Remarks by The First Lady At Burke County Middle School on American Garden Tour

Burke County Middle School
Augusta, Georgia

11:51 A.M. EDT
 
MRS. OBAMA:  Hey, guys!  (Applause.)  You feeling good?  You ready to plant?  

STUDENTS:  Yeah. 

MRS. OBAMA:  Well, if you haven't noticed, I'm excited to be here.  And I think, as you heard from Ms. Martin, there's a real reason why we picked Burke County, to be here -- because you all are leading the way in farm-to-school programs.  You're using it in your classrooms.  You're eating healthier school lunches.  And it's having a good impact on your education and on your overall health. 

And that was really the point, one of the reasons why I planted the first White House Kitchen Garden at the White House almost eight years ago.  And Tuesday, we did our last planting before my husband and I, we leave the White House.  So I was a little sad, but wanted to celebrate by doing what we're calling an American Garden Tour.  So I'm traveling all around the county and highlighting all the great work that's been done over the last seven or eight years in community gardens, in school gardens. Because since we planted our garden, a lot of people across the country have done the same things, and so there are all these wonderful stories all over the country.  

Burke County, right here, is a wonderful example of what schools are doing in rural communities and how it's benefitting.  And Al and I are going to hop back on my plane, and we're flying to Newark, New Jersey, in a couple of hours, and we're going to highlight what's going on in an urban-garden school.  So we're going to an urban school there. They've got their garden on a rooftop. 

So we're making the point that you can garden anywhere.  You can even garden in space, because on Friday, I think, they're going to blast off some seeds to the International Space Station, where they're going to grow cabbage and some of the stuff that we're growing in the White House Kitchen Garden, just to prove that you can garden anywhere. 

So I just want to say I'm proud of you all for the work that you do, because I know that a lot of what you do is student-initiated.  So I'm looking forward to hearing from you guys what you've learned, what you're doing, and then, hopefully, helping you plant your garden for this year.  Okay?  

So with that, I'm going to stop talking, and we're going to start learning from you guys, okay?   Are you ready?   

STUDENTS:  Yeah. 

MRS. OBAMA:  All right.  Let's get it done.  

END
11:54 A.M. EDT