This past weekend, Permaculture course participants studied Natural Building and Passive Solar Energy at the Ecosystem Farm in Piscataway Park.  Activities included building a cold frame and a worm bin, covering a hoop house, planting cover crops at our Persimmon guild and making Biochar, an ancient soil amendment. Loose brush is burned inside a homemade furnace and removed before being buried. Biochar Biochar is a kind of charcoal, which converts agricultural waste, or in th

Scientists at the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) have the important job of creating regulations that keep our food safe. Sometimes this means creating computer models to predict possible risks and applying the academic knowledge of plant pathology to real problems in agriculture.  A current project involves creating guidelines for farmers that grow vegetables on land that has been grazed by livestock. How long should farmers let the manure biodegrade before growing food?

by Andrea Jones, Director of Programs and Visitor Engagement The issue Each year the average American family of four throws away $2,200 worth of food. Just think of what you could buy with that cash! And of course there are the environmental impacts. Most food doesn’t get composted the natural way, it ends up in landfills that are almost devoid of oxygen. That means that they never decompose. Check out these ten-year-old carrots found in a sealed landfill. They’re still orang

ACC teen program interns showcase what they learned during an end of season celebration for families, friends, and school administrators. (photo by Andrea Jones, Accokeek Foundation) According to Shakespeare, parting is such sweet sorrow. This was certainly the case as we said farewell to the first class of the newly launched Agriculture Conservation Corps (ACC) program this August. In collaboration with Prince George’s County’s William S. Schmidt Outdoor Education Center, th

Everyone here at the foundation has a piece of our mission that particularly resonates with them. It’s the reason they come to work in the morning, and the reason they feel good about their job even after a hard day. For some it’s food justice and providing fresh food to the community, for some it’s the culture and history of this place, and for others it’s educating local students and the public. But for me, it’s the park. It’s this beautiful, peaceful piece of shoreline. An

International Year of Soils, recognizing that healthy soils are the basis for healthy food production. According to the FAO, sustainable soil management could produce up to 58% more food, nearly meeting the need to increase global food production by 60% by 2050. So we don’t need more land to feed a projected population of 9 billion, we need healthier land. In celebration of soil, here are a few ideas on how you can make yours healthier and get your garden off on the right foo

Did you know that food makes up the largest percentage of waste in US landfills? On average, we toss 40% of our food in the trashcan, where it ends up in oxygen-deprived landfills to sit for years – largely intact – producing large volumes of methane, a very potent greenhouse gas. Not only is it harming the environment, and burdening our already overflowing landfills, but as a nation we are effectively throwing out $165 billion each year, when one considers the costs to grow,

Lorette Picciano, executive director of the Rural Coalition/Coalición Rural, introduces the evening's speakers. Last week, the Accokeek Foundation held the first event in its four-part Food Justice Series. In celebration of César Chávez Day, the event explored the struggles that are faced by farmworkers around the world and the significant role that small family farmers play in the fight for sustainability and social justice. Put on in partnership with the Rural Coalition/Coa