other and the public. Each gnome 
will  travel from People’s Garden to People’s Garden in Iowa and Maryland. 
We plan to  track their journey with _blog_ 
(http://blogs.usda.gov/category/peoples-garden/)  posts, photos _on twitter_ 
(http://twitter.com/#!/peoplesgarden)  and on our _interactive  map_ 
(http://www.usda.gov/wps/portal/usda/usdahome?navid=GARDEN_RT7&parentnav=PEOPLES_GARDEN&navtype=RT) . Happy 
traveling! 
 
People's Garden volunteer and USDA employee Loretta  Thomas received an 
award for volunteering over 100 hours at Headquarters  People's Garden. 
Special Recognition Awards
Special recognition was given to organizations  that have been supporters 
and partners of the People’s Garden from the  start. 
    *   _DC Central Kitchen_ (http://www.dccentralkitchen.org/)  (DCCK)  
was recognized as the first partner of the People’s Garden  and as a  leader 
in using food as a tool to strengthen the community in the District. _DCCK’s 
Truck Farm_ (http://www.dccentralkitchen.org/truckfarm/) , a  traveling, 
edible exhibit that teaches urban kids about healthy food sponsored  by PG, 
accepted a certificate of appreciation as well.  
    *   _American Community Gardening  Association_ 
(http://communitygarden.org/)  was acknowledged for being a major supporter of community  greening 
in urban and rural communities.  
    *   _Junior Master Gardener_ (http://jmgkids.us/)  and _FoodCorps_ 
(http://foodcorps.org/)  were honored for teaching kids,  building school 
gardens and igniting a passion for learning, success and  service in youth.  
    *   _Keep America  Beautiful_ 
(http://www.kab.org/site/PageServer?pagename=index)  was recognized for their dedication to growing healthy gardens  
in the communities of their affiliates.  
    *   _AmpleHarvest.org_ (http://ampleharvest.org/)  and _SNAPGardens_ 
(http://www.snapgardens.org/)  were congratulated for  their continued efforts 
to connect Americans with the resources they need to  feed others and 
themselves.  
    *   A special thank you went to _Pollinator Partnership_ 
(http://www.pollinator.org/)  for working with  us on our yearly Pollinator Festival and 
for promoting public awareness about  pollinators – birds, bees, bats, 
butterflies, beetles, and other pollinating  animals – who are responsible for 
pollinating one-third of the nation’s food  supply. 
So many individuals and groups play a role in our success and we recognize  
that we couldn’t make an impact without this support. From our new and 
improved  _website_ 
(http://www.usda.gov/wps/portal/usda/usdahome?navid=PEOPLES_GARDEN) ,  to the _Native American  garden_ 
(http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=liNs0wDhcKA)  planted last spring with the Office of Tribal Relations and Let
’s  Move, and many other successes, thank you for _joining  us_ 
(http://www.usda.gov/wps/portal/usda/usdahome?navid=GARDEN_RT4&parentnav=PEOPLES_GARDEN&
navtype=RT) ! Thanks so much for your hard work and contributions. 


 
Tags: _DC._ (http://blogs.usda.gov/tag/dc/) , _FSA_ 
(http://blogs.usda.gov/tag/fsa/) , _NRCS_ (http://blogs.usda.gov/tag/nrcs/) , _People's Garden_ 
(http://blogs.usda.gov/tag/peoples-garden/) , _usda150_ 
(http://blogs.usda.gov/tag/usda150/) , _Washington_ (http://blogs.usda.gov/tag/washington/)  
 _People's Garden_ (http://blogs.usda.gov/category/peoples-garden/)  
 
 




 



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