Lab #4

Today we went to one of the Macon Roots community gardens to look at different types of soil and plants. The Macon Roots program was established to help promote a sense of community, local farmers markets, and healthy food choices. The Roots program is also focused on creating a sustainable food system for Middle Ga. After more research through their webpage, I found that they hold events downtown that provide fresh food from local markets. They are also responsible for helping the farmers market to get debut card machines at their events, to allow better connivence for the people who go to the markets. Macon Roots also held a lecture concerning obesity and malnutrition that occurs in Macon, allowing people to gain education about the foods they eat and how it affects their body. The Roots webpage also has a separate tab for information about food markets.

Although what the Macon Roots is working towards is good, there are many concerns about the soil. The problem is that since Macon is a major city, they can have what's called urban soil. Urban soil is a potential problem because pollution form the city can be in the soil, which in turn can be in the food that is grown from the soil. The reason this could be a potential problem, is because the people who work in the gardens, may not know to look for this, or that the problem exists. To prevent this, community gardeners need to be educated about the health of the soil they are planting in.

Below is a picture of the gardens from their webpage.

Macon Roots