New RHS report says school gardening boosts child development; teaches life skills and makes kids healthier and happier

28th June 2010

The Royal Horticultural Society (RHA) is today urging school gardening to be high on the education agenda and recognised as a key teaching tool.

New research by the RHS Gardening in Schools – A vital tool for children’s learning published today shows for the first time, the enormous impact gardening plays in a child’s wellbeing, learning and development.

Dr Simon Thornton Wood, Director of Science and Learning, RHS, said, “As the new coalition government considers a new approach to the primary curriculum, we hope they acknowledge the striking conclusions of our research and that gardens enable a creative, flexible approach to teaching that has significant benefits.

[Read more →]

Project could hire 371 employees and pay at least $1.5 million a year in taxes

John Hoeffel
Los Angeles Times
July 20, 2010

Excerpts:

Oakland could approve a plan Tuesday to set up four marijuana factory farms, a step that could usher in the era of Big Pot.

If the City Council approves the plan, one Bay Area businessman has already made it clear that he intends to apply for a cultivation permit. Jeff Wilcox, who owned a successful construction firm and has already incorporated as AgraMed, hopes to convert his empty industrial buildings near Interstate 880 into an enormous production facility. He plans to manufacture growing equipment, bake marijuana edibles in a 10,000-square-foot kitchen and use two football fields of space to grow about 58 pounds of marijuana every day, many times the amount now sold in Oakland.

[Read more →]