Brain scans show gardening is good + GILA predictions for 2016

More evidence that gardening is good for mental health, this time brain scans show that it's true...which is a first! Horticultural therapy advocates rejoice!

Another $20 million euros has been given to the Great Green Wall programme by the European Union! Finally serious money is heading their way, this is on top of 5 billion dollars from France last month for various greening projects, including building the Green Wall.

-I know, I know, it's very late, but Foodtank.com had it's list of the most exciting stories for 2016. Here are four things I see in my crystal ball...

-The aquaponics movement will continue to develop in landlocked and import dependent countries and regions (like the Caribbean).
-We'll see the beginning of neighborhood scale urban agriculture projects, aquaponics and urban gardening designed to fill the food needs of a urban block or two, further decentralized food production. Those shipping containers? Yeah, they'll be big.
-This year will also mark the true beginning of the miniaturization of the insect growing movement, as tabletop systems, designed for a family, begin to take off.
-I also predict you'll see more green roof funding, specific in it's focus, get moved to general stormwater management funding for gardens and the replacement of lawns.

What do you think?

The giant urban greenhouse just keep coming

It has become quite clear that Bright Farms has its eye on establishing itself in urban locations across the US, not just in one particular region. They are entrenched in the Midwest and have their first building in DC going up soon.

-I need to confirm this, but Randolph Community College in North Carolina may be the first school in the South to run an aquaponics course.
 

-In Malaysia the Agriculture minister believes about 20 percent of city dwellers will take up urban agriculture with the aid of technological advances and government help in the form of seedlings, fertilizer, training and guidance.

-We've seen how aquaponics is sweeping the Caribbean, the same can be said for permaculture in general.

-Food forests have begun to spring up across North America. An off shoot of this phenomenon? How about an urban rare apple orchard.

rld face hunger everyday and Randolph Community College is teaching its students a new and sustainable way to combat starvation.
Randolph Community College science lab facilitator Kevin Jones is using a fish tank and plants to teach students a new way of sustainable farming known as Aquaponics: a combination of breeding fish and using their waste to feed plants without soil.
"It's a re-circulating system,” Jones said.
The idea behindthe system is to create an automated system so growers can focus more on harvesting and less time on maintenance.
“You don't need a lot of land. You don't need soil, there's no fertilizer, no pesticides. [It is] more natural, it uses 10 percent less water than a traditional farm would,” Jones said.
The World Food Programme said about 840 million people worldwide don't have enough food to eat.
“There are those who are using this right now on mission projects such as Haiti. There are medical missions that try to establish sustainable food sources for communities in third world countries," Jones said.
Sophomore biology major Joseph Vanbencoten said Aquaponics should reach beyond the classroom.
"It's not just a greenhouse for the school, give a basis for people to do out in the own world, to help do a sustaining garden and they can produce their own food, be organic, healthy,” said Vanbencoten.
It is a farming practice which may change how people around the world grow and collect their food.
To get started, people only need a small aquarium, some gold fish, and just a few plants.
- See more at: http://centralnc.twcnews.com/content/news/triad/707921/randolph-community-college-teaches-sustainable-farming#sthash.f2MDJYr2.dpuf

rld face hunger everyday and Randolph Community College is teaching its students a new and sustainable way to combat starvation.
Randolph Community College science lab facilitator Kevin Jones is using a fish tank and plants to teach students a new way of sustainable farming known as Aquaponics: a combination of breeding fish and using their waste to feed plants without soil.
"It's a re-circulating system,” Jones said.
The idea behindthe system is to create an automated system so growers can focus more on harvesting and less time on maintenance.
“You don't need a lot of land. You don't need soil, there's no fertilizer, no pesticides. [It is] more natural, it uses 10 percent less water than a traditional farm would,” Jones said.
The World Food Programme said about 840 million people worldwide don't have enough food to eat.
“There are those who are using this right now on mission projects such as Haiti. There are medical missions that try to establish sustainable food sources for communities in third world countries," Jones said.
Sophomore biology major Joseph Vanbencoten said Aquaponics should reach beyond the classroom.
"It's not just a greenhouse for the school, give a basis for people to do out in the own world, to help do a sustaining garden and they can produce their own food, be organic, healthy,” said Vanbencoten.
It is a farming practice which may change how people around the world grow and collect their food.
To get started, people only need a small aquarium, some gold fish, and just a few plants.
- See more at: http://centralnc.twcnews.com/content/news/triad/707921/randolph-community-college-teaches-sustainable-farming#sthash.f2MDJYr2.dpuf

-This is not about living architecture at all, but I wanted to pass along a fantastic opportunity for those living in Canada. This summer youth can spend time in Ghana, Tanzania, or Costa Rica on a Turtle Conservation Project and have their airfare taken care of!