Stacy Smith, a long time gardener, was looking for a way to get involved in her daughter’s school. After seeing the raised gardening beds at Issaquah Valley Elementary (IVE), which she said have only been used occasionally in the last several years, Smith saw her opening.

Creating the Growing Great Gardeners program through the PTA for first grade students fulfilled all the things Smith was looking for and exposed the children to the world of gardening.

Gardening, especially following the recreation of the White House vegetable garden by Michelle Obama earlier this year, has become the hot new outdoor activity once again, bringing back into focus things like urban farming and gardening.

For 100 kids at IVE this meant learning about all the stages of plant life and watching it happen before their eyes. The students grew and tended to their garden before taking part in a salad lunch made entirely of their own vegetables.

Smith said it’s great that her long held passion for growing healthy foods has once again become something everyone wants to take part in. She said she encouraged the students to try it at home, whether its in a large container on a porch, or full fledged garden plot.

“Anyone can garden,” said Smith. “I think the community is really trying to find ways to eat healthy. Issaquah is a great place if people are interested. It is finally really taking hold.”

Proving a little effort can have a lot of payoff, Smith said the veggies grown by the first grade classes were enough to feed each of the students, as well as send extras to the Issaquah Food Bank.

The city of Issaquah has also noticed the uptick in gardening interest, offering a variety of opportunities this summer to encourage people to tackle their own projects. The city recently started a partnership with Seattle Tilth, an educational organization dedicated to helping people garden organically and conserve natural resources. Through this partnership Seattle Tilth is offering classes locally, and recently held an edible plant sale at the Issaquah Farmer’s Market where shoppers took home edible plants to start their own gardens.

Pickering Garden, home to the local farmer’s market, is another hot-bed of gardening activity. So far this summer the city’s Resource Conservation office has hosted two open houses to give gardening tips to residents and answer questions, as well as to get input on the new design for the west garden at the Pickering Barn.

Mary Joe de Beck, the resource conservation coordinator with the city said the open house was a great way for people to see what resources are available in the community and to see what Seattle Tilth has to offer.

“It’s a great resource for residents, businesses and people developing gardens,” said de Beck.

There is also a Garden Hotline Booth which will be set up at the Farmer’s Market July 18, Aug. 15, Sept. 19 and Oct. 10 where locals can speak with educators on sustainable plants, composting, lawn care and the best ways for natural pest management.

For others the urban gardening movement is just one piece of a larger whole; urban farming. While there are restrictions on what types of animals can be kept in urban areas, many find chickens and other small livestock animals are another outlet for sustainability.

Within the city limits livestock can only be kept on lots larger than 6,000 square feet, according to the city’s municipal code. For animals such as chickens, rabbits, squab or ducks there can only be one animal for every 2,000 square feet of space. On lots larger than 35,000 square feet horses or llamas are allowed, at one per every 1.2 acres. Cattle or mules are limited to one per .5 acres and other farm animals, goats, sheep, turkeys, geese, are regulated to five per acre.

Keeping honey bee hives is another activity which local farmers partake in. The city’s municipal code states lots under 6,000 feet are not zoned for hives and lots between 6,001 and 10,000 square feet can have no more than two hives. The largest number of hives allowed are 20 hives on lots between 1 and 1.5 acres. Active hives must be registered with the Department of Agriculture, per state laws, and must be managed for swarm prevention and gentleness.

See more local regulations at the Issaquah Municipal Code.