I just got this interesting email Cindy Hwang at the Brooklyn Botanic Garden in reaction to an article in this month’s Atlantic:

In this month’s Atlantic, Caitlin Flanagan condemns school gardens as “cultivating failure” with the claim that learning to grow crops doesn’t teach kids how to pass tests – the only path to success and health according to Caitlin.

She writes in opposition to the local food movement made popular by Alice Waters.  Her piece here: http://www.theatlantic.com/doc/201001/school-yard-garden/4

Jeez, is nothing sacred?

The Children’s Garden at the Brooklyn Botanic Garden has been doing a pretty good job of raising crops of vegetables and good kids for 96 years… it’s the world very first children’s garden and the prototype for all the others around the world, operating uninterruptedly since 1914 – almost as long as the Brooklyn Botanic Garden itself, now celebrating its centennial year.

So, relax Ms. Flanagan.  Below are some pix of New York kids who’ve gardened at the Brooklyn Botanic – some who’ve even learned a little math and science along the way.

Best,

Cindy Hwang for Brookyn Botanic Garden