VOA标准英语2011--Urban Farming Grows in Detroit

Urban Farming Grows in Detroit

Detroit is a U.S. city that has been hit hard by poverty and dilapidation¹ in recent decades. But its citizens are working on a grassroots strategy to rejuvenate² their city with urban farming. Urban farms and gardens are popping up all over the city.

Jackie Hunt comes to garden at D-Town Farm in Detroit just about every day. She says growing produce is gratifying.

"You want to grow some of those big luscious³ tomatoes," said Hunt. "You want to get the red, red tomatoes that do not have the cracks in the top and the things on the bottom; you want to grow one of those. At least I do. I want to be able to say, 'Look, I grew this. Isn't this something?'"

D-Town is a 1.6-hectare farm that grows 35 different kinds of fruit and vegetables. Volunteers plant the farm together and in return get a discount on produce. Hunt says the aim is to give Detroit's residents access to fresh food.

"One of the things we can do by doing this, by having people who don't farm, who don't have gardens in the back yard, have them come out here and see how easy it is to plant whatever it is that's planted," she added. "It's like simple. You can do it in the back yard. You can grow enough in the back yard to feed everybody."

And the farm serves another purpose: it unites the community. Local residents help out at the farm and that's important for the area, says Kwamena Mensah, D-Town's manager.

"When there is a community project going on, then the kids, they feel a sense of ownership," said Mensah. "They will look out if people just dump tires and stuff in the garden . They won't let people steal the produce and everything. There are a lot of good things happening as a result of urban farming in this city."

D-Town is not alone. There are urban gardens all over Detroit - outside of offices, churches, at community centers. Some grow produce for sale, but for many, that is not the main aim.

Patrick Crouch⁴ manages another urban farm called Earthworks.

"They are really focused not necessarily on production, but on [there] being a space in which folks can grow food for their families and themselves," said Crouch. "Their focus is often times on community building, working with youth. It really depends on their location what their focus is, but they are all over the place. It's hard to go very far without noticing one."

Crouch says poverty in Detroit has helped to spur urban food-growing. Dilapidated buildings are common and there are large tracts⁵ of unused space around the city, which he says are ideal for urban farming. But he says Detroit is not the only city where this is going on.

"We see urban agriculture across the United States, in almost every metropolitan⁶ city," added Crouch. "It's becoming very important. You see it in cities like Oakland and St. Louis and New York and Boston, so it's very common."

But with farms like D-Town around the city, Crouch says Detroit is at the vanguard of the movement.

1 dilapidation   

n.倒塌；毁坏

参考例句：

• Yet all this was apart from any extraordinary dilapidation.特别破落的样子倒也找不出。
• The farmhouse had fallen into a state of dilapidation.农舍落到了破败的境地。

2 rejuvenate   

v.(使)返老还童；(使)恢复活力

参考例句：

• The mountain air will rejuvenate you.山里的空气会使你恢复活力。
• Exercise is perhaps the most effective way to rejuvenate your skin.锻炼可能是使皮肤恢复活力的最好手段。

3 luscious   

adj.美味的；芬芳的；肉感的，引与性欲的

参考例句：

• The watermelon was very luscious.Everyone wanted another slice.西瓜很可口，每个人都想再来一片。
• What I like most about Gabby is her luscious lips!我最喜欢的是盖比那性感饱满的双唇！

4 crouch   

v.蹲伏，蜷缩，低头弯腰；n.蹲伏

参考例句：

• I crouched on the ground.我蹲在地上。
• He crouched down beside him.他在他的旁边蹲下来。

5 tracts   

大片土地( tract的名词复数 )； 地带； （体内的）道； （尤指宣扬宗教、伦理或政治的）短文

参考例句：

• vast tracts of forest 大片大片的森林
• There are tracts of desert in Australia. 澳大利亚有大片沙漠。

6 metropolitan   

adj.大城市的，大都会的

参考例句：

• Metropolitan buildings become taller than ever.大城市的建筑变得比以前更高。
• Metropolitan residents are used to fast rhythm.大都市的居民习惯于快节奏。