Local community members opened their homes April 11 to hundreds of residents of all ages for the recent Sustainable Sandhills Urban Farm Tour.

This event provided local residents a chance to see what some in the community are growing in their own front and backyards -- to secure a healthier and more sustainable future.

The "urban farming" movement is exploding across the nation and here in our communities as individuals choose to grow their own produce and buy locally as a way to demand healthier food and higher environmental standards, the group said in a news release.

Self-guided tours of 23 locations in Moore and Cumberland County started at the Aberdeen Elementary School Gardens and Cape Fear Botanical Gardens.

Visitors had an opportunity to see urban homeowners giving demonstrations on bee-keeping, the use of native plantings and edible landscapes, rain-harvesting, raising chickens as laying hens, vermi-composting (worms), shade gardens, certified wildlife habitat, growing fresh-cut flowers and more.

Participants saw firsthand how practices such as tilling-in cover crops, composting and building raised beds can improve soil quality and increase yields. A key goal of the tour was to show participants how to take urban farming concepts and make them work in their own yards.

Anyone wanting to know more about Sustainable Sandhills programs and events can visit http://sustainblesandhills.org or call 484-9098.

Sustainable Sandhills is a nonprofit organization with a focus in the eight-county region surrounding Fort Bragg.