Three green roof conferences in April, the first in Qatar

In the Northern hemisphere things are looking green...or they will be soon and it's time to start planting again. If you have time for some conferences, there are three great ones this month.

First up on Wednesday, April 1 at Qatar University is a joint Qatari-Swiss one day conference entitled "Landscape as Infrastructure for Biodiversity and Food Security: Perspectives from Switzerland and Qatar".

Next, from April 6-12 is Greenroofs.com's annual virtual summit. Over 300 people tune in and participate from over 125 countries.

Later in the month is the fourth annual Green Roof Congress in Istanbul. From April 20-21 at the Zorlu Center's Raffles Hotel green roof folks from around the world will gather. The Zorlu Center has over 775,000 square feet of green roof!

The big question...will food one day be a government regulated industry?!

In New York a few organizations have banded together to establish a rather large shade food forest. Stay tuned, this is definitely a first for that area.

-Here's an awesome infographic detailing the major ways buildings can grow food.

-It was just last week I was writing about agrihoods, here's one in Chicago in the works. 

-A number of people are drawn to aquaponics because it offers self-sufficiency. Two brothers hope that one day every Native American tribe will have their own operation.

-I was reading an article about how vertical farming have yet to take off in New York City, despite the best efforts of many enthusiasts. One entrepreneur thinks things could heat up as urban agriculture systems become embraced as amenities.
For me there a few things which are hard to square. If food is essential why is it so lightly regulated? One day, could we see food be more closely regulated, since so much of our food is made up of a regulated resource...water. With California experiencing droughts, will politicians there (maybe in 10 years???) and in other drought stricken locations advise, then perhaps incentivize, farmers to grow certain water friendly crops? Will home owners battle farmers for the rights to water and how they can use it?
Will the government one day be responsible for growing food for everyone...and locally?


Speaking of land battles, here's one happening today in Ontario as farmers disagree with conservationists about the use of an urban park.

Green roofs (or solar panels) for all new (commercial) buildings in France

The biggest news of the last few days has been France's new law mandating a green roof or solar panels on all new commercial buildings!

GILA word of the week: Agrihood & NJ gets the world's largest vertical farm

It's Horticultural Therapy Week and there's no regular proponent for HT greater than the state of NJ. You have, Mycentraljersey.com, which constantly churns out articles include 10 ways you can celebrate the week. And let's not forget the New Jersey Senate officially recognizing the week.

-Speaking of NJ, the picture above is of a $30 million dollar vertical farm which should be ready to roll by the end of the year. With backers like Goldman Sachs and Prudential, this AeroFarms venture has the potential to be very, very big.

-Agrihood, it's what you get when you mix the best place for a subdivision and a farm...a mutually symbiotic relationship demonstrated in northern Virginia on 2,000 acres of land.

-This article both excites and saddens me. A Philadelphian is excited about schoolyards becoming the "next set of great public spaces". And I am all for multi-use facilities, but, we should look at deeper causes as to why Philly schoolyards are "...in deplorable condition, with pockmarked pavement, aging play equipment and few amenities". The schoolyards shouldn't need to be viewed as "curb appeal" for the surrounding homes, the schools should be good enough (and it's facilities) to encourage parents to move and send their kids there.

-Here's a way for airports to use their undeveloped spaces, put a few beehives in. Question, has anyone studied how loud noises affect bees?

Urban permaculture with Geoff Lawton

Geoff Lawton takes us on a permaculture journey to explore what can be done in the urban environment.

100 studies proving the benefits of horticultural therapy for the elderly

Next week is Horticultural Therapy Week! And in honor of it, here's a link to one source which compiles hundreds of articles and studies which detail how HT reduces pain, improves attention, lessens stress and more.

Ambitious aquaponics operations

There seems to be some political momentum for putting an aquaponics operation in an empty, east end Toronto convenience store. I hope that they have an owner/operator in mind, it's wonderful a politician is so enthusiastic about creating a food hub!
It makes me think of those fellows who headed to the suburbs just a few months ago, if they only knew this store front would be available, maybe they would've chosen it?

-New York City doesn't have an commercial aquaponics operation yet...or didn't until earlier this year. With the price of real estate there, perhaps the suburbs would make more sense than setting up in Brooklyn.

-One more aquaponics story. Here's a team of folks trying to make "the largest aquaponics farm in the US" via strictly crowdfunding. That means they need millions of dollars. Ambitious! I hate to be that guy, but if I'm going to give $251 dollars to a venture, I would probably want more than a coffee mug.

-I had no idea that Calgary's first living roof was in 1875. Someone (maybe you, faithful reader) should do an inventory of all the green roofs (and walls!) in North America's major cities.

-Foraging in Singapore! This is definitely a first for me.

-Coca-cola has converted its concentrated beverage drums and donated dozens to community gardens in Toronto. This is a great upcycling idea!

David Holmgren on Retrofitting the Suburbs for Sustainability

For those who don't know, David Holmgren is one of the pioneers of permaculture. In a recent talk he expounds on his view on the type of suburban retrofitting we'll need in the 21st century.

GILA word of the week: Edible Riparian Buffer

I haven't encountered this phrase before: Edible Riparian Buffer. It's a kind of green infrastructure,
meant to combat climate change and boost community resilience. If you're going to put a vegetated buffer around a river, why not focus on having edible plants? Kudos Iowa City!
This edible riparian buffer may not be everyone's cup of tea and that's why it's important to have, argues this landscape architect, small, incremental actions which result in an immediate, local effect.

-Forceful words from the UK Green Building Council (UK-GBC), calling on developers 'to stop downplaying green infrastructure as "a fluffy optional extra".

-A massive luxury Cairo green infrastructure project, complete with green roofs, green walls and gardens now has over half a billion dollars in investment! Construction is expected to be completed in 2018. Talk about over the top, it has limo services as well.

-A government minister praised the Nigerian section of the green wall being built to combat desertification. Not a few hours later planting was stopped due to insurgent forces. I had never thought about the role insurgents could play in environmental degradation and climate change.

-And lastly for today, he's a nifty five acre farm in Australia, which includes an outdoor aquaponics system as part of it's permaculture orientation.