More suburbian agriculture...umm...new ruralism...I mean, agricultural urbanism

Frances Moore Lappé, author of the seminal work "Diet for a Small Planet" in 1971, weighs in the question "have things gotten better or worse" in the last 40 years? Startling to think her book was written when Michael Pollan was in high school!!!

-The Association for Peak Oil and Gas is having their annual conference, this year entitled Truth In Energy November 3-4, but conference activities go from November 2-5.

-Across the North Hempisphere things are getting a little colder, if you still have the gardening bug here are 10 great winter vegetables to try.

-The green economy gets a great board game. The goal? Compete to hit the triple bottom line for Hawai'i. Why Hawai'i...everyone loves Hawai'i!!!

-Utne magazine details something I have talked about recently, mainly this new trend of “agricultural urbanism,” “new ruralism,”, "suburbian agriculture", the movement of many names has several cities embracing it. I wonder what has happened to this development in Colorado since we first heard of it? I smell a follow up report.

See you in October!

Green roofs and Devens, Mass.

As someone involved in living architecture and green roofs in particular for some time now, it is great that more and more cities are recognizing the value of having a green roof professional as part of the design team. Joining Calgary and DC Devens, Massachusetts now requires an accredited green roof professional (ahhm, you know how to contact me) on the job.

-Pee Wee the red wriggler is back. If your kids loved the previous books on composting, this is bound to be a treat as well.

-If you're in Roanoke, Virginia and have an opinion about the proposed
urban farm scheduled to be built where Countryside Golf Course used to be, you...umm...missed a chance to talk about it on Thursday, September 22. If you still want to share your thoughts, it looks like you can talk to the Planning Administrator.

-For all of the entrepreneurs out there, this list of the biggest food deserts means while citizens do not have equal access to fresh fruit and vegetables and there are folks waiting for your business!

-This article makes me so, so, nervous for a few reasons:
1) Folks are growing vegetables in tyres American translation: tires).
2) The numerous citations of Wikipedia as their main source of information.
But I wish them all the best and hope those tire planters are lined!!!

-To round out this my most eclectic blog post yet, we get a peak inside why Japan is embracing urban agriculture.

What should Growing Power do?

What would you do if a corporate donor offered you over $1 million dollars to support your programs? Back in February we discussed Growing Power's quest to raise $425,000 to match the city's contribution, 150 jobs for low-income residents were at stake. It looks like that has happened, but is it kosher?

-Other organizations are trying to get historically underrepresented groups into farming as well. African-American Farmers of California are launching a program to get more African Americans into agriculture. Stat of the day, in 1920 close to 14% of farmers were of African descent. Today, 12% of principals farmers in Mississippi are black, in 35 states African Americans are less than 1% of all primary farm operators.

-Chicago's Botanic Garden’s Windy City Harvest program is trying to reach the most disenfranchised. It gives instruction and a certificate in sustainable horticulture and urban agriculture to inmates preparing them for green collar jobs upon release.

-The International Permaculture Conference is done and dusted, but that doesn't mean you can't relive the experience and watch it again.

Pick the top Public Spaces in the US and Canada by October 21

-Planetizen and Project for Public Spaces want to know the best public spaces in the US and Canada. Let them know what you think! Of course, the High Line has to be up there on the list. (Get the green roof pun? Don't groan.) Another green roof, perhaps a dark horse candidate, is this one at Fletcher Allen Health Care. A late, but very deserving candidate is Sherbourne Commons. Toronto's latest attraction, if you haven't been yet get going.

-And in honor of today, the 21st day of September, a little music!

Studies galore on the benefit of local food + cherry tomatoes on a green roof

One criticism of urban agriculture and local food movements is how there is a dearth of data to truly support more than merely anecdotes and feel good claims. Things are steadily changing. Last week saw the release of a Union for Concerned Scientists report which details how local food creates jobs, keeps money in local economies, promotes community development, and can reduce the environmental and public health costs of the food we eat. On a regional level, Madison, Wisconsin has done something similar, compiling a list of how much is food is grown, by whom and to what effect. Every city needs a report like this!

-We all know green roofs can also play a part in food production and Agriculture and Agrifood Canada biologist Marc-André Valiquette says "a 2,000-square-foot flat roof has the potential to produce one tonne of fresh vegetables."
But these would not be typical green roofs, with mostly inorganic material. Using tomatoes as an example, you can see how cherry tomatoes can grow in such media, not a bigger tomato like beefsteaks. I saw first hand last week, the cherries (here's a picture of a sun ripened beauty and another of a few still waiting for prime time) are coming along fine. The beefsteak tomatoes look like cherry tomatoes.

-There's a new agriculture program in Seattle which links refugees with garden plots in an effort to help with resettlement. Part of the New American Agriculture Program at MercyCorps Northwest the garden joins other established programs in Boise and Seattle.

-Spread over four weekends, Jamaica's first permaculture course was announced last week.

Africa's local food production...indispensable?

-Considering booming urban populations, stretched environmental resources and growing income disparities a PhD student believes local food production might soon be indispensable throughout Africa.

-This week perhaps marks the first step in the fragmentation of LEEDs global green building certification empire (ok, being a little dramatic!) as Singapore's Building and Construction Authority unveiled what the world's first green building certification for eateries. Could we one day see this certification land on North American shores? Also, did you catch that McDonald's with a green roof???

-Turning military bases into farms? What a great idea! Why haven't more communities done this? Two words...Superfund sites. Oh dear.

-Minneapolis has joined the food policy club! This R.T. Rybak seems like a true supporter of green initiatives! WWHAT ELSE HAS HE DONE????

-Didn't we just talk about this earlier in the week? The Wall Street Journal weighs in on suburbian small-scale agriculture.

Local food plus + urban agriculture =

What do you get when you mix a concept like Local Food Plus with urban agriculture? Majora Carter's latest endeavor.

-Great stats about urban agriculture in Cleveland. Cleveland has over 50 or 60 acres of land (depending on who you talk to) dedicated to urban agriculture and a recent study claims they could produce almost all of their food!

-Singapore seems to be showing great interest in food security, having hosted the first International Conference on Asian Food Security last month and with a clear strategy for "finding a more stable global food system in the face of volatile food prices and supplies."

-Looks like Fresno, California could be the next city to try its hand at integrating small-scale agriculture and development.

Dumpster dwelling, not dumpster diving

For those of us who can't make it down under, it looks like for the first time there will be a live stream of the International Permaculture Conference (IPC10)!

-More and more we see articles about homeowners battling local regulations about what they can grow in their yard. This one is startling for a few reasons, one, he could be fined up to $120,000!!! Two, how often do you see the word "vermin" this much in a day, let alone one article?

-Care to check out some seeds with your books?

-And naturally, I leave the best for last. Here's an introduction to dumpster dwelling, not diving.

What are my options?

It's good when information is corrected to better reflect the truth, but this article from 2010 I think needs to go a bit further. Moving papers (or, umm...up their view count) is important, but the headline of this story should be "Lawn maintenance may contribute to global warming", not that the green spaces...themselves...may contribute to global warming. Which got me to thinking, why don't they put some solutions to this problem at the end of the article? There are options: Pick A, B or C.

-Here's a fantastic story about how a couple inspired a city to start planting vines to cover a concrete sound barrier. And the program is dirt cheap!!!

New living architecture word of the day: Anti-architecture

Coined by a Ph.D. student at Harvard, she uses the term "anti-architecture" to describe the formal and informal deconstruction practice now commonin Detroit.

-Let's also talk about building! There are a couple more permaculture courses happening this fall, Florida's transition/permaculture course looks verrrry interesting and will include instruction on wild edibles and more.

-In the North America while some levels of government are slow (for various reasons) to adopt proactive climate change policies or reluctant to support their own initiatives it's at the local level where much is being done.

-If you're in Toronto and have great container gardening photos, why not win some prizes? You've got until September 30. Ready, go!