Putting urban farming on film

Andrew Monbouquette, left, and Dan Susman traveled the country filming urban gardening efforts for their documentary “Growing Cities.”

“The average age of a farmer in the United States is 57. We need a new generation to replace those who are retiring.”

By Bob Fischbach
World-Herald
Sept. 3, 2011

Excerpt:

Susman secured fellowships and grants to cover filming costs, and the two set out in early May on an urban-gardening pilgrimage that began in Denver. They saw beekeeping community gardens in a Latino section of Los Angeles, then toured a 100-year-old suburban farm in Santa Barbara, Calif.

Next came the lively urban farming scenes of Oakland and Berkeley, Calif., Portland, Ore., and Seattle.

“We filmed some really cool projects in Chicago and Detroit — one of the most happening places in urban farming right now,” Monbouquette said.

In Boston, they visited the country’s oldest running victory garden. They saw a full-acre rooftop garden in Queens, N.Y., and toured a barge greenhouse on the Hudson River. Then they headed south through Washington, D.C., Atlanta, New Orleans and Austin, Texas.

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