A new word entered the language a few years ago. It struck such a chord that it became word of the year in 2007 in the Oxford American Dictionary. The word? Locavore. It means eating local food. </p><p>Locavores are part of a nationwide movement that stresses eating food that has been grown near your home. The concept has taken root because most of what we consume travels thousands of miles before it reaches our plate, burning energy and ruining the flavor. </p><p>While the concept works well in Sioux City or even Homestead, it’s more of a problem on our soil deficient, rocky islands. </p><p>Enter Tim May. He and a group of Key West residents are working with Keys environmental organization Green Living & Energy Education to create community gardens on the site of a former school, May Sands. The initial plan is for 30 garden spaces where locals can become true locavores, growing their own organic vegetables. </p><p>May was not particularly into gardening until after Hurricane Wilma, which wiped out all his vegetation. He and his wife started a compost pile after the waters receded, and soon he began to get what gardeners refer to as volunteers, small plants sprouting from the decomposing kitchen waste. </p><p>“Pretty soon we had a nice little vegetable garden, purely accidentally,” May said.</p><p>The light went on and soon he began thinking on a larger scale. May’s house backs up to the former May Sands School, and he would stare longingly at some vacant area that he thought would be ideal for some local gardens. He put some feelers out to Randy Acevedo, Monroe County school superintendent, who was responsive. Not long thereafter, he, Acevedo and Kim Gabel, Monroe County Extension environmental horticulture agent, met at the former school and the plan was set in motion.</p><p>“I think there is a movement of people in our country who want to have more control over their own food supply, to know what goes into their food, understand and engage in how it's grown,” May said. “A number of people interested in the project have told me they read Barbara Kingsolver’s book “Animal, Vegetable, Miracle,” and they're ready to buy a swath of land somewhere rural and start growing. This project enables them to get a start on those dreams and begin learning.”</p><p>Those who have already expressed an interest in planting vegetables this fall include a local architect who is studying for his LEED certification, a Montessori school principal, a baker, a chef, artists, a court reporter, lawyers, local business owners, two detectives, a master gardener and a social worker. </p><p>Each participant will be required to pay a $100 fee, which will not only help with gardening expenses such as water and seeds but will also enroll them as members of GLEE. </p><p>The garden will be grown in raised beds and fertilized by the product of compost piles the participants will create. In addition, May said they will put rain barrels near the school to capture what runs off the roof, thereby limiting the amount of piped in water used. </p><p>“We’re also going to use horse, goat, and chicken manure from the petting zoo run by the sheriff’s department,” he said. </p><p>One requirement that Acevedo established is that the group will include local school students in the experience. May and the other participants are delighted to spread the gospel of eating local food among young people. The group envisions a class or classes from Montessori, Horace O'Bryant Middle or Glynn Archer Elementary schools working and learning in the garden. </p><p>“The education and learning possibilities with this project, and the goal of instilling in youngsters some knowledge and hopefully appreciation for what goes into growing good food, is integral to the concept,” May added. </p><p>The interest in the project has spread quickly, May said, and his e-mail box has been swamped with messages. He’s looking for more garden spaces. He said Key West Mayor Morgan McPherson liked the idea and has suggested some housing authority sites for future gardens. </p><p>“We want to see how it goes this year,” May said. “However, the future for local food in Key West looks great.”