"Earth Day worked because of the spontaneous response at the grassroots level...That was the remarkable thing about Earth Day. It organized itself." —Earth Day founder Senator Gaylord Nelson reflecting on the first Earth Day http://earthday.envirolink.org/history.html

Dear Organic Gardeners,

It has been thirty-six years since the first Earth Day as envisioned by Wisconsin's U.S. Senator Gaylord Nelson, and over thirty-seven years since Life Magazine published its memorable photograph of our lush, watery planet as seen from Apollo 8. Seeing the earth from space exposed the fragility and beauty of earth, and the first Earth Day awakened us to the perils we've imposed on it. Even though Earth Day has grown dramatically to involve millions of people in over 180 countries across the planet and spawned the birth of the modern environmental movement, our earth is still in peril. The global ecology has become seriously unbalanced as soils are depleted, water tables drop, and the climate becomes destabilized, even though consciousness about the environment has increased dramatically and real progress has been made towards cleaning up our air and water.

Earth Day, on April 22nd, is a great opportunity to fuel the momentum that the environmental movement has built. It's a perfect time to join with family, friends, and neighbors to make intimate contact with nature and to remind ourselves of what an amazing planet we are privileged to call home. Literally thousands of events are planned across the continent to remind us how important our land, air, water, and biodiversity are to our ability to thrive on this planet. To this end, we've listed dozens of these events in this month's news and events section. There are endless opportunities to clean up waterways, maintain trails, plant trees, explore botanical gardens, spruce up local parks, or simply reflect on your favorite spot in nature. If there are no events in your community, maybe this year is the time to begin organizing one for next year.

	Tips for Gardening with Kids Emily Skelton shares activities for getting children involved without undoing your hard work... Read More >
	Companion Planting Kelle Carter presents a quick look at the basics of companion planting including a handy chart... Read More >
	Bio Control Emily Gatch shares strategy for countering pests with biological controls.... Read More >

Of course our favorite way to celebrate Earth Day is in an organic garden where we can create a microcosm that reflects the greater ecology. Earth Day is a great time to share your garden, and the wisdom it has brought, with people close to you. Preparing beds, sowing seeds, and tending to perennials and compost, expose us to the cycle of life and the flow of energy. And clearly, we have much to learn from the garden that can be applied on a global scale. If we are to understand the importance of preserving biodiversity and designing sustainable systems, the garden is a great place to start.

In honor of Earth Day we have three thoughtful articles by our Research Farm staff. In addition to our regular Farm Report from Farm Manager Erica Renaud, Emily Gatch took time from her busy schedule in the greenhouse to explain how to control pests using nontoxic organic methods to seek biological equilibrium in the garden. Kelle Carter stepped in from her busy activities in the fields to promote companion planting as another way to achieve the kind of rich biological diversity that leads to a healthy, balanced garden ecology. And finally, Emily Skelton brings the future into focus as she outlines some great ways to involve our children in the garden, and just maybe create the next generation of Earth Day activists.

Enjoy a great spring in the garden and make every day Earth Day.
Scott Vlaun, Editor


Photo caption: The western hemisphere from space, photo courtesy of NASA.

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