Solutions for Change takes aquaponics higher

San Diego's largest aquaponics farm will triple its size, making it one of the largest in the country. This is a tremendous success story for the industry and Solutions for Change.

-This was a good week for green jobs, as another innovative green jobs training program pairs New York residents in public housing developments to work on environmental sustainability and energy efficiency programs.

-Mesa Community College continues to revolutionize as they now offer an Associate of Applied Science Degree in Sustainable Agriculture, the first of it's kind in Arizona and really one of the first nationwide.

-This isn't really about sustainable agriculture, living architecture or green architecture, but is still amazing all the same. Look at the many ways the Colorado River effects the American West.

-The City of Halifax has released a handbook for community gardening on municipal lands. Very handy!

-Let's finish up with the best stuff last. The rising popularity of Freight Farms container gardening system makes me wonder if one day we'll see these systems for community (by block...neighborhood?) food security.

San Diego's climate change mandate

San Diego has just mandated, by law, the most ambitious plans to cut carbon emissions. It includes drought tolerant landscaping and urban tree planting. Interestingly their urban agriculture incentive zone proposal was not included.

-The University of Hawaii Maui College is now has one of the first aquaponics business courses. The two evening courses entitled Aquaponics Entrepreneurship and Marketing Aquaponics and only $220 each, meet for 16 weeks. You can register here and here.

-Germany's Association for Vertical Farming asked students to come up with a "certification system to assess the sustainability of vertical farms." They settled on nine key principles for the very diverse industry, which includes start-ups and huge ventures like AeroFarms, which just raised $20 million in venture funding. What do you think?

• Health and safety
• Food safety and quality assurance
• Pest management and pesticide use
• Nutrient management and fertilizer use
• Water conservation and management
• Community relations
• Waste management
• Energy and climate
• Site and facility characteristics

Lessons learned from setting up a permaculture business

A hour long presentation on what it takes to set-up and sustain a permaculture business. I can attest to many of the suggestions here!

The Great Green Wall starts to grow

After historic climate change talks people are encouraged good things, actionable steps, will actually be taken by governments around the world. One such vital initiative is the Great Green Wall.

Ten countries are offering more degraded and deforested land and France has offered over 5 billion dollars to help its former colonies with environmentally friendly projects, including the Wall. That's a huge deal! The project has languished due to lack of investment and under the threat of extremism. Experts worry if real economic opportunities aren't created, in addition to the Wall, the trees will end up being used by those living near it.

-Speaking of desertification in Africa, there's a new greenhouse which just hit the market which uses could be a boon for dry lands. Work is being done in the USA as well, California in particular, in an attempt to solve a problem which knows no bounds. The City of Los Angeles has partnered with private industry and several non-profits to craft design solutions and a digital tool which helps cities in dry climates become self-sufficient in terms of water while delivering additional benefits, including improving performance in energy, the environment, and public health. The initiative is called the Drylands Resilience Initiative.

-Outside Atlanta a partnership with Georgia Tech university is developing the highway of the future. Some features? Use the right-of-way along the roadside to farm biofuel plants like sunflowers, corn and canola, combining sound barriers with solar panels, incorporating hog manure as a binding agent in lieu of asphalt, and creating living billboards made of plant material.

GILA word of the week: Food Swamp

I have a bunch of things to mention which have slipped under the radar recently, for instance your GILA word of the week: Food Swamp. We've all heard the term food desert, well a food swamp has lots of food available and most of it is unhealthy.

-It's important that everyone is aware of the benefits of green infrastructure, especially green roofs. In Victoria, Australia, a local university, the city council and state government are trying to put a dollar figure on greening utilizing their own research and the country's Economic Framework for Green Infrastructure. Similarly, Mauritius is attempting to quantify how much green roofs would mean to them.

-The Dutch have taken urban agricultural to new heights, by creating a floating dairy platform making it one of the first urban aquatic agricultural operations.

-Follow a Kenyan family on the front line of climate change in the first episode of Al Jazeera's "The Climate Diaries".

-Speaking of pioneers, urban agricultural guru Will Allen may be in a jam of a different kind as an investor has sued him (and his partner) over the disputed mismanagement of their investment.

-Last week it was announced India is slated to get it's first horticultural therapy garden in 2016. While a new program is opening in India, sadly a popular one is being shut down in the UK.

-Let's end on a positive note, shall we? How about focusing on Detroit's intention to plant tens of thousands of trees on 1/2 square miles of vacant city space. Note, this is only a demonstration. There are over 20 miles of vacant land in the city...right now! Other lots will be filled eventually, whether it's with wildflowers or urban farms.

Symphony of Soil

In honor of World Soil Day, in the last month of the International Year of the Soil, here is an almost two hour long film about the good, brown stuff. Head over to the website for the video with subtitles in another seven languages.