New Stories From 'Urban Agriculture Notes'

“The real danger is the skewed public perception of the danger of honeybees,” said Andrew Coté, of the New York City Beekeepers Association. Photo by Michelle V. Agins/The New York Times

Big Apple Lifts Beekeeper Ban

By MARIEL SMITH
Associated Press
Mar 16, 2010

Big Apple beekeepers are all a buzz with joy after the New York City’s Board of Health voted Tuesday reversed a long-standing ban on tending to honeybees.

Health officials had previously banned beekeeping because honeybees were considered just as dangerous as hyenas and poisonous snakes.

But the Department of Health and Mental Hygiene unanimously amended the law after research showed that honeybees, specifically the Apis mellifera, are not harmful to the public, citing few bee stings around the city, reported the New York Times.

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Erica Gillespie tends to lettuce growing in planter boxes at Mixt Greens in Los Angeles. (Mark Boster, Los Angeles Times)

Some are growing produce on site, buying from eco-conscious farmers, installing water filtration systems, recycling grease and more.

By Mary MacVean,
Los Angeles Times
March 9, 2010

Excerpt:

When Neal and Amy Knoll Fraser move their restaurant Grace downtown to the rectory of St. Vibiana’s later this year, diners will be hard-pressed to miss the earth-to-table connection.

Fraser intends to plant a garden — and not just a few containers of herbs, but 450 to 500 square feet, right outside, cater-corner from Los Angeles Police Department headquarters. It will be tended by the kitchen staff, and Fraser says it could yield as much as a quarter of the produce for his kitchen. He’s eyeing a parking lot for more garden space.

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City farming initiative at work providing biofuel for local governments

By John Daley
KLS news
March 15th, 2010

SALT LAKE CITY — An innovative collaboration in sustainability is gaining steam in Utah. The goal is to grow, on what was unused city land, a plant that can be used to make a biofuel, which in turn will be used in government fleets.

Near Salt Lake International Airport, KSL News watched Jason Heward steer a John Deere tractor around 20 acres of land that had been idle for years. The project site is located at approximately 500 South and 4500 West.

Heward is the church farm manager of the Urda Church Farm near Tooele. He was readying the land for seeds of safflower, which can be crushed to make oil — a biofuel.

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Kadoorie Farm

Kadoorie Farm and Botanic Garden (KFBG) spreads over 148 hectares of land and is located on the northern slopes and foothills of Hong Kong’s highest mountain – Tai Mo Shan.

Vegetables are produced on a one hectare hillside area at KFBG and there are over 60 varieties of vegetables and herbs grown in our farmland. We have 17 hectares of terraced orchards producing over 25 different varieties of fruit crops, herbs and tea, as well as honey. Our eco-garden displays organic farming practices compatible to urban settings for visitors to learn how to grow their own food.

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The World in a Garden is an Urban Agriculture Project that connects youth and community to the culture, nutrition and production of growing organic food.

“Children working in our garden are getting to experience nutrition instead of just being taught it. Green foods take on a whole new meaning and the children actually enjoy eating their vegetables because they are growing and cultivating them. And, by donating food to the food bank, children are giving back to their community and making a difference in the world,” said Tricia Sedgwick, the Jewish Family Service Agency (JFSA) community garden coordinator and nutritionist. “There are many interactive opportunities for students to partake in, from growing and preparing food for harvest celebrations to fundraising and donating.”

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Handmade Garden in Athens, Georgia.

Editorial: ‘Urban farm’ bill now ready for some votes

Athens Banner-Herald
March 14, 2010

With a word-word here and a tweak-tweak there, the Georgia legislature’s House Committee on Agriculture and Consumer Affairs has managed to put together an “urban farming” bill that is worthy of the full Georgia General Assembly’s support.

In its original version, House Bill 842 – which is designed to pre-empt local ordinances restricting production of agricultural or farm products on residential or other urban property – virtually eliminated the ability of local governments to take any action against people raising chickens, rabbits, goats or food crops.

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Urban agriculture: Growing crops in the city

By Henrylito D. Tacio
Sun.Star Davao – source of Philippine community news
March 14, 2010

Farming is always associated with rural areas, rivers and mountains.

Unknowingly, farming can also be done right in the city. Experts call this practice as urban agriculture.

“Urban agriculture refers not merely to the growing of food crops and fruit trees but that it also encompasses the raising of animals, poultry, fish, bees, rabbits, guinea pigs, or other livestock considered edible locally,” explains Dr. Irene Tinker, an American professor in the department of city and regional planning at the University of California.

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The Ritchay family’s garden.

15Thousand Farmers – Planting A Seed To Feed Ourselves – Louisville, Ky

by Greg & Michelle Vittitow,
Impact Dash
March 11th, 2010

The Vision:

15Thousand Farmers helps create, empower, and inspire 15,000 new, organic, neighborhood backyard/front yard farmers in Louisville, KY to feed their families and themselves and to give away! How? By using simple and easy instructions, checklists and materials and ongoing support provided through local organic growers and resources that will provide everything needed to start Easy Farms in our yards, on decks or in community gardens.

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Photo by Ozier Muhammad/The New York Times

Urban farming: A growing field

By V.L. Hendrickson
am New York
March 7, 2010

The Queens County Farm Museum’s history dates back to 1697; it occupies New York City’s largest remaining tract of undisturbed farmland and is the only working historical farm in the City. The farm encompasses a 47-acre parcel that is the longest continuously farmed site in New York State. The site includes historic farm buildings, a greenhouse complex, livestock, farm vehicles and implements, planting fields, an orchard and herb garden.

Early morning livestock feedings and cultivating the herb garden aren’t on the daily list of duties for most New Yorkers, but for Leah Retherford, they’re business as usual. As farm manager of Queens County Farm Museum, she oversees 47-acres.

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Urban Farm Hub tries to answer the question

Urban Farm Hub is launching a series of articles addressing the long-term economic viability of urban agriculture. We know commercial agriculture enterprises pencil in shrinking midwest cities such as Detroit, Pittsburgh and Cleveland, but what about thriving metropolitan areas such as Seattle where there’s a shortage of developable land?

We’ll be interviewing small business owners, design professionals, urban farm entrepreneurs, and commercial developers in rapidly growing metropolitan areas to see what they have to say about reaping the green from urban agriculture.

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Urban Farming Summit: Panel Discussion

Panel: February 19, 2010, The University of Michigan – Dearborn

Ashley Atkinson, The Greening of Detroit

Oran Hesterman, Fair Food Network

Susan Schmidt, The Henry Ford

Kami Pothukuchi, SEED Wayne

Malik Yakini, Detroit Black Community Food Security Network

Moderated by Bruce Pietrykowski, Professor of Economics, UM-Dearborn

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E. Duchemin, F. Wegmuller, and A.-M. Legault
Institut des sciences de l’environnement, Université du Québec à Montréal, Succ. Centre-Ville, C.P. 8888, Montréal, Québec, Canada
2009

Abstract.

For over 30 years, different urban agriculture (UA) experiments have been undertaken in Montreal (Quebec, Canada). The Community Gardening Program, managed by the City, and 6 collective gardens, managed by community organizations, are discussed in this article. These experiments have different objectives, including food security, socialization and education. Although these have changed over time, they have also differed depending on geographic location (neighbourhood).

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Watch Crisis Garden Mock in Entertainment  |  View More Free Videos Online at Veoh.com

The Huffington Post excerpt:
March 10, 2010

Said Colbert: “Glenn’s advertisers know nothing moves product like the hot stink of fear.” Case in point: a commercial for a product called Survival Seed Bank, in which the spokesman claims nonhybrid seeds will be more valuable that silver and gold, and thus save you from the impending economic meltdown.

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By Aaron Newton
Powering Down
March 11, 2010

Excerpt:

Today we’re designing an urban farm. This one will become real if we can get the funding necessary to start the program. The specific location of the farm will have to remain a secret for now but it’s in Charlotte, NC near uptown. Todd Serdula did most of the excellent graphic work on this proposal.

To start with we break down the design considerations into 4 categories.

Physical Components
Programing Elements
Transition and Construction
Marketing and Distribution

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A Cabbage Patch for City Hall. Last year, Baltimore City Hall replaced its traditional flower gardens with vegetable beds to help serve a local soup kitchen. But not all went as planned. Anne Marie Chaker reports on lessons learned and plans for this year’s crop.

Attack of the Rotten Tomatoes

By Anne Marie Chaker
Wall Street Journal
March 10, 2010

Excerpt:

The city of Baltimore replaced its flower beds in front of city hall with vegetables last year. The goal, says designer Angela Treadwell-Palmer, was to show that vegetable gardens could be attractive and to grow harvests to donate to a local soup kitchen. But the local charity reported that some crops—particularly beets, kohlrabi and eggplant—weren’t appetizing to people.

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Goats from City Grazing trimmed the hillside behind Alemany Farm. Photo by Brian L. Frank

Fewer Farms to Feed ‘Local’ Appetite

By Justin Sheck
Wall Street Journal
San Francisco Bay Area
March 11, 2010

Pocket-size farms have sprung up in cities around the Bay Area in recent years, part of a movement to bring consumers closer to the sources of food they buy.

But even as these small farms show up in urban neighborhoods, bringing with them a sense of a local agricultural revival, the continuing decline in the availability of farmland in the Bay Area’s traditional growing areas threatens to leave consumers further away than ever from where their food is cultivated.

In recent years, the region has lost large tracts of farmland to housing and commercial development.

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Film by Dr. Shadi Hamadeh

American University of Beirut
In Arabic with English subtitles
2004
(Very interesting! Mike)

Animal husbandry remains the livelihoods of many communities, even in urban areas. This documentary film is a live witness of Arab Khaldeh families raising sheep in the suburbs of Beirut, the capital of Lebanon, an integration of rural communities in urban areas.

Watch the film here.

Visit the Regional Website of Urban Agriculture in the Middle East and North Africa (MENA) region here.

Roberta’s already grows about 20 percent of its needs, in a good week, in a small roof garden in back of the restaurant and in a backyard garden several blocks away.

Michelle Knapik
Geraldine R. Dodge Foundation Blog
March 10, 2010

Excerpt:

Once inside the unassuming entrance of Roberta’s, if you can cast your gaze past the wood fired stove and pizza gurus, let your olfactory senses take in something beyond the sweet aroma of ricotta pancakes sopping up maple syrup, and put down your mason jar of local beer, you will see, hear and experience the backyard urban oasis – a farming oasis that is. But don’t look out, look up. There is where you will find the first of the rooftop greenhouses.

The hoop greenhouse is built on top of a shipping container that is fitted out as a radio station. The semi vacant lot next door is also being transformed into greenhouse space that will tie into a fledgling compost operation. Look closely as the construction of this greenhouse and you will find yourself peering into salvaged factory windows.

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13 – 2 X100 ft rows of growing power.

By jnicholl
Center for a Livable Future
March 8, 2010

Excerpt:

This past weekend, I witnessed hundreds of volunteers working in a very tangible way to take back the food system for a community. The ancient Chinese philosopher Lao Tzu said, “the journey of a thousand miles begins with one step.” This was a stride. Two high schools in Richmond, Calif in the span of one weekend built urban school farms at their respective school sites. Supported by Urban Tilth http://www.urbantilth.org, those students, teachers, parents and community volunteers laid the infrastructure and built the capacity to grow significant amounts of local produce in Richmond.

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4 million cracker packages with seeds inside and a pledge to build 50 community-based home farms

Home Farming is about growing your own herbs and vegetables, no matter where you live. To help people on their path to Home Farming, four million packages of Original and Reduced-Fat Triscuit crackers will include cards with basil or dill herb seeds that can be planted directly into the ground.

A recent Triscuit survey found nearly two-thirds of Americans are interested in growing food in a backyard garden. And three out of four of those surveyed prefer to eat foods with a few, simple ingredients, reflecting a popular desire to get back to the simple joys in life. (The Triscuit Home Farming Study, fielded by StrategyOne, is a national telephone survey among a representative sample of 1,018 U.S. adults conducted January 14, 2009 and January 17, 2009.)

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