In this episode of Land Language, Brit Sastrawidjaya and Bethany Rydmark talk with Marc Boucher-Colbert, longtime garden educator and urban farming advocate, about how outdoor spaces can nurture curiosity, resilience, and ecological literacy in children.

Marc shares his decades of experience developing school gardens and edible landscapes—from composting and crop rotations to integrated pest management (IPM) and soil health. Together, they explore how to turn kids from consumers into producers, how to adapt regenerative design principles for schools, and how simple gestures like container gardening can spark lifelong relationships with the living world.

Chapters:

00:00 Start

00:33 Meet Mark Boucher

02:10 From Compost to Farming

04:05 Urban Bounty Origins

04:34 School Garden Career

07:08 Montessori Outdoors

08:46 Cooking and Harvesting

10:50 Roaming and Curiosity

13:27 Science by Age Group

15:03 Experimenting with Soil

17:30 Loose Materials Play

19:23 Designing Kid Spaces

19:53 Tree Fort Favorites

23:13 Forts and Privacy

25:29 Lawns and Maintenance

28:30 Design for Your Child

31:10 Boulders and Water

32:27 Nature for Adults Too

35:54 Public School Challenges

38:15 School Reform Barriers

38:51 Healing Gardens Proof

40:00 Edible Schoolyard Model

40:59 Afterschool Garden Freedom

43:33 Food Equity Reality Check

44:57 Home vs School Cooking

47:38 Micro Community Leadership

49:46 Slow Down With Nature

52:12 Family Food Memories

54:17 IPM Basics Explained

01:05:47 Soil Health Over Inputs

01:07:47 Start Small Grow Something

01:10:27 Books Club And Resources

01:11:59 Design Your Eden Cards

01:17:51 Closing Thoughts

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Follow Marc:

Website: https://www.designyoureden.com/

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/designyoureden

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About Marc:

Marc Boucher-Colbert is a garden educator, urban farmer, and sustainability advocate with over two decades of experience teaching children to connect with the land. He helped establish Zenger Farm in Portland, founded the rooftop garden at Noble Rot, and currently serves as the gardening specialist at the Franciscan Montessori Earth School, where he integrates science, ecology, and food systems into daily learning. His work blends hands-on experimentation with a deep belief in regenerative, community-driven landscapes.

About Land Language:

Land Language is a podcast for landscape professionals, plant lovers, and anyone who wants to understand what it really takes to build regeneratively. Hosted by contractor/designer Brit Sastrawidjaya and designer Bethany Rydmark, each episode brings you expert insights, practical tools, and honest conversations about transforming the landscape industry from the ground up.