We began this series on children's health and the environment with an article in EGJ 13 (Johnson, 2000) on essential information resources. second column focused on health problems associated with air pollution and pollen, such as asthma (Johnson 2001). Original data on the relationship between emergency room visits for children with asthma and local pollen counts has since become available and will be presented as a follow-up to the information presented in part two of this series. Urban agriculture and the educational opportunities it offers is now the focus. This is exemplified well at Fairview Gardens in Goleta, California (Ableman 1998). Additionally, we will touch upon the impact of pesticides on children's health as we draw this particular series to a close. Land is Good On Good Land: Autobiography of an Urban Farm by Michael Ableman (1998) offers hope as the author explores the connection between good farming, good food, and a good life. Certainly, many other factors contribute to a good life, but good food is something everyone can enjoy everyday. However, convenience and peer pressure influence what Americans now eat more than consideration of nutrition, real cost, and health. Therefore, Ableman explains how Fairview Gardens only feeds a growing suburban population, but also educates children from near and far in the ways of the earth and provides a place for music and cultural events. This multifaceted approach toward survival has played a key role in the present and future viability of this growing enterprise. It is amazing how a personal experience can change your entire worldview. Ableman relates how his experience on this farm changed his outlook on life as he began to appreciate what it means to work with nature rather than against it. Very often we view our interaction with nature as a battle where we fight against a foe, rather than a dance where we move in a graceful give and take with an intimate partner. Machinery and other technological innovations occasionally exacerbate this dance, separating those who have become so close over the span of hundreds of generations (people and the land). While such improvements are designed to increase efficiency, they can mean the loss of something personally valuable to the individual partners of land and people and eventually the broader community. If the picture of farmer and farm dancing is outside your grasp, what about the image of a family? Ableman states, The prospect of a new orchard brings a sense of responsibility; it's like starting a new family. I find myself reflecting on the future when I plant a tree. Each planting is an unspoken contract that ties me closer to the land-will I be here to prune, to weed, to compost, to nurture it over the years to fruition? I picture Ableman, Looking over the fields of young trees like my granddad used to look over his extended family, with great pride and hope for the future. Details Grand schemes are great for planning long journeys, but by the time the first step is taken, the focus must shift to one of big picture can create a big head. Any job, profession, or topic is only an idea until the details begin to unfold. Ableman's definition of good farming utilizes details, lots of them. Good farming is not so much about broad strokes and big ideas. It grows from the confluence of millions of details. One of the more subtle details in a garden involves pruning and the lessons to be learned on the end of a pair of Reading manuals and talking to the experts may only reveal conflicting opinions. Ableman counsels us to find our own way. He says, Trees will speak to you if you listen; they will guide your hands and shears. Seek a balance between over and under pruning he advises. Each cut will stimulate a response, too much will mean rank and vigorous growth, too little, a loss of vitality. No action is inconsequential. …