As more Americans try to adopt healthy lifestyles and environmentally friendly practices, the idea of growing their own food has become increasingly popular among city dwellers¹. That interest was evident at a urban gardening forum² in Washington, D.C. Dozens of organizations and hundreds of residents got together to advance the local food movement.

越来越多的美国人在尝试更健康以及对环境友好的生活方式。对城市居民来说，自己种植蔬菜水果越来越受欢迎。首都华盛顿特区举办了一次城市种植研讨会--“在华盛顿种植”。几十个绿色组织和几百名居民聚集在一起，推进地方食品运动。

Katie Rehwaldt, a coordinator³ for Rooting DC, says getting free seeds is one of the benefits of participating in the day-long urban gardening forum.

凯蒂·雷瓦德是“在华盛顿种植”研讨会的协调人。雷瓦德介绍，在为期一天的研讨会上，参加者能够免费拿到各种植物种子，而这只是很多好处中的一个。

“These are the seeds. We get about 36,000 pounds (16 metric tons ) of seeds packets a year donated to us, which otherwise are thrown away or destroyed. We distribute them to the civic⁴ garden projects all over the country.”

According to Rehwaldt, the purpose of Rooting D.C. is to bring community members together to learn about urban gardening and urban agriculture and to strengthen the community and develop more gardens all across the city.”

她说：“研讨会的目的就是把社区成员组织到一起，学习如何在城市里栽种植物，以及如何团结社区力量，在城市里开辟更多的菜园。”

More than 550 people attended the 4th annual event.

一共有550人参加了第四届研讨会年会。

“I think they recognize gardening as a way to bring fresh, local, organic foods into their lives, into their communities, into their schools," says Rehwaldt. "So I think the interest in gardening has spiked⁵ because of that.”

雷瓦德说：“人们意识到，栽种能够给他们自己、社区和学校提供新鲜、本地产的有机食物。我觉得，这些原因使人们对种植和园艺的兴趣一路飙升。”

She says growing concern about the environment has also boosted interest. “Because we do not just grow food, but we protect the environment through sustainable gardening practices.”

雷瓦德还谈到，对环境的日益关注也提高了人们对种植和园艺的兴趣，“因为我们不只是种植食物，我们还通过可持续的种植方式来保护环境。”

A cooking demonstration⁶ of simple but healthy meals using fresh vegetables was one of the highlights of the various workshops offered by more than 30 local non-profit organizations.

三十多家华盛顿当地的非营利组织为与会者提供了不同的学习班，其中一个亮点是在一个厨艺展示会上，厨师用新鲜的蔬菜做出既简单又健康的食物。