Simon Fraser University in Greater Vancouver seeks proposals to complete ‘Learning Garden’ design work

RFP For The Design Of Sustainable SFU’s Learning Garden On Burnaby Mountain
The submission deadline is January 8, 2013.

SSFU’s Local Food Program currently operates a Community Garden, a Harvest Box food delivery program, and supports a pocket farmers’ market on campus. In 2013, we’re excited to add a garden space dedicated to research and learning in the (artichoke) heart of SFU’s Burnaby Mountain campus. This garden will increase the availability of campus-grown food, offer community space and programming at SFU Burnaby, be an experiential learning resource for faculty and students, and develop the skills and experience of SFU students.

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Beautiful video showing farming and spiritual purpose at Krushak Ashram, Sustainable Agriculture, Satara, India (Organically Grown). (Must see. 24 minutes. Mike)

“We need at least 4.5 acre land for production of one tonne vegetable.

Times of India
December 08, 2012

Excerpt:

PUNE: Farmers’ group Krushak Ashram, on Friday, formerly launched their initiative to directly sell fresh vegetables to consumers in the city. The initiative was running on a pilot basis for the past one year but was formally launched in the presence of Sudhir Kumar Goyal, additional chief secretary, government of Maharashtra.

The farmer groups are currently supplying close to one tonne fresh vegetables to the city every alternate day. A mobile van has been bought by the farmers to supply vegetables to housing societies. So far six societies are buying vegetables from the groups.

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New Worldwatch Institute report examines the growth rate of the global urban population and its social and health challenges

Press Release
WorldWatch Institute
Dec 11, 2012

Census data in 2010 indicate that cities are home to 3.5 billion people, or 50.5 percent of the global population.

The UN Population Division projects that between 2011 and 2050, the world’s population will increase by 2.3 billion people, bringing the total population to 9.3 billion.

The industrialized world has little room to urbanize further: it was 78 percent urban in 2011, and by 2050 it is expected to be approximately 86 percent urban. By comparison, the developing world was only 47 percent urban in 2011, a share that could reach 64 percent by 2050.

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