Bridget Barni is sitting in the dirt picking lettuce. She is one of eighty people who are volunteering at this urban farm. Like a lot of the volunteers, she does not have much gardening experience.
One of the goals of the urban farm is to show city people the joys of growing food. The Alleycats invite school groups to the farm to help out. And Amber Banks says they want the same people who get food donations to learn how to work the soil.
Sean Conroe says Alleycat Acres is expanding to other empty areas of Seattle. So are a lot of other urban farming groups.
SEAN CONROE: "We'd like to expand as much as we can where there are empty lots that have ample amounts of sunlight, that have access to water and that have a community rallying around projects such as this."
Seattle has declared two thousand ten "The Year of Urban Agriculture." But the growth of these farms is limited. That is because Seattle, like a lot of other cities, has restrictions on urban farms. The City Council is now considering changing those laws.
And that's the VOA Special English Agriculture Report, by Ann Dornfeld. Support came from the Park Foundation, the Gaylord and Dorothy Donnelly Foundation and the Great Lakes Fishery Trust. You can find more stories -- and post your comments -- at environmentreport.org. You can also follow us on Facebook and Twitter at VOA Learning English. I'm Bob Doughty.
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2013-11-25
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