A monarch butterfly on a sunflower When Laura Hill bought a house in Burlington's Old North End, she was warned about the lead. Until it was banned in the U.S. in 1978, lead paint was used in many homes. Lead remediation had been done inside the home, but Hill said there were likely still high levels of lead on and around the outside walls and in the soil. "It struck me, because it was my neighborhood and I saw people growing food in their yards next to their house," she said. Hill is a plant biologist and senior lecturer at the University of Vermont. "I'm always looking for ways to improve life with plants," she said.