Pakistan grows its own great green wall

Perfect timing, huh? Last week we covered China's attempts at growing its own Great Green Wall, now Pakistan attempts to plant 100 million trees over the next five years.

Quezon City signs incentives for green roofs and green walls

 
Quezon City, the Philippines largest city, recently approved tax discounts for residential, industrial or commercial buildings which install green roof or green walls! This makes it the first, and only municipality on Earth, to offer incentives for both green technologies!

Last week was filled with so many big news stories...

-In Montreal an organic farming initiative was launched to cultivate vacant land. The hope is by 2019 to have an operation "the size of 55 football fields"!

-Across the province in Quebec City the first rooftop farm on a homeless shelter began it's growing season. It will supply about 1/3 of its growing needs.

-In Wisconsin, the Aquaponics Innovation Center opened last week. With the help of $677,000 in federal funding, the "center will provide education and resources for economic and workforce development". If you're really interested in a career in aquaponics as a career, have a peek at this new job site.

-Yesterday was National Permaculture Day in Australia. I'll have a roundup later in the week on the best activities in Oz.

-A new agrihood is sprouting up in North Carolina on 230 acres of functioning farmland. The developers envision educational events for students, in addition to the working community farm.

-The vertical farming sector is growing every day. However for most people some of the most basic facts are hard to find out. For instance, how big is vertical farming or indoor farming worldwide? In China, according to one researcher, they grow 25% of their food indoors already!
How much does it cost to start a vertical farming operation? In South Korea at least we know it's roughly 10 times the cost of a standard, glass greenhouse.

GILA (green infrastructure, living architecture) word of the week: dry farming

Normally around this time of year things slow down but we’re deep in summer and the news keeps on coming. 

-First the GILA word of the week, thanks to Grist and the unfortunate drought now being experienced across 1/2 of the USA: dry farming.

-Add Matanuska-Susitna to the list of municipalities offering green roof incentives. North of Anchorage, Alaska the Borough of Matanuska-Susitna offers up to $500 reimbursement for the installation of a green roof. Obviously this is helps mitigate the cost when applying a green roof to smaller shelters, like a garage or shed roof. Hopefully this does well and the program expands. 

-I love this idea, what's not to love about an edible garden at every bus stop?!

-And in another first, here’s the first article I can recall referencing permaculture in Pakistan.