Showing posts with label dc. Show all posts
Showing posts with label dc. Show all posts

Wednesday, May 28, 2014

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!


Monday, September 26, 2011

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.