As we strive for high productivity on the farm, we do so with a strong commitment to ecological sustainability and hands-on education. Farm management and Learning Garden maintenance decisions are made with a focus on growing vegetables in a manner that nurtures soil health, water quality, energy efficiency, and wildlife habitat. A huge issue for wildlife habitat right now is the plight of the monarch butterfly, a species whose numbers are at an all-time low. Among important factors such as drought in the southern US and deforestation of their wintering habitat in Mexico, the decline of monarch butterflies over the last decade or more has coincided with the wide-scale use of the weed-killer glyphosate, also known as Round Up. Round Up is the number one herbicide used in conjunction with genetically modified crops and its use by homeowners has skyrocketed as well - leading to near extermination of milkweed from huge swaths of our country.  Milkweed is the only type of plant Monarchs use for laying eggs as it is the exclusive food source for developing larvae.

How can we help? On a policy level, it's time to rethink the use of glyphosate - which has been linked to a host of human health problems including birth defects, infertility, cancer, and autism in addition to its negative impacts on the monarch population. A number of countries have put bans into place and there's an effort to do the same in the United States. See the facebook page for the United States Comprehensive Glyphosate Ban Treaty to get more involved.