If you have ever said, “Schools need to…” or “Why doesn’t somebody…?” this may be a good place to begin.
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Good community structures do not require everyone to produce the same answer. They create enough framework for people to participate while leaving enough room for individuality, experimentation and surprise.
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Zoning determines much more than where houses, businesses and industries can be built. It can also determine whether a family can sell what it grows, whether a neighborhood can establish a community garden, whether a small agricultural enterprise can operate, where farm stands are permitted, and what kinds of agricultural activity remain possible as Augusta continues to develop.
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Land suitable for agriculture competes with housing and commercial development. Small and specialty producers need markets. Agritourism businesses need visibility. Beginning farmers need affordable access to land. Residents want opportunities to grow food closer to home. And economic-development decisions can permanently change what land will be available to the next generation.
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Through Grow with Joy Inc., Joy is helping develop an agricultural education experience that introduces teens not simply to gardening, but to the much larger world surrounding agriculture.
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Our local farming community has tried for several years to build stronger relationships with FFA programs and agriculture students in Richmond County. We've had mixed results. Enter Chante Luckie and Hagler U.
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This is why local knowledge and industry experience matter. Karen Gordon understood the poultry operation, but she also understood the community, climate, relationships, labor realities and local marketplace surrounding it.
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We often talk about the food system as though farmers grow the food, stores sell it and families buy it. In reality, there is an entire civic infrastructure underneath that exchange: federal policy, state administration, land access, conservation programs, financing, research, transportation, nutrition assistance and local markets.
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The artists, musicians, dancers, volunteers, cultural organizations, food vendors, children making art and strangers meeting one another are what turn a physical location into a community space. A successful festival doesn’t simply occupy a place. It activates it.
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I've had several conversations with area farmers during Agriculture Month. Some have left me energized. Others have left me deeply concerned. And I've found myself holding two seemingly contradictory thoughts at the same time:
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