Climate Victory Gardens
July 2020
Looking for a fun activity you can do at home that also has benefits for the environment? You can plant your own Climate Victory Garden.
During World War I and II, citizens planted “Victory Gardens'” By 1944, nearly 20 million victory gardens were producing 8 million tons of food, about 40% of the fresh fruits and vegetables consumed in the US at the time. If this were to be replicated today, we could make a large impact on climate change.
Climate Victory Gardens revive the concept, building awareness about the relationship between food and climate issues. Growing at home, we purchase less food that has traveled across the country, reducing our carbon footprint. We compost more food scraps and yard waste keeping it out of landfills. We increase the water holding capacity of our soil, decreasing flooding and runoff, and most importantly, we rebuild our soil health, restoring its carbon sequestering potential. You’ll also have the main benefit and satisfaction of home grown foods to enjoy. Don’t have alot of space? Food can even be grown in containers.
Interested in starting your own Climate Victory Garden? Our Chesapeake Conservation Corps member Patrick Boddicker planted his own Climate Victory Garden and shares his experience. To see the whole process he went through from planning to planting to growing, click here.
Here are even more resources to get you started:
Community Ecology Institute, a Howard County non-profit, has planted a Victory Garden as part of their Climate of Hope Initiative. They even offer help with getting a Victory Garden started.
Howard County Master Gardeners are very active with the Grow It Eat It program. Learn more at their website and particularly the Growing Vegetables page.