Urban Agriculture
So, do you know what agriculture means? It's when people grow crops and plants on a farm or in a garden. Urban agriculture is when people do that same thing, but in the city!
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Instead of having a big farm outside of the city, people grow plants and crops in small gardens or even on rooftops and balconies. They might grow things like tomatoes, lettuce, or herbs.
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Urban agriculture is important because it helps us have fresh, healthy food in the city, even if we don't have a big farm nearby. Plus, it's fun to grow your own plants and watch them grow!
Video
Puzzles
English
Take a Stance
Task 1: Create a vlog about your opinion on urban farming.
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Task 2: Help with a community garden: Many cities have community gardens where people can come together to grow plants and crops. You could help weed, water, and take care of the plants in the garden.
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Task 3: Grow your own plants: Even if you don't have a big yard, you can still grow plants in pots on a balcony or windowsill. You c​ould try growing herbs, tomatoes, or even flowers!
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Task 4: Compost: Composting is a way to turn food scraps and yard waste into fertilizer for plants. You could help your family start a compost bin and add fo​od scraps like fruit peels and vegetable trimmings to it.
By doing any of these tasks, you can help support urban agriculture and learn more about where our food comes from!
Experiments and Challenges
Task 1
Look at your lunch choices. What percentage is locally produced, is bought from home and was part of a previous meal or homegrown, and what is from the supermarket or grocery store?
See if you can decrease the percentage bought from the supermarket or grocery store for a week. Was this easy or difficult to do? Why do you think that was the case?
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Task 2
Go shopping at a local market and post a picture of what you bought there! Which vegetables and fruits did you find? What differences are there compared to the grocery store? The advantages of products from the market are that they are often locally produced, seasonal and come without packaging. By buying them, you can support local producers and the environment, as your products are not travelling across the world and are not wrapped in plastic that will be thrown away.
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Weird and Wonderful Facts
25% of food waste that is wasted in the UK, USA, and in Europe could feed all hungry people on earth
If all the vacant land in New York city was used for the urban farming of produce, over 150,000 people could be fed.
Urban agriculture usually yields a more diverse set of crops as urban gardeners often tend to cultivate less common crops and plants, promoting in this way agricultural diversity.
