Will Montreal be next to adopt green roof bylaw?

With 3 out of 4 candidates professing their love for green roofs, and the fourth open to "encouraging" their spread, will the 8th biggest city in North America be the next to adopt green roof incentives and a green roof bylaw? Stay tuned...

Green roof research, near and far

A couple of months ago I highlighted a green roof research project which is investigating native plants suitable for the Mediterranean region. Important stuff, as is a recent project which highlights plants that can work well in the area and how much additional water plants must be given if there’s a decrease in substrate.

-A Walmart in Portland, Oregon has stepped up in a big way, offering it’s rooftop for research.

-Toronto's FoodShare posted a little more about the new and totally unique School Grown Rooftop Garden. Prepare to be amazed.

-Occasionally I like write posts featuring new and exciting projects from one country to help understand what’s going on in their GILA world. The last Singapore post was in June, here’s one article which gives us a look into what some other innovators are doing in the sovereign city state.

-Sign up right now to follow this urban agriculture series, it’s going to be a good one!

Permaculture video

The always animated and educational Paul Wheaton from over the summer at the Southern California Permaculture Convergence. Make sure you have the volume down, it's NSFW because of the length anyway, but some of the banter can be coarse!

The third edible forest + urban agriculture drops hunger by 50% in Venezuela

The USA has two food forests already (in Seattle and Holyoke, Mass -- 90 minutes from Boston). A third is being planned for tiny (less than 4,000 strong!) Basalt, Colorado, about three hours west of Denver.

-Milwaukee’s Home Gr/own initiative is bringing together 10 to 20 different food and farming related programs to boost employment and utilize vacant lots. What’s even better is this is coordinated through the mayor’s office!

-Venezuela has reduced it’s number of hungry people by over 50%, according to the United Nations World Food and Agriculture Organisation. They hope to double their 39,000 urban gardens within a year!

Songs about farms in honor of the School Grown Rooftop!

It's been a secret until now, but yesterday was the official launch of the School Grown Rooftop. Spearhead by FoodShare and based at Toronto's Eastdale Collegiate Institute, verticiel was lucky enough to participate as a consultant for the project. Lots more information to come, for now here are a couple of quick pics and a bunch of songs in honor of this tremendous project!

Sting - Fields of Gold
Robert Plant - The Boy Who Wouldn't Hoe Corn
The Muppet Show - Ain't Nobody Here But Us Chickens
Loretta Lynn - You're Loking at Country
The Andrews Sisters - A Bushel and a Peck