城市农场:种植之乐

    This is the VOA Special English Agriculture Report.
    这里是美国之音慢速英语农业报道节目。

    For many years, people in American cities have depended on farmers in rural areas to grow fruits and vegetables. But now a new generation of farmers is planting crops in urban areas.
    多年来,美国市民都依赖于居住在农村地区的农民种植水果和蔬菜。但是现在,新一代农民已经开始在市区种植农作物。

    Sean Conroe is a college student. Amber Banks is a teacher. They both grew up farming and gardening. Sean Conroe and Amber Banks wanted to start a farm in the middle of Seattle, Washington.
    肖恩·科瑞(Sean Conroe)是一位大学生,安柏·班克斯(Amber Banks)是一位教师。他们都在农耕种植的环境中长大。肖恩和安柏想在西雅图中部开辟一个农场。

    AMBER BANKS: "There are a lot of neighborhoods that don't have access to healthy, fresh produce. And if they do, it can be very expensive. So we see unused space as a great place to grow food that will make it more accessible for people."
    安柏:“很多的社区居民无法获得健康新鲜的农产品,即使可以,也是非常昂贵的。所以我们认为闲置的土地是种植农作物的绝佳场所,能让人们更容易获得健康新鲜的农产品。”

    Sean Conroe created a website to get volunteers and donations. Within a week, they were offered a plot of land between two houses. He says twenty volunteers worked for six weekends to turn the grassy land into a farm. They call their project Alleycat Acres.
    肖恩创建了一个网站接受捐赠和招募志愿者。在一周之内,他们就获赠了一块位于两间房子之间的土地。他称,20位志愿者花了6个周末将这块绿地平整为农地。他们称这个农地项目为野猫农庄(Alleycat Acres)。

    SEAN CONROE: "We have spinach, onions, radish, lettuce and chard that's all ready to be harvested right now."
    肖恩:“我们种了菠菜,洋葱,萝卜,生菜和甜菜,现在马上就要迎来丰收。”

    There are also carrots, green onions, peas, beans and turnips.
    农庄同时还种了胡萝卜,葱,豌豆,豆类和萝卜。

    SEAN CONROE: "Broccoli, tomatillos and cucumbers which are all starting to pop up. And then strawberries."
    肖恩:“西兰花,粘果酸浆和黄瓜即将成熟,接着就是草莓。”

    The Alleycats have harvested about ninety kilograms of produce so far. They have donated most of it to local food banks that feed hungry people in Seattle.
    至今为止,野猫农庄已收获了大约90公斤农产品。他们将大多数农产品捐赠给了西雅图当地救济饥民的食物银行。

    Bridget Barni is sitting in the dirt picking lettuce. She is one of eighty people who are volunteering at this urban farm. Like a lot of the volunteers, she does not have much gardening experience.
    布里奇特·巴里(Bridget Barni)坐在一堆采摘好的脏不拉叽的莴苣中间。她是这个城市农场的80名志愿者之一。像很多的志愿者一样,她并没有太多的种植经验。

    One of the goals of the urban farm is to show city people the joys of growing food. The Alleycats invite school groups to the farm to help out. And Amber Banks says they want the same people who get food donations to learn how to work the soil.
    这个城市农场的目标之一是向市民展示耕种之乐。野猫农庄邀请学校团体到农场帮忙。同时安柏还表示,他们希望获得食物捐赠的人学会如何耕种。

    Sean Conroe says Alleycat Acres is expanding to other empty areas of Seattle. So are a lot of other urban farming groups.
    肖恩表示野猫农庄正在向西雅图其他空地扩张。因此将会有更多的城市农场出现。

    SEAN CONROE: "We'd like to expand as much as we can where there are empty lots that have ample amounts of sunlight, that have access to water and that have a community rallying around projects such as this."
    肖恩:“我们期望尽可能扩大到更多空地,那里要有充足的日照,易于灌溉。还要有像野猫农庄项目一样广泛的社会支持。”

    Seattle has declared two thousand ten "The Year of Urban Agriculture." But the growth of these farms is limited. That is because Seattle, like a lot of other cities, has restrictions on urban farms. The City Council is now considering changing those laws.
    西雅图已宣布2010年为“都市农业年”。但这种城市农场的发展受到限制。这是因为西雅图像很多其他城市一样,对城市农场严格限制。市议会正考虑修改这些法律。