UMass Permaculture in the Running for a White House Award

I drove a snowy road down from Wendell following a snowplow at 20 mph today at 6:20 am, en route to Amtrak, headed for NYC. On the way I got a chance to listen to Monte Bellemonte on WRSI interviewing two UMass students who have created a food garden just 10 steps away from Franklin Dining Commons at UMass.

It’s called UMass Permaculture, and the pair said that since last spring when they dug up 12,000 square feet of lawn, they’ve produced 2000 pounds of produce that was eagerly consumed by Umass students at the dining hall. Though they produce the typical annual vegetables like potatoes, garlic, squash, tomatoes and peppers, the real key here are the perennial crops they’ve sewn. These varieties, like Rocket and other greens, are like grass….plant ’em once and reap them forever. I hope they planted aspargus, speaking of wonderful perennial veggies!

The project is now in line for a big honor. The White House is hosting a contest for the Campus Champions of Change Challenge, and they’ve made the final round. One of the students excitedly related how “Ronnie” from the White House called him on his cell with the great news as they were exiting a restaurant.

These are the kinds of things that Obama and his crew are doing…besides funding Amtrak, which I gotta say, as I type this blog speeding south to NYC, is something that Mitt and his ilk have said they’d defund. That’s absurd, Amtrak funding should increase, and this full train is full of people who I am sure would agree!

VOTE DEMOCRAT, keep awarding great ideas like UMass Permaculture, and visit their website to vote for them. GO UMASS!