$2.1 million dollars for aquaponics research

Lethbridge College in Alberta has been at the forefront of aquaponics research for over a decade, really it's the place to go in North America. So the fact that they got over $2 million dollars makes a lot of sense, they deserve it and I can't wait to see what comes from their efforts!

-How something is labelled makes a huge difference. So I often find it interesting to hear the phrases of English speakers outside of the UK or USA. In this article this Vietnamese woman calls the produce she collects from her rooftop garden "clean" food, because it's organic. How would things change elsewhere, if organic produces co-opted the phrase "clean" for their produce?

-Installing a green roof, with the help of a couple of professionals, can be a fantastic community event. And it's tremendously satisfying to put the plants in and stand back as you water the plants to help them settle in. But I have never heard of what these folks in Buffalo are trying to do, getting people to also GROW the plants at home, take care of them and bring them to the installation.

-Following up on last week's email, if you want to see pictures of Patrick Blanc's home, and not just a video, check this out.

-I don't think people took the California drought as something to be worried about until the mandatory cuts came last week. What will this mean for landscapers? A switch to more permaculture based gardens as people look to grow more of their own food? More xeroscaping? More painted grass?
The mayor, seemingly, has taken this crisis to heart and wants to weave sustainability into every city department and proposes things like allowing food stamps to be used at farmer's markets. Which would be great, especially because in 20 years the number of farmer's markets has quadrupled across the USA!

-Please indulge me for a second; I have a little pet peeve. I'd like to have a definition for "vertical farming", because I realize it's not something everyone agrees on. And I think you'll see that, as time goes on, there will need to be standardization of the language because the technologies required for growing plants 2 stories high versus in a plastic drum half the height of an average human, are vastly different.

-Here's a KickStarter campaign everyone can benefit from. If these entrepreneurs get their funding, they will create the first DIY program to turn anyone into a mushroom farmer.

Is Boston's urban agriculture movement about to take off...or implode?

A few weeks ago we learned that Boston was changing its zoning guidelines to allow more urban agriculture. And wouldn’t you know it, last week Higher Ground announced their rooftop farm is in the planning stages and there seem to be a bunch of other interested parties (including Lufa Farms who just opened their second farm in Montreal) at the table! In 2013 Boston may have gone from middle of the pack in the rooftop farming world to first place by late 2014.
Or will it be only be highly commercial ventures which survive. A San Franciscan seems to think their struggle to keep community urban agriculture alive will be experienced by Boston.

We did a little world urban agriculture news crawl in the last post, but didn't stopover in Asia. Let's rectify that...

-We'll start in Japan where there's a 9 story high (like Higher Ground’s farm) urban farm which is up and running. Seems they are employing a wide array of technologies inside and outside the building.

-There have been a billion articles about a really eclectic rooftop in China, but no video. Until now, thanks to the Brisbane Times.



-A 350 square meter (3760 square foot) living wall in London has been just as well covered as the amazing roof in China. If you haven’t heard (or read), feast your eyes. Let’s add it to last year’s list!!!

-There are others in the urban agriculture world who are thinking big. One particular fellow wants to build 100 aquaponics farms (2/3 in Charlotte, 1/3 in Haiti) and another just signed on to stake Alberta’s claim in the aquaponics game.
In Fiji the national university and Joe’s Farm (love that name) are pioneering research and development into an aquaponic system and mushrooms production.

Still more from the last couple of weeks! Two studies document urban agriculture in Seoul and Los Angeles.

Phew! That's it for now!

Urban agriculture jobs, move fast! + GreenBuild lands in Toronto

A couple of jobs have been posted recently. The University of Alberta is seeking a chair in food security and sovereignty. This part sounds especially tasty "The Chair will be given considerable latitude to propose and develop a cohesive program of social science research that brings critical perspectives to issues of food safety and sovereignty!"
For those who want to get their hands dirtier, Isles, Inc. in Trenton, New Jersey wants an Urban Agriculture manager . Looks just as daunting!

-Surely everyone knows by now that Greenbuild is in Toronto this week, lots of cool stuff going on, especially green roof related. Greenbuild's presence dovetails nicely with the news that Toronto's green roof bylaw has created 125 full-time jobs and 1.2 million square feet of green space.

-500 students at the University of Massachusetts'- Amherst took a quarter-acre and turned it into a permaculture demonstration garden.

-Every once in a while it's good to check in with the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations to see what is happening with their selected key program(me)s, including investing in agriculture and the initiative (to lower, I presume) soaring food prices. Also not to miss is the explanation of why more attention is needed to maximize benefits of urban forests.

Of urban farms, dreams, and redtape

Anyone who has been following the urban agriculture movement knows the work of Sweet Water Organics, disciples of Will Allen. Looks like they are in line to expand provided with a loan from the City of Milwaukee.10 employees by 2012, 21 in 2013 and more to come. If Milwaukee is the worldwide hub for urban agriculture, the Bayview Compass might have found their niche too as they've been busy churning out urban ag articles recently. Milwaukee is fast becoming what Detroit wants to be.

-A common theme among urban agriculture proponents is the redtape in their local municipality. You can add Montreal's urban pioneers to that list.

-A 2-acre urban farm urban farm will be built in Dallas on a little used college football field. Eventually, the college wants to open its own grocery store!!! Hopefully if that happens, the store will follow a Portland CSAs lead and accept food stamps as payment.

With yesterday's election, we can't forget about Canadians trying something new.