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From the Library and Archives Canada.

24 Aug. 1942
Québec, Quebec

The Perry Sisters, employed at the Dominion Arsenals Ltd. plant, armed with rake, watering can and pitchfork, help look after the vegetable garden where they are working.

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Bee hives are run by schools and groups across London, such as Sir John Cass’s Foundation Primary School. Photo by Micha Theiner.

Already, eco-designers have been invited to look round the Olympic site in east London to see if there is potential for a farm after the Games.

The Independent
Jan 8, 2012

Excerpt:

Think of farming, and the rolling fields of the countryside spring to mind. But across Britain’s towns and cities, veggie growers, cheese-makers and honey producers are becoming established. Not since the Second World War, when people were urged to Dig for Victory, has urban farming been so popular.

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Farm School NYC program is a two year course that provides professional training in urban agriculture

By Lori Zimmer,
Inhabit New York City
12/30/11

Excerpt:

Students can either commit to a full two-year certificate program, or partake in many individual courses. Training with Farm School NYC isn’t just a crash course on urban farming, but instead designed to create a class of grassroots leaders who will help push the food justice movement forward. By training community members to become leaders, they can incite community organization and employ advocacy techniques to other community members who wish to be a part of the movement.

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Roadside vegetable market, Nr. Kampala, Uganda. Photo by Mike Gadd.

Trial at five contaminated urban agriculture sites in Kampala City, Uganda

By G. Nabulo, C.R. Black, J. Craigon, S.D. Young
School of Biosciences, University of Nottingham
Online: 28 December 2011.
Environmental Pollution
Volume 162, March 2012, Pages 389-398

Abstract

Concentrations of potentially toxic elements were measured in soils and five contrasting tropical leafy vegetables grown in a replicated field trial at five contaminated urban agriculture sites in Kampala City, Uganda. Soil contamination at each site could be tentatively ascribed to known waste disposal practices. There was considerable variation in metal uptake between vegetable types. Washing leafy vegetables reduced chromium and lead concentrations but exogenous contamination of leaves also depended on vegetable type, withGynandropsis gynandraL. showing a marked tendency to accumulate Pb and Cr.

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By Dave Hamilton
Green Books
April 2011

Don’t like spending money in garden centres? Think you can make it yourself for a fraction of the price or find a cheaper option? Dave Hamilton shows you how. By recycling and reusing materials creatively and making the most of what you have, you can gather all you need to grow your food on a budget. Whether it’s building your own shed from scrap, constructing a path out of recycled materials or storing your harvest without a freezer, it’s all here.

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See the complete film here.

36 minute film

Director/Producer: Ella von der Haide
Produced in 2006 – Germany

Synopsis:

Urban community gardens are a phenomenon that is growing worldwide. In Berlin as well, more and more people are coming together in order to take responsibility for their surroundings collaboratively and to grow their own ecological foods. At the heart of the film are the activists from three inner-city community gardens,

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Founded in 1945, CARE is a leading international humanitarian organization fighting global poverty. In more than 80 countries, CARE works with the poorest communities.

Piglet for a household

Perhaps you’re asking yourself: “What help is a piglet?” Piglets can be bred and sold, providing a new source of income. So now when someone asks you why you gave a piglet as a gift, you can tell them you helped someone start on the path of a sustainable livelihood. Or you can just oink at them, whichever you prefer. Link here.

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Part 1, Urban Farming Detroit by Lisa Richter, Norman Anderson, George Parker, Ms. Peewee, Sweetie, L.J. Roberts, Malik Yakini.

In many ways Detroit has become the new ‘touchstone’ for urban agriculture, replacing Cuba. (Mike)

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Safe soil. About this photo: Kids in South Providence have limited access to safe places to play, grow and imagine. SCLT’s Childrens Garden offers a magical oasis where neighborhood youth have a chance to get their hands dirty and fill their bellies with delicious produce they’ve grown themselves.

Four gift cards

These gorgeous 5×8″ glossy photo cards will inspire the food grower in everyone! This is a way to make a donation in someone’s name as a holiday gift. When you purchase a card in someone’s name, just choose the amount you’d like to give. Or order one for yourself. We’ll mail the photo card to you or the recipient with a special message on the back.

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“The amount of opportunities to get involved in small scale and urban scale farming surprised me.”

Multnomah County, Oregon
Multco.us
11/16/11

Aspiring urban farmers, listen up: Multnomah County, in partnership with Oregon State University Extension Service, is offering classroom training and hands-on, in-field apprenticeships with local farmers during an eight-month program in 2012.

The application period for the Beginning Urban Farmer Apprenticeship (BUFA), which is in its second year, opened on Tuesday, Nov. 15. The program provides season-long training for the next generation of beginning farmers who want to participate in small-scale, urban farming. Apprenticeships start April 4, 2012.

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A chat with Karney Hatch, filmmaker

Karney briefly visited with me in Vancouver between flights. He is returning home to the USA for Thanksgiving after filming around the world for the past 5 months. He recounts his most memorable urban agriculture meeting in Ethiopia with a young urban farmer. (Mike)

Excerpt from his website:

“Waldemariam is a double orphan. His father was the second parent to pass away, a few years ago when he was a young teenager. About the same time, he became involved in the school garden. Many of the students who initially signed up for the program dropped out over time, but Waldemariam showed the patience and dedication required to succeed as an urban farmer. One of the first things he bought with the money he made selling vegetables was a flashlight and a supply of batteries, so that he could continue studying after dark; the family with whom he was staying were unable to afford electricity after dark, which in Addis is around 6:30 PM all year.

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re|CONNECT An Open Ideas Competition

re:CONNECT invites the citizens of Vancouver, to join with local and international designers to ignite discussion and dream new possibilities for the future of the Viaducts and the City’s broader Eastern Core.

Visualizing the Viaducts – Submission #23 (above)

The idea of the picnic is traditionally associated with celebrating food and play while bringing people together to create a rich experience. Situated on the border of several communities, Picnic Park encourages neighbourhoods to use the site as if it was their own backyard. The different spaces of the site, such as the orchard, waterfront or meadow offer a variety of spaces for a multitude of eating and picnicking experiences.

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(Very cute. Mike)

She talks with Andrea Reimer, City Councillor

Kid reporter Tia, 9, reports on the Good Green News in the city of Vancouver – Find out why Vancouver helped bring over 400 community garden plots to the city!

Troy Barrie in Ghana. Photo by Shifting Growth via This City Life.

Farming in the City of Vancouver

By Jillian Glover
This City Life
Nov 2, 2011

Excerpt:

Do you think Vancouver has a thriving urban farming/local food scene? What more needs to be done? What is missing?

The focus on the community gardens aspect of urban farming is strong, but there is a growing movement pushing for urban farms to contribute to food security. This is where there can be improvements. The city has definitions for what a park or community garden should look like, but not many guidelines for urban farms. It’s unclear how produce can be sold. It’s unclear what the tax system is for urban farms that are not on Agricultural Land Reserves. It isn’t a problem. Urban agriculture is new, so there is a little lack of awareness about the need and benefits.

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Time to collect your leaves for the coming 12 months

The number one secret to making good compost in a backyard bin is leaves. Every time food scraps go in, add a handful of leaves to the mix. At Vancouver’s Compost Garden, we collect enough leaves in the Fall to last the whole year.

Today Maria and I went down to Kitsilano Beach in Vancouver to collect bags of leaves and just happened to meet ‘Captain’ Kirk who was driving a tractor pulling a leaf vacuum sweeper for the Park Board. He shared with us where the leaves go and how they fertilize the City’s parks.

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From YouTube notes:
“Rene and her Trio dropped in on the Emmanuel Dining Room (an organization that feeds the homeless) in Wilmington Delaware on the morning of her performance at the Clifford Brown Jazz Festival. What a delightful experience to see the faces light-up with sheer enjoyment when she performed this number.”

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Mon Oct 24, 2011

“Farming, in the city – which turns barren city lands into productive sources of produce.”

See the video on next page by clicking ‘Read More’ below.

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Source by Loch Ness Water Gardens

The group’s goals are to encourage a green city while saving money on grocery bills (AFP/File, Romeo Gacad)

Young Indonesians are breathing new life into their polluted concrete capital city with little more than buckets of soil and seeds.

By Presi Mandari (AFP)
By Agence France-Presse
Sept 30, 2011

Excerpt:

JAKARTA — Young Indonesians are breathing new life into their polluted concrete capital city with little more than buckets of soil and seeds.

A group of mostly young professionals, known as Gardening Indonesia, has joined the global urban farming movement, converting vacant patches of land between Jakarta’s skyscrapers into lush green vegetable gardens.

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Interim Guidelines for Safe Gardening Practices

United States Environmental Protection Agency
Summer 2011
22 pages

This report presents a process and set of recommendations for developing agricultural reuse projects on sites with an environmental history. Potential gardeners, state environmental agencies and regulators can use this process to determine how to address the risks inherent to redeveloping brownfields for agricultural reuses while being protective of human health.

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