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Getting Creative – How City Farmers Find Space to Do Their Jobs
It’s not easy being a farmer. The days are long and many don’t make a living wage. Mental health issues are common amongst farmers, often due to mounting stress about money, weather, crop failure, and debt.
And fertile farmland is becoming scarcer. Open land is being threatened with development every day, and the loss of precious topsoil means that one day in the not-so-distant future, we may very well run out of healthy soil in which to grow food.
Despite all the challenges that land loss brings to farmers around the world, many individuals and organizations are finding new and innovative ways to grow food and sustainably feed their communities.
Urban farmers, for example, are reclaiming rooftops, vacant buildings, empty lots, yards, abandoned parks—and even the patches of grass between sidewalks and roads—in order to grow food. And they’re making a big impact.
Why Does It Matter?
Food security is a problem in cities and rural areas across the United States. Due to economic and social inequalities, people living in low-income neighborhoods, in particular, are more likely to also live in food deserts and not be able to as easily access to affordable, fresh food.
And as growing conditions become harsher around the world, the rising threat of climate change adds to the urgency of finding more efficient and sustainable ways of growing and distributing food.
“As global temperatures rise, areas all around the world are likely to see reduced food security, both related to the cultivation of food animals and agricultural production,” according to the University of Nevada, Reno. “If climate change continues to worsen, food shortages could drive prices higher even in more developed countries like the U.S., leading to a public health crisis in the form of global food shortages and waves of hunger. As such, public health officials should turn their attention to exploring efforts to shore up food reserves and alternative forms of agriculture.”
That’s where urban farming comes in. The loss of traditional farmland and increasing need for food security for all means that farmers in urban spaces are getting creative and finding ways to take matters into their own hands.
The Rise of Urban Agriculture
While urban agriculture has been in practice for many years, it has gained traction and popularity in recent years.
Urban farms often provide access to food for people who are living in food deserts and would otherwise have to travel many miles to get fresh, affordable produce. As farms are pushed further and further outside city limits and away from major residential hubs, farmers had to find solutions in the city to bring food closer to home.
Many urban farms, in addition to feeding people, bring a sense of unity to their members. Community gardensare increasing in popularity across the U.S., bringing more and more people into the practice of growing food—even if it starts as just lending a helping hand to grow a handful of lettuce or a few peppers.
And as more people learn the skills to grow their own food, those living with food insecurity will likely have more places to source food from within their cities and neighborhoods.
What We’ve Lost & What We Have to Gain
Many people—in urban areas, especially—don’t know what a carrot looks like when it’s freshly pulled from the ground, or that a tomato tastes so much better when it’s plucked from the vine in summer instead of shipped across the country in winter. Along with farmland, society has also lost a true connection to food and seeing how and where it’s been grown.
Eating with the seasons is especially important to general health and well-being. But it’s hard to eat with the seasons when, for many, most food is coming to the plate from a grocery store where every type of produce from every season is right at the fingertips—not to mention a plethora of cheap, processed food.
Whether farms are out in the countryside or on your neighbor’s rooftop, supporting locally sourced food is an important step in creating healthy local economies and communities, alike. Robust local economies provide greater opportunities for community members to prosper and thrive. There’s nothing quite like food to tie local people together into a tight-knit, supportive group.
As more farmland gets bought by housing developers and businesses complexes, urban farmers have reclaimed city spaces to help grow food for their local communities, allowing an opportunity for all to be closer to real, fresh, healthy food.
Lettie Stratton is a writer and farmer in Boise, ID. She is a co-founder of Hoot ‘n’ Holler Urban Farm.
Understanding Urban Farming
Simply put, urban farming/agriculture allows your customers to grow and produce food in a city or a heavily populated town or municipality. Many times, this concept can be confused with community gardening, subsistence farming or homesteading, but the ideas are a bit different.
Beth Hyatt | July 31, 2018
If you have clients interested in starting their urban farming lifestyle but aren’t sure how to create a garden atop their apartment roof or in their crowded suburban backyard, take a look at a few ways to help them get started.
Urban Farming
Simply put, urban farming/agriculture allows your customers to grow and produce food in a city or a heavily populated town or municipality. Many times, this concept can be confused with community gardening, subsistence farming or homesteading, but the ideas are a bit different. The main difference is that with urban farming, your customers are more likely to gain monetarily than with community gardens, etc.
In the past 10 years alone, the public has become more interested in learning about how their food is made, where it comes from, etc., which makes the concept of urban farming even more appealing.
Regardless of what your customer’s definition of “urban” is, there really is no single way of defining the size or placement of an urban farm, and every farm can be as unique as your customer wants it to be.
Setting Up
When creating an urban farm for your customer, keep in mind that zoning laws play a large role in setting the area up. These laws may dictate what can and can’t be grown in that specific area and whether or not other things such as animals, retail sales or educational classes can be part of the equation.
Once the parameters of what’s allowed have been established, you and your customers can sit down to begin planning the design. The spaces can be as intricate or as simplistic as they wish, which is where your expertise comes in handy. Talk to your customer about their expectations, and make sure these ideas are realistic for the space and the person.
If your customer plans to have a large area that will one day be used to grow and sell food, take time to discuss the maintenance and upkeep such a large area would require. If they want to start small and eventually grow, suggest a few growing options that will yield plentiful results right off the bat to keep your clients encouraged.
As previously stated, these farms can be designed in a number of ways, but typically speaking, every urban farm will have rows of racks or raised beds. For farms built indoors, the rows typically have UV lighting used to mimic the effects of the sun.
If your customers are limited in space but still want to try their hand in urban farming, talk to them about installing a vertical farm to maximize space and still get the benefits of home-grown foods.
Benefits
According to the Ecology Center (EC), there are 10 prominent benefits to urban farming, and we will touch on a few key ones here.
For starters, the EC says it can reduce carbon emissions. Because the produce is localized, it cuts down on the amount of fossil fuel consumption that’s necessary to package, transport and sell food. The EC reports that the average meal has traveled 4,200 miles from garden to table. This method of farming also allows your customers to interact with those in their community to buy and sell food.
Next, the EC says this type of venture allows you, the landscaper, the ability to unleash your design creativity. It also gives you the opportunity to discuss some of the challenges you’ll face when installing the farm, which gives customers the chance to offer their feedback and feel more connected to the overall results. Since urban farms are a bit different from traditional farms in design, this requires you to think of much more efficient innovations.
The EC also notes that with urban farming, your customers are able to actively contribute to the health of the public and community around them by offering fresh, nutritious, locally-sourced foods. This segues into knowing the quality and having the security of said food. When dealing with a diverse community, your customers are sure to have a variety of edibles to choose from if their neighbors also decide to participate in this endeavor.
Not only will the addition of an urban farm bring your customers the food production they desire, it will also benefit the surrounding areas by serving as a green space. Regardless of whether it’s a small or large area, having that green presence will add an aesthetically pleasing focal point to the area, help reduce runoff from rain and can help counter concentrated heat to the area.
CARBON EMISSIONS COMPOSTING DESIGN CREATIVITY EDIBLE GARDENING EDIBLE LANDSCAPING EDIBLE PLANTS EDIBLE PLANTS GARDEN EDIBLES GREEN SPACE REDUCING CARBON EMISSIONS SUSTAINABILITY THE ECOLOGY CENTER (EC) URBAN AGRICULTURE URBAN FARMING VERTICAL FARM
Emmy Win For Growing A Greener World – The Green Bronx Machine
Atlanta, Georgia: On June 16, 2018, the long-running Sustainability Television Program Growing a Greener World® received a Daytime Emmy Award® for its breakthrough episode The Green Bronx Machine.
This is the broadcast’s first Emmy win. The honor comes on the heels of Growing a Greener World receiving the coveted 2017 Pioneer Taste Award® in April.
The Mission of the show has always been to help others grow a greener world themselves – through gardening, responsible environmental stewardship, and building healthy communities. In 2007 Growing a Greener World explored a non-profit organization known as The Green Bronx Machine and instantly knew this was a story needing to be told.
Moved by emotion at the love and care he witnessed during filming, Executive Producer and show host Joe Lamp’l, states “After filming over 100 episodes of Growing a Greener World, I don’t think we’ve ever told a story that’s impacted me more emotionally than this one.”
Mr. Lamp’l is referring to the compelling story of educator, entrepreneur and self-proclaimed “People Farmer,” Stephen Ritz, who came from and returned to the Bronx to heal, to show love toward and to nurture generations of schoolchildren growing up in this difficult district. His thunderbolt idea, which ultimately formed The Green Bronx Machine, was to utilize gardening in the classroom to improve the lives of inner-city youth.
And improve lives it has. In a community where it’s easier to get liquor than lettuce, Mr. Ritz’s non-profit has helped high school attendance improve from 40% to 93% and has reduced behavioral incidents and out-of-classroom time by a whopping 50% in the elementary school in which he teaches.
This humble man with unparalleled charismatic, infectious energy has changed the landscape of students’ lives through tireless 12-hour days where “Garden Time with Mr. Ritz” is always in eager demand. The kids are taught the botany, the biology, and the history of the fruits and veggies they grow in a way that sparks fascination and new-found ownership of the joy of growing food that is improving eating habits and helping create healthy food relationships.
And as the children love and nurture the plants they’re raising, the plants reward them with tomatoes, cucumbers, peppers, lettuce, and apples to be eaten during school lunch and taken home to their families. The sense of accomplishment and taste for success that is borne of this symbiotic relationship will carry into the rest of these kids’ lives.
The Green Bronx Machine is truly breaking new ground in the world of education. This investment of passion for our food source isn’t just working, it’s creating one person(al) miracle at a time.
The Growing a Greener World® series featuring this remarkable program will continue to resonate with future audiences, and future seasons will remain dedicated to telling these impactful stories of people creating change.
For more information about this press release contact: Anna Shelander at 651-644-2955 AnnaShelander@worldviewcreative.com Stephen Ritz at 917-873-6449 Stephen.ritz@greenbronxmachine.org
The Emmy Award Winning episode The Green Bronx Machine can be viewed at:https://www.growingagreenerworld.com/episode-808-green-bronx-machine/
About Growing a Greener World® Growing a Greener World® is a sustainability-focused lifestyle broadcast that features compelling and inspirational stories of people, places and organizations making a positive impact on the planet. The ninth season of Growing a Greener World is currently in production, with new episodes premiering September 1, 2018 and running through December 31, 2018 on public television stations nationwide. Check your local listings for broadcast dates/times. Growing a Greener World is presented by UNC-TV in North Carolina and distributed by American Public Television. All episodes can also be viewed on demand on the show’s website and on the show’s Youtube channel of the same name.
About The Green Bronx Machine® The Green Bronx Machine is a non-profit organization that builds healthy, equitable and resilient communities through inspired education, local food systems, and career exploration vital for 21st Century college and career opportunities. Dedicated to cultivating minds and harvesting hope, this school-based model uses urban agriculture aligned to key school performance indicators to grow healthy students and healthy schools. Contact Stephen Ritz at 917-873-6449 stephen.ritz@greenbronxmachine.org
About Joe Lamp’l Certified Landscape Professional and horticulturalists, Joe Lamp’l combines his expertise in organic gardening, landscaping and environmental stewardship with a passion for living a more eco-friendly life through his television experience as the creator, host and executive producer of Growing a Greener World ®. Mr.Lamp’l serves as a gardening and sustainability guest expert on national morning shows including NBC’s TODAY Show, ABC’s Good Morning America and The Weather Channel among others. He also broadcasts a weekly podcast series, The joe gardener Show, along with garden-related blog posts and informational resources available on the Growing a Greener World sister site, joegardener.com
About Stephen Ritz, Stephen Ritz is a South Bronx educator and innovator who believes that students shouldn’t have to leave their community to live, learn, and earn in a better one. Supporting generations of students to achieve personal and academic successes which they had never imagined — while reclaiming and rebuilding the Bronx — Stephen’s extended student and community family have grown more than 65,000 pounds of vegetables in the Bronx while generating extraordinary academic performance.
Contact Stephen Ritz at:
917-873-6449
Oasis Biotech Unveils Evercress Produce Brand At Grand Opening
Illumination Ceremony in Effort to “Feed the World. Better.”
Las Vegas, Nevada:
In partnership with Get Fresh, the new company plans to distribute the best tasting, most nutrient-rich and socially responsible produce on the market
Oasis Biotech, the latest agricultural startup to take root in Las Vegas and one of the nation’s largest hydroponic vertical farming facilities of its kind, is proud to announce the unveiling of Evercress, the company’s first consumer-facing produce brand dedicated to helping the organization “Feed the World. Better.,” at a VIP only, Grand Opening illumination ceremony and reception.
Leveraging the state-of-the-art technology at Oasis Biotech and its team of highly qualified agricultural experts, Evercress has big plans to redefine the meaning of fresh produce to Las Vegas.
“Our new growing methods have enabled us to start providing local communities and chefs with the highest quality, most nutrient-rich and environmentally sustainable produce the world has ever seen while also alleviating hunger in a socially responsible way,” says Brock Leach, Chief Operating Officer and General Manager at Oasis Biotech. “Simply put, Evercress is the next step in our mission to Feed the World. Better.”
According to Leach, the company has a mission-first mindset and everything the organization does will be to reduce food insecurity in Las Vegas and around the world while also providing the highest quality leafy greens, micro greens, herbs and an increasing array of produce at peak flavor to some of the best restaurants and local charities, with plans to move into grocery stores soon.
“When I think about my family when I think about my children’s future and the world’s dwindling food supply, I know that developing better ways to produce food is critical to making that future bright,” says Leach. “Evercress has already enabled us to start doing so while also providing Las Vegas with the some of the safest, best-tasting produce ever grown.”
According to Leach, Evercress produce is grown using nearly 90 percent less water than traditional farming, less than one percent of the land, and zero pesticides, herbicides or fungicides. All of which is grown using non-GMO seeds and can be grown 365 days per year.
As the world demands healthier, more environmentally conscious dining options, our vertically farmed produce is the solution that perfectly marries technology with nature,” says Leach. “We haven’t changed the way food is farmed. We’ve just made the process more efficient and environmentally sustainable.”
Considering the efficiency by which Evercress Produce can be grown, distribution is a key factor to the brand’s overall success, which is why the company is also proud to announce its partnership with Get Fresh, one of the largest distributors and fresh-cut processors in the region, serving Southern Nevada and the Southwest.
Traditionally grown produce can travel more than 1,500 miles before it ever reaches a consumer, which means a significant loss in nutrients and flavor. The technology at Oasis Biotech and the newly announced partnership with Get Fresh will enable Evercress to provide Las Vegas with food that can be consumed on the same day as it’s harvested.
In addition to the VIP grand opening event and ceremony, Oasis Biotech will also hold a celebratory grand opening food festival event for the general public at the same location on Saturday, July 21 from 2 p.m. to 6 p.m. which will include entertainment and tours for the general public.
About Oasis Biotech
Founded in 2017 and located in Las Vegas, Nevada, Oasis Biotech is now one of the nation’s largest indoor hydroponic vertical farming facilities of its kind.
Utilizing their proprietary state-of-the-art technology, precise growing methods, and a qualified team of experts, the company is dedicated to fulfilling their mission to “Feed the World. Better.,” by providing the world’s highest- quality, most nutritious and environmentally sustainable produce and non-traditional crops to local restaurants and charities, with plans to move into grocery stores soon.
Please visit www.oasisbiotech.com to learn more.
About Evercress Produce
Founded in 2018, Evercress is the consumer-facing produce brand of Oasis Biotech and is dedicated to providing local communities with safe and nutritious leafy greens, micro greens, herbs and an ever-evolving array of produce, at peak flavor in a sustainable and socially responsible way.
Evercress produce is grown using nearly 90 percent less water than traditional farming, less than one percent of the land, and zero pesticides, herbicides or fungicides. All of which is grown using non-GMO seeds.
Please visit www.facebook.com/evercressproduce to learn more.
About Get Fresh
Friends, Dominic Caldara and John Wise, founded Get Fresh Companies in 1990 with a vision to align customers with fresh, high-quality products and incomparable service.
With just two delivery trucks and rented cooler space, we got our start servicing hotel/casinos on the world-famous Las Vegas Strip. We are grateful to still call Southern Nevada home decades later and have the privilege of witnessing the city’s success of entertaining more and more visitors year after year.
As internationally renowned chefs continue to join our community and are attracted to the culinary component of the city, we thrive on sharing our innovation, specialty item sourcing, and value-add products.
Please visit www.getfreshsales.com to learn more.
St. Louis, Missouri -The Veggie Bike From Urban Harvest STL In JeffVanderLou On Saturdays
The Veggie Bike From Urban Harvest STL In JeffVanderLou On Saturdays
BY STAFF WRITER, JULY 21, 2018
ST. LOUIS - Urban Harvest STL believes that all members of our community should have equitable access to fresh, healthy food regardless of socioeconomic status, race or location.
They grow healthy produce across a network of six urban farms in downtown and North St. Louis and donate the majority of the harvest to nonprofit partners serving communities with limited or non-existent access to healthy, nutritious food.
Urban Harvest STL’s Veggie Bike is now rolling. You can find them in JeffVanderLou Saturdays between 11:30 a.m to 1 p.m. In partnership with the St. Louis MetroMarket, they are bringing farm fresh produce into neighborhoods without grocery stores and markets.
For more information, visit UrbanHarvest STL
Is the Farming Future of Las Vegas Indoors?
Courtesy of Urban Seed
Urban Seed is testing dozens of different crops, from bell peppers to beets to alpine strawberries. This rendering shows the company's plans for high-tech greenhouses in Las Vegas but it ultimately decided to set up shop in Pahrump.
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August 01, 2018
by Heidi Kyser
Contrary to a common misperception, there is farming in the Mojave Desert, despite water scarcity, blazing heat, and rock-hard soil.
New companies here are turning in greater numbers to indoor farming. Helped in part by the explosion of indoor marijuana cultivation, Nevada is seeing greenhouse innovations that, some think, could make the dream of industrial-scale desert farming a reality.
We talked about the promises and challenges of indoor farming with Brock Leach, general manager and COO of recently opened Oasis Biotech; Rachel Wenman, co-founder and vice president of Urban Seed; and Nicola Kerslake, founder of Contain, Inc., which helps indoor farming startups find financing and also owns Indoor Ag-Con.
One the biggest hurdles of starting such an operation locally, Kerslake said, is money: “The largest challenge for new entrants (into the market) is putting together enough capital to do a new build.” Commercial builds can cost anywhere from $20,000 to $20 million, she said. In the last several years, a number of new operations have failed to launch or closed shortly after opening.
Leach said, “We’ve already deployed $30 million of capital and we’re not stopping, because there’s a big problem down the road that, if we’re not aggressive at fixing, we’re all gonna run straight into.”
That problem, according to the panelists, is the disappearance of arable land due to urban sprawl and climate change. California, which provides 80 percent of U.S. produce according to Kerslake, is under enormous stress from these and other factors.
Kerslake added that the economic tide is turning in favor of indoor farming, mainly because of the large number of technological developments that are going on in this sector — developments that are helped by marijuana legalization and its attendant investment.
Asked whether aeroponics, hydroponics, and other similar operations are a responsible investment in a region that’s experiencing historic drought, Wenman noted that controlled systems like these are actually more sustainable than traditional, outdoor farming. “It allows the plant to intake exactly what it needs and (us too) use the leftover resources in a closed loop process.” Both she and Leach noted that condensation and runoff are captured and put back into the system.
They’re also not worried about the current controversy over whether indoor farming operations should qualify for organic certification since they don’t use soil. “The local label is what we’re seeing… is important to our consumers,” Wenman said. “The Las Vegas chef community has been advocates” in educating the public about the difference.
From NPR: Farm Of The Future: What Grows In Las Vegas Stays In Las Vegas
Guests:
Brock Leach, general manager, and COO, Oasis Biotech; Rachel Wenman, co-founder and vice president of Urban Seed; Nicola Kerslake, founder of Contain, Inc.,
15 Organizations Creating Edible Landscapes
Contributing Author: Steve Edgerton
The turfgrass found in lawns, parks, and schoolyards represents the single largest irrigated crop in the United States. Across the country, turf guzzles up 34 billion liters (nine billion gallons) of water per day, demanding 31 million kilograms (70 million pounds) of pesticides and 757 million liters (200 gallons) of gasoline annually.
Edible landscaping represents a different take on how to design and interact with yards and urban green spaces. With an emphasis on native perennials and food-producing plants, edible landscapes can be a great way to create green space and provide healthy, fresh food.
Replacing just a fraction of traditional lawn with edible landscapes designed around locally appropriate plants would have numerous benefits. Edible landscapes often require little or no additional irrigation or fertilizer, can increase food production potential in cities and can be a boon to pollinators and ecological diversity. To celebrate and explore these benefits, Food Tank is featuring 15 organizations from around the world working to create edible landscapes.
1. Backyard Abundance
Backyard Abundance is a non-profit based in Johnson County, Iowa, focusing on both the design and educational aspect of edible landscaping. Founded in 2006, Backyard Abundance prioritizes the importance of residents taking a role in the transformations of landscapes as a way to find harmony with the natural world, connect with the elements of food production, and to feel empowered by the fact that individual decisions and actions can positively influence seemingly overwhelming environmental problems.
2. Ecologia Design
Michael Judd founded Ecologia Design following years of experience implementing whole systems design and functional landscapes in Mexico and Nicaragua, in addition to studying modern landscape design principles at the New York Botanical Garden. Ecologia represents a melding of aesthetics and functionality, designing beautiful landscapes with an emphasis on food production and working in line with local cultures and ecologies.
3. Edible Estates
Edible Estates is an initiative that began in Salinas, Kansas in 2006. Its goal is to create “prototype” gardens in cities around the world, with 16 already complete. Designed with its specific bioregion in mind, each garden takes into account local geography, culture, history, and the current needs of the communities. The emphasis is on productive, edible landscapes, and each design involves partnerships with local art institutions and horticultural or community gardening groups. Edible Estates strives to inspire others to look at underutilized or misappropriated green spaces in a new light, highlighting new contexts for food production and connections to the natural environment.
4. Edible Landscapes London
Edible Landscapes London is a nonprofit that specializes in food forests; a production system that combines fruiting shrubs, trees, and herbs, with each plant playing a complementary role that contributes to the health of the whole system and maximizes productivity. They developed the first ever accredited forest gardening course in the UK, and are a leading figure in creating edible, biodiverse landscapes in London.
5. Edible Landscape Project
Born from a community event in 2012, the Edible Landscape Project (ELP) sought to transform the Great Western Greenway in County Mayo, Ireland, into an edible landscape. The ELP is now a globally recognized social enterprise, focusing on forest gardening to contribute to ecosystem health and food security throughout Ireland. They are also active in mental health advocacy, and the positive role that growing food and connecting with nature can play in cultivating healthier mental landscapes.
6. Foodswell
Foodswell is a non-profit taking on the issue of food insecurity in Australia. Their research projects often emphasize the design and community development components of food access in remote and indigenous settlements throughout the country. Foodswell implements edible landscape designs along with other novel food growing strategies that are most appropriate for the specific community, with greater access to affordable, healthy food being their guiding directive.
7. Home Harvest LLC.
HomeHarvest creates edible landscapes in the Boston area. Ben Barkan founded Home Harvest, taking his experience on 35 organic farms around the world and applying it to the urban environment, where he aspires to create regenerative ecosystems and connect people more directly to their food. HomeHarvest also has a nonprofit branch, focusing primarily on planting fruit trees as a food source for communities in need, while also teaching residents how to maintain and utilize them.
8. Incredible Edible Network
Started by a group of citizens in the small town of Todmorden in Northern England, the Incredible Edible Network set out to inspire positive community change through food, by redesigning green space into edible landscapes, building community gardens, providing training, and supporting local commerce to strengthen local food systems and community resiliency. Their small start caught on in a big way, and the network now encompasses over 100 UK towns, along with towns in Canada and New Zealand.
9. Maya Mountain Research Farm
Taking its name from the Belize Mountains that it calls home, the Maya Mountain Research Farm is a non-governmental organization and working demonstration farm. The farm primarily focuses on cultivating a productive and biodiverse tropical food forest, replicating the ecological services of native forests to sequester carbon, conserve habitat, and fight against erosion, all while boosting local food security by incorporating more edible plants into the landscape.
10. Pha Tad Ke Botanical Garden
Pha Tad Ke Botanical Garden is a regional research center in Luang Prabang, Laos. The garden brings a snapshot of the region’s impressive biodiversity into the heart of the country’s largest and most popular city. They leverage this visibility by creating educational programs and acting as a tourist destination to promote the incorporation of edible and local plants into urban environments and to build awareness around local environmental preservation initiatives.
11. Philadelphia Orchard Project
Working in low-income neighborhoods often characterized as food deserts, the Philadelphia Orchard Projectplants orchards filled with a variety of edible plants in vacant lots, community gardens, and school parks. They work in conjunction with organizations in the community to design and implement the orchards, and train residents to care for the plants, offering accessible and affordable options for fresh produce where there often are none.
12. Sadhana Forest
Sadhana Forest is a nonprofit operating in Haiti, India, and Kenya. Their projects involve the reforestation of severely eroded landscapes with food-bearing trees, building local food security while simultaneously remediating valuable land. Founded in 2003, Sadhana Forest has already planted hundreds of thousands of food-producing trees, with many more to come.
13. Sustainable Landscaping Initiative Vancouver
Sustainable Landscaping Initiative Vancouver is a nonprofit based in Vancouver, Canada. Their mandate is to drive an industry-wide greening in the world of landscaping. This would include a shift towards native plants, edible gardens, eliminating toxic chemicals, increasing water efficiencies, zero-emissions machinery, and whole systems design inspired by local ecosystems. They provide a variety of resources to assist landscaping organizations in a green transition and to become eligible for several eco-landscaping accreditation programs.
14. Trees That Feed Foundation
Created by Mike and Mary Mclaughlin and Paul Virtue in 2008, the Trees That Feed Foundation (TTFF) promotes the integration of tree crops into the landscapes of developing countries. The benefits of food-producing trees are many, and include reducing community dependence on fertilizer, water, and other inputs for food crops, while also sequestering carbon and strengthening local ecosystems. TTFF successfully runs projects in 11 countries throughout the Caribbean and Africa. Their programs include supplying local organizations with trees and providing training in tree care to ensure the long-term sustainability and benefits of their projects.
15. Wayward
Wayward is a landscape, art and architecture firm from London, England. Many of their projects take a creative approach to implemented food growing into underutilized urban landscapes. Often repurposing salvaged plants and local building materials, their installations offer mind-bending and inspiring takes on incorporating edible spaces into contemporary art and architecture installations.
Why Urban Farms Are The Future of Food Production
July 29, 2018
With almost eight billion people to feed, traditional agriculture is taking a toll on the planet. Luckily, new technologies in urban farming are changing the game. Now, food can be grown locally in places where it was previously impossible, without soil or light.
It’s no secret that some agricultural practices have a detrimental impact on the Earth. From the colossal amount of water needed, pollution caused, energy use, and destruction of natural habitats, it’s clear we need some new solutions.
By 2050, the world’s population is set to increase to 10 billion from the current 7.6 billion. On top of that, it’s estimated that two-thirds of the world’s population will be city dwellers. Cities attract humans like magnets, and humans need to eat.
With so many more mouths to feed agricultural yields are going to have to catch up. This combined with problems like water shortages and decreasing fossil fuels is a recipe for global starvation.
When we think of cities, we imagine every inch packed densely — high-rises that block out the light, smoggy air thick with exhaust fumes. When compared to farm-fresh rural living, cities appear environmentally irresponsible, unhealthy, and polluted. However, these ideas have been shaken up by forward-thinking concepts like urban farming.
Urban Farms and Vertical Farms can be found all over the world. Shown is Battery Urban Farm in NYC. | Shutterstock
The urban farming movement continues to grow and evolve as social entrepreneurs develop new technologies that enable food to be grown in the most unlikely places. Vertical farms are springing up everywhere from rooftops to office lobbies to World War II air raid shelters.
Here we take a look at why and how local agriculture is becoming an integral part of urban living.
What are the Benefits of Urban Farming?
Urban farming and vertical farming are innovative solutions that are starting to gain traction all over the world.
City farming enables more people to eat as “local” as possible. By growing food closer to those who will eat it, “food miles”, or the long-distance transportation needed, is substantially decreased. When food doesn’t need to be transported, a lot of plastic packaging can be cut out of the equation, too.
Urban farming also makes it easier for urban populations to get the freshest food possible and encourages us to eat in season. An apple that is in season and grown locally offers us the healthiest version with the most nutrients. Urban farming also nourishes local economies rather than multinationals and corporate giants.
An added bonus is that in cities where it’s unlikely that you’ll know your neighbors, urban farming harnesses community interaction and connections.
Urban farms add much-needed greenery to our concrete jungles. Plants act as natural air-filters in our fume-filled cities. More plants mean better air quality and decreased ozone levels.
Read More: The Unexpected Side Effects of Cleaning Urban Air Pollution
Interacting with nature also helps people to reconnect to the Earth. Numerous studies have shown that being exposed to plants can have a positive effect on our mental health. As hippy-dippy as it sounds, when people have a greater appreciation for nature and understand where their food comes from, they are more likely to want to safeguard the environment. Urban farming helps to eliminate the disconnect that comes with having access to a supermarket where you can get everything from quinoa to dragon fruits at any given time of the year.
Urban Farm Tech Overcomes Problems
Before I declare urban farming a food revolution, let’s address the countless problems that are probably swirling around in the back of your mind.
Land in cities is usually expensive and limited. How could there possibly be space for a ten-acre cabbage farm in Manhattan when most people can hardly find a square meter of living space?
Then there’s the fact that with skyscrapers comes shade. How can plants photosynthesize without sunlight?
With the right technology in place, these key concerns for urban farming can be overcome.
How Do Urban Farms and Vertical Farms Work?
Urban farms can be as simple as a small community vegetable patch or roof garden or as complex as an indoor vertical farm.
Vertical farms were developed especially for urban settings. They are planned out to maximize three-dimensional space for growing as many crops as possible.
These futuristic farms usually contain rows tined with plants rooted in soil, nutrient-enriched water, or even air. These rows are stacked up high and each tier is equipped with UV lighting that simulates real sunlight. These innovations allow farmers to bypass all the issues unpredictable weather causes and tailor conditions to maximize crop yield.
Here are some examples of the most impressive Urban Farms out there:
1. Sky Greens, Lim Chu Kang area, Singapore
Sky Greens is an urban farm in Singapore, one of the most densely populated nations in the world.
Sky Green’s Vertical Farm in Singapore. | Skygreens.com
With little space for agriculture, Sky Greens is a vertical farm aimed to grow more food in less space. This plant skyscraper employs equipment that holds up to 32 trays on a tall, narrow A-frame structure, The plants rotate slowly, as if on a Ferris wheel to ensure each tray gets enough sunlight exposure. Since 2012, Sky Greens has successfully delivered lettuce, spinach, and a variety of Asian greens to the markets of Singapore every day.
2. The Urban Farm at Pasona Tokyo Headquarters
The Pasona headquarters in Tokyo functions as an urban farm and office. Here orange trees are growing from the balconies.| konodesigns.com
Another innovative urban farm at Pasona Tokyo Headquarters is integrated into a nine-story corporate office space. The office has a total of 43,000 square feet of green space and houses 200 species of fruits and vegetables. Here you’ll find tomatoes vines dangling above conference tables in meeting rooms partitioned by passion fruit trees. The main lobby even features a rice paddy and broccoli field.
The crops are equipped with HEFL, fluorescent and LED lights and an automated irrigation system. Intelligent climate control monitors humidity, temperature, and the breeze to perfectly harmonize human comfort and optimal growing conditions.
All the plants are maintained and harvested by Pasona employees on their lunch breaks and served in the company cafeteria.
At Pasona’s urban farm staff can harvest their own food for lunch. | Konodesigns.com
These are only two examples out of hundreds of urban farms functioning all over the world. You can find urban-farms in Brooklyn, London, Sao Paolo, Berlin, Montreal, Seattle, and countless other cities.
The Technology that Makes Urban Farms a Reality
Hydroponics
As mentioned, urban farming innovation allows plants to grow without soil or natural light. The technology behind this is called hydroponics.
Hydroponics uses nutrients dissolved in water and blocks of sponge-like material where the roots can grow. This is combined with low-energy artificial LED lights. Studies have shown that plants grown using hydroponics use less water and provide significantly higher yields.
Although it sounds complicated, hydroponic units are set to enter mainstream use. You can even buy your own portable hydroponic system in IKEA.
Urban Farms use hydroponic systems to cultivate crops in greenhouses. | Shutterstock
Aquaponics
Aquaponics is an urban farming technology that combines raising crops without soil (though hydroponics) with aquaculture in one integrated system.
For example, Urban Organics, an urban farm in St.Paul, grows kale, Swiss chard, cilantro, and parsley and then recycles the water used to raise Arctic char and Atlantic salmon. Aquaponics is a closed-loop system. The system allows fish waste to organically fertilize plants, and plants to clean and filter water for the fish.
Microbes (nitrifying bacteria) also play a role in aquaponics. They convert ammonia from the fish waste into nitrates. Nitrates are a form of nitrogen that supports plant growth.
Water waste is further limited as any excess water that drains out of planters is caught in the fish tanks.
The hydroponic system can be used in urban farming to farm fish and cultivate crops sustainably. | Shutterstock
Internet-of-Things and Urban Farming
Internet-of-Things tech is providing real-time monitoring of urban farming systems. This will enable farmers to reduce waste and enhance productivity as they will be able to monitor their urban farms more accurately.
IoT-based smart farming uses systems that monitor light, humidity, temperature, and soil using sensors. These systems alert automated irrigation or fertilizer systems to apply the quantities needed.
IoT based systems are also used in smart-greenhouses to regulate climate according to the plant’s requirements. This prevents waste of resources and allows for more efficient water usage in urban farms.
Internet of things means urban farms can be monitored accurately and resources can be used efficiently. | Shutterstock
The IoT system can be connected to a cloud server so that all information can be accessed remotely. The cloud server also enables data processing and lets farmers control actions. This eliminates the need for constant manual monitoring and limits the need for manual intervention.
IoT farming will help urban farms to produce more sustainable food and provides a cost-effective solution for urban farming.
Read More: Pepper-Picking CROPS Project Robot to Revolutionize EU Agriculture
Urban farms have the potential to change our agricultural landscape. Cities need to get smarter if we want to tackle the environmental and social problems we are currently facing.
Urban farming methods such as vertical farming hold the potential to improve the way we produce and consume food. Urban farming makes eating local, nutritious, sustainable food a reality for those living in cities.
It must be said that urban farming isn’t a magical solution for sustainability. Continuing to develop and expand on these innovative farming technologies is going to play an integral role in feeding the ever-expanding population of our planet.
Read More: What Will Future Cities Look Like?
Do you think urban farms are a solution for sustainability?
Produce Goes From Rooftop Farm To Table At Uncommon Ground
JULY 22, 2018, BY ANDREA DARLAS
CHICAGO — Above Uncommon Ground, a 2,500-square-foot rooftop farm allows the restaurant to harvest hundreds of pounds of organic fruits, vegetables, herbs and spices. There are also a pair of beehives that produce 40-50 pounds of honey, and other things used to make specialty craft beers.
The restaurant plans to celebrate the 10th anniversary of the rooftop farm with community events and harvesting classes all summer long.
WGN's Andrea Darlas has more.
How To Go From City Living To Urban Farming In Six Months
July 2018
Photos by Matthew Modoono/Northeastern University
Do you know where your leafy greens come from? If you’re dining at a restaurant in Boston, there’s a good chance the salad greens you’re eating have been grown by two friends inside a small apartment in the city’s South End neighborhood.
Oliver Homberg and Matt Alto, two recent graduates of Northeastern, founded Boston Microgreens six months ago with little farming experience. But now they’re selling tray upon tray of tender leafy greens to home cooks and chefs from 30 Boston restaurants, including Uni, O Ya, Ostra, and Sorellina.
“Basically we just started growing stuff for ourselves, and then we got obsessed,” said Homberg, who studied international affairs and sustainable development at Northeastern. “We learned everything we know from videos on YouTube.”
The young entrepreneurs keep two hobby gardens that are bursting with corn, kale, carrots, melons, edible Borage flowers, summer squash, Bibb lettuce, purple Kohlrabi, zucchini, pickling cucumbers, and raspberries, which Alto picked as a kid.
But it’s microgreens—which can be used to add depth to a salad, crunch to a sandwich, or flavor to a dish—that are their specialty.
As their name suggests, microgreens are the first small leafy shoots produced by vegetables such as radishes, peas, and kale. Alto and Homberg cut the shoots before the vegetable has time to mature, which makes them especially flavorful and nutrient-dense. Their purple Sango radish microgreen, for example, is a tiny purple sprout of leaves that has all the spicy bitterness of a full-grown radish.
Because the plants are so young and tender, it’s important to move the greens from the soil to the plate as soon as possible, said Homberg.
“Chefs love these because we’re local,” he said. “We cut and deliver the greens the same morning, so they know they’re getting super fresh ingredients that haven’t been in the back of a refrigerated truck for a week.”
Being a local farmer in Boston’s densely-developed, land-poor South End neighborhood is hard work.
Homberg and Alto have converted their apartment into a modern greenhouse, which includes one room dedicated to growing their greens. Three days a week, they sprinkle hundreds of partly-germinated seeds onto 10-inch by 20-inch trays filled with soil. They cover the seeds with more soil and then water them to start the growing process.
Once those seeds begin to sprout, they put the tray on a shelf outfitted with fluorescent lights and a watering system, leave the seeds to grow for anywhere from a few days to a few weeks, and then cut and package the greens for delivery.
“It can all be done in the middle of your living room,” said Alto, who studied mechanical engineering and material science at Northeastern.
Homberg and Alto, who graduated in May, say they have applied the lessons they learned in class to help them become successful urban farmers.
Alto credited his engineering coursework with helping him develop and build many of the irrigation and growing systems they use to farm, including a water-based growing unit. Homberg said his business courses primed him to—pardon the pun—grow a business from the ground up.
They plan to expand the business. They’re looking for a bigger space to grow microgreens and hope to partner with local elementary schools to bring kids into their outdoor gardens.
“Growing up, I was that kid who just ate whatever without thinking about it,” Alto said. “To have the opportunity now to be in control of the whole process—that’s something we want to share with as many people as possible.”
Society & Culture Boston Microgreens Farming gardening
hobby garden microgreens Restaurants urban farming
- Written by Molly Callahan
Vancouver To Develop Green Roof Policy
By AINSLIE CRUICKSHANK StarMetro Vancouver
July 25, 2018
VANCOUVER—The City of Vancouver is moving forward with the development of a green roof policy that could require some new buildings to include rooftop grasses or gardens.
On Thursday evening council voted in support of a motion put forward by Councillor Adriane Carr that noted several benefits of green roofs.
The living roof on the Cactus Club restaurant in Vancouver's Coal Harbour. (PERRIN GRAUER / STAR METRO VANCOUVER)
Green roofs — roofs that are partially or entirely covered by vegetation — can absorb rain, thereby helping to reduce combined sewage overflows. They can also absorb greenhouse gasses, helping to mitigate climate change and clean the air of pollutants.
Carr amended her initial motion Wednesday to clarify that staff should develop a green roof policy in consultation with industry and the community after the Urban Development Institute raised concerns that developers had not been consulted.
In a letter to council the institute, which represents 850 members in the real estate development and planning industry, cited concerns about industry capacity given other green building initiatives already in place and added costs to construction.
On Wednesday, Carr clarified that “the process hasn’t started, this is the beginning of the process” and any policies would be developed in consultation with industry.
Ron Schweiger, the principal of Architek who has extensive experience with green roofs spoke before the standing committee considering the motion.
“Green roofs are more than just sedum and grass,” he said.
While the roofs may carry an added expense to install, those costs are easily recouped, he said, adding that in his opinion Vancouver can’t afford not to require green roofs.
Particularly relevant during Vancouver’s current heat wave, he added green roofs can help mitigate the effect of urban “heat islands.”
Concerns were raised however about making green roofs mandatory. City staff said their analysis would examine the need for possible exemptions and costs.
Ainslie Cruickshank is a Vancouver-based reporter covering the environment. Follow her on Twitter: @ainscruickshank
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The Quirky Plan To Grow Fruit And Vegetables On Manchester City Centre Rooftops - Using Live Fish
Manchester’s city office blocks and apartment towers are powering a regional economy like no other. That much is obvious. But could they also be growing salads?
Experiments have revealed that city centre buildings could be turned into market gardens producing up to 180 million packs of salad a year
By David Thame 21 JUL 2018
Dr Andrew Jenkins and inset, the garden on the rooftop of Irwell House, Salford
Manchester’s city office blocks and apartment towers are powering a regional economy like no other. That much is obvious. But could they also be growing salads?
Experiments by a Belfast-based academic and a local property developer have revealed that city centre buildings could be turned into a market garden producing up to 180 million packs of salad a year.
Crops harvested could include lettuces, Swiss chard, chillies, courgettes and even strawberries.
The astonishing research suggests that if the walls of buildings are adapted, and roofs covered in polytunnels, individual buildings could produce tens of thousands of crops each year using soilless agriculture systems.
The high-level market gardens would rely on aquaponics – using live fish to provide nutrients to help plants grow – and hydroponics, which relies on water alone.
The high-level market gardens would rely on aquaponics – using live fish to provide proteins to help plants grow
Dr. Andrew Jenkins, now a post-doctoral research fellow at Queen's University Belfast, first worked on the idea in partnership with designers and BDP and local developer Urban Splash as far back as 2013.
The project at Irwell House, Blackfriars, Salford, demonstrated that older buildings could take the weight of rows of fish tanks, pumping and filtration systems.
They grew crops that needed more serious root systems against the windows, to give them more light, and put the heavier fishtanks on the building’s structural steel work.
The result was the potential to grow 16,000 vegetable servings a year from a single office block. The cost of the installation was just £28,000 – but a full commercial growing system would be considerably more expensive.
Dr Jenkins explains: “We extrapolated the data from Irwell House across the entire city centre’s stock of buildings – which meant designing a 3D model of the city so we could see what their surface area was, and which areas fell into shade which made them unsuitable for growing.
Crops harvested could include lettuces, Swiss chard, chillies, courgettes and even strawberries
“What we discovered is that the total surface area of the city’s big buildings is 445 hectares (1,100 acres) – of which 360 hectares (890 acres) fulfills the basic requirements for growing things.
"So there’s about 360 hectares (890 acres) of growing space within the realms of possibility, and the roof space is easier to use that the vertical wall space, because installing the tanks and coverings is more low-tech.”
However, the project has had to adapt to Manchester’s somewhat variable weather. Crop tanks on the roof need protection from wind and cold weather – meaning structures like polytunnels.
Dr. Andrew Jenkins
The fish used in aquaponics also need to be hardy: at first they used quick growing Red Nile Tilapia – but native species like the common carp might be happier in the winter, and would not need heated tanks.
If there were four harvests a year Manchester could produce up to 180 million fruit and vegetable servings from its roofs and walls.
Could it really work? Dr. Jenkins says it certainly could.
"We’re having conversations about how you do the farming,” he says.
“It could be automated, which reduces cost and increases productivity – or maybe you can create jobs – or a mix of the two. But it is certainly true that people can’t be replaced in animal and plant husbandry and it could mean up to 8,400 new jobs.”
The project at Irwell House, Blackfriars, Salford
Landlords will be glad to know that if the idea catches on they will not need to make very expensive changes to their buildings. “The weight of the tanks is not carried on the floors, but on the structural steelwork,” Dr Jenkins says.
However useful market gardening on office blocks may be, Dr Jenkins cautions that it is no substitute for sorting out the U.K.’s long-term food security.
“We are hitting the hypothetical limits of agriculture in the UK, which means we are pushing our soils as hard as they can go.
"People hear of urban agriculture of the kind I’ve been investigating, and believe it could be a solution.
"If we used the external surfaces of urban buildings we could only deliver about 1.5% of the UK’s food needs. That's enough for about one million people per year, which is small in the grand scheme of things but could ultimately transform local economies and job creation in many cities in the future."
Manchester Evening News
Why I’m Empowering A New Generation Of Farmers To Transform America’s Food System
Applications now open to be a Next-Gen Farmer at Square Roots.
Applications are now open for the third season at Square Roots, on our Brooklyn farming campus. Join a unique program that trains and empowers the next generation of leaders in urban farming.
We need new leaders to forge a new food system
Consumers across the world are demanding greater transparency into where and how their food is grown. Yet most people in cities are tethered to an industrial food system that ships in high calorie, low nutrient food, often from across the globe. It’s harmful to the health of the planet and its populations, and leaves us completely disconnected from the people who grow our food.
We need to act now — as urban populations keep rising and global temperatures continue to climb. The next generation has an incredible opportunity to re-envision a food system that implements responsible farming practices, leverages new technologies, works together to value everyone from the farmer to the consumer, and rebuilds the connections between people and their food.
We launched Square Roots two years ago to start playing our part in this new system.
Bringing the Farm to the City
Square Roots is an urban farming company. We grow nutritious food, year round, using indoor vertical farming systems. Our farms are non-GMO, pesticide-free, and use 90% less water than their outdoor equivalents. We continually work to improve the technology in our farms to grow more (and higher quality) food, with less resources, giving the farmer more time to expand their knowledge and get connected with local communities. Customers are often eating our food within hours of harvest — and because it’s so fresh, it tastes delicious.
The Square Roots farms, built inside refurbished shipping containers, have programmable climates — this allows our farmers to grow food from all around the world, all year round, right in the heart of NYC.
Our first farm in Brooklyn is just a subway ride away from over eight million New Yorkers, making it easy for urbanites to get connected to their local farmer. We hold workshops, open community tours, and pop-up markets for foodies, tech-lovers, and passionate real food advocates. The farm is a space to connect with community and share thoughts; and at the heart of it are the farmers.
The Next-Gen Farmer Training Program
If we’re going to change the food system, we simply need more young farmers. The average age of the American farmer is 58, there are huge obstacles to start farming, and making a livable income can be challenging. We need to create more pathways for young people to launch successful careers in farming. And we need many of them to understand the nuances of urban farming business — to bring fresh, local food to ever-increasing populations in cities.
Our mission at Square Roots is to bring local, real food to people in cities by empowering a whole new generation of leaders in urban farming — because the more of us working to shape the future of food, the better.
Integral to that mission is our Next-Gen Farmer Training Program — a year-long program that puts participants at the forefront of indoor urban farming. After an initial period of hands-on training in our farms, Square Roots Next-Gen Farmers grow food year-round for customers across NYC. No previous farming experience is necessary to apply — just the passion and entrepreneurial spirit to jump in and start learning. Our intuitive farming technology and expert team combine to help participants become the best urban farmers they can be. The opportunities in front of successful graduates are endless.
Next Gen Farmers have the passion and entrepreneurial spirit to jump in and start learning.
Impacting People, Planet, and Profits
Next-Gen leaders in urban farming understand the importance of equally-weighted social, environmental, and financial success. We’re a young company ourselves, and we are building these measurements into every aspect of our business. Throughout the year the farmers are involved in the entire process.
Built into the second half of the program are two multi-month, project-based learning experiences. A business-focused project introduces entrepreneurial frameworks and further develops farming business knowledge; while a community-oriented project is focused on creating more pathways for even younger generations to get connected to their food. These projects are integrated into the farmer’s 40-hour work week, alongside ongoing farming responsibilities.
The Many Faces of Urban Farming
Square Roots program alumni have gone on to start their own urban farming businesses, take incredible jobs at other forward-thinking companies in urban ag, and moved into permanent positions on the Square Roots team. Our Next-Gen Farmer Training program provides unique experience and insight into the many roles for leaders in the future of food.
The Next-Gen Farmer Training Program is a year-long, full time position, based on our Brooklyn farming campus, starting November 2018. The next round of applications opens today! If you want to start making a massive impact — socially, environmentally and economically — in urban farming and the future of food, let us know right here. We can’t wait to talk with you.
Kimbal Musk
My mission is real food for everyone. Co-founder of The Kitchen #realfood restaurants, Big Green teaching kids about food & Square Roots mentoring young farmers
Brooklyn Pols Push For Green Rooftops
City Councilmember Rafael Espinal introduced a bill on Wednesday that would require new commercial buildings across the city to install green rooftops.
Brooklyn Pols Push For Green Rooftops
By Liliana Bernal
Special to the Brooklyn Daily Eagle
Green rooftop on VICE Media’s headquarters. Eagle photos by Lilian Bernal
City Councilmember Rafael Espinal introduced a bill on Wednesday that would require new commercial buildings across the city to install green rooftops.
“It's important that now more than ever, when we have a federal government that’s rolling back all of these environmental policies, that cities as big as New York are being aggressive ... by pushing legislation that's gonna ensure that our city is greener and playing a major role in the fight against climate change,” Espinal said at a press conference hosted on the VICE Media building’s green rooftop.
The bill sponsored by Espinal would require roofs of new commercial buildings to be covered with plants on top of a waterproof membrane, solar panels, small wind turbines or a combination of all three. The legislation would also apply to existing buildings undergoing major renovations on their rooftops.
“In New York City today, only 0.15 percent of our rooftops are green,” Espinal added. “That puts us way behind in the conversation.”
Councilmembers Stephen Levin of Brooklyn and Donovan Richards of Queens also introduced two separate bills last session that would require new buildings and city-owned buildings to partially cover their roofs with plants or solar panels.
Green roofs benefit the environment by creating urban hubs for species, reducing the temperature of buildings, saving stormwater runoff that is absorbed by the soil and reducing energy consumption with the help of the plants on the roof.
From left: Julie Welch, Aziz Dehkan, Councilmember Rafael Espinal, Anastasia Plakias and Lisa Bloodgood.
Developers and homeowners could also reduce energy costs and external noise and increase property value.
“Green roofs contribute very little to the overall cost of a project while making buildings more valuable to developers and building owners,” said Steven W. Peck, founder and president of Green Roofs for Healthy Cities, an association that supports green roofs and walls across North America.
If legislation is passed, New York would join other major cities that require green rooftops by law, including Toronto, San Francisco, Berlin, London, Paris, Copenhague, Tokyo, Denver and Portland, Oregon.
“We witness transformations every day in the rooftops that we convert to incredible green, productive spaces,” said Anastasia Plakias, founder of Brooklyn Grange, a rooftop located in Greenpoint. “We witness transitions from them being hot, inhospitable environments that a pigeon won't even land on to these incredible supportive landscapes that our migratory and native pollinators can enjoy and that our community can enjoy as well.”
July 19, 2018 - 8:44pm
These Joburg Offices Now Have Farms Inside Them — And Workers Get To Harvest Lunch
Timothy Rangongo, Business Insider SA
Jul 27, 2018
Office farms are gaining traction in SA, with more businesses signing up for veggie gardens.
- One service provider of commercial gardens has installed over 250 business gardens.
- These edible gardens are not only aesthetically pleasing but are saving some establishments money, and reducing employees' stress by exposing them to nature.
Some South African office workers are picking their own herbs and vegetables for lunch, without ever leaving the office.
An organic salad can be quickly put together from lettuce, garlic, tomatoes, cucumber, onion, and bell peppers for instance, and topped with lemon juice — all picked from 'office farms' as the installations are colloquially known.
Vertical gardens in SA offices with hardware and irrigation supplied by Vicinity. (Photos: Vicinity)
Edible business gardens are also taking over office rooftops, balconies and walls.
Urban Harvest, a company that sets up and maintains edible gardens, says it has already created 250 such gardens, and has many more potential customers thinking about urban farms.
Edible business gardens set up by Urban Harvest. (Photo: Urban Harvest)
Vicinity, a company that manufactures the structures for such gardens, confirms the trend.
Most of their installations are corporate-oriented. Vicinity just signed on one of the Radisson's Cape Town hotels to install a rooftop garden with edible plants.
Google South Africa's office has one such small vegetable garden on its rooftop, offering a quiet, environmentally-friendly retreat with various edible plants.
Google South Africa's rooftop garden provides on-site access to fresh herbs and vegetables. (Photos: Timothy Rangongo, Business Insider SA & @MzansiGirl, Twitter)
"A business is seen as more cutting edge and credible if it includes green practices or characteristics, such as offsetting its carbon footprint, in its work," says MD of Urban Harvest, Ben Getz.
Obtaining a favourable green-star rating is also an incentive to install an edible garden, Urban manager Timothy Kachiri tells Business Insider South Africa.
Payroll company Sage's building in the new Menlyn Maine development – which promises "to become Africa's first green city" – sports a 4-star green-star rating and features a functioning vegetable garden on the roof that provides the canteen with fresh herbs and veggies.
Sage VIP's new building in Pretoria sports a large rooftop vegetable garden. (Photos: Menlyn Maine)
Google South Africa also directs its fresh produce in-house restaurant Gogo's Shebeen.
Google SA's cool canteen, Gogo's shebeen, makes use of veggies harvested from their rooftop garden. (Photos: @Karabo_Mokgoko, Twitter)
According to a 2015 Human Spaces report, people who work in environments with natural elements report a 15% higher level of well-being, a 6% higher level of productivity, and a 15% higher level of creativity than those who work in environments devoid of nature.
Hotels and restaurants are also increasingly producing right on site.
The Westin hotel's rooftop garden in Cape Town, installed by Vertical Veg. (Photos: Vertical Veg)
A vegetable garden allows The Westin's chefs in Cape Town access to fresh, organically-grown herbs and vegetables for use in dishes promoted as having a minimal carbon footprint.
Dishes prepared by the Westin's chefs, using edible plants from the hotel's garden. (Photos: Vertical Veg)
Manager of The Culinary Table restaurant in Johannesburg, Warren Tshuma, says its garden is tied to a philosophy of "honest garden-to-table cuisine, made from scratch."
The Culinary Table's large kitchen garden and meals prepared from edible plants harvested from the garden. (Photos: Culinary Table)
The Culinary Table also saves money by sourcing ingredients from its own garden, according to Tshuma.
It takes about three days on average to install a big business garden or one for a small office space. Vertical gardens take about a day and half to erect, says Kachiri.
Developers Concerned By Councillor's Motion To Make Green Roofs Mandatory In Vancouver
Roofs with gardens and greenery on top could become a lot more common in Vancouver if a motion is successfully passed at city hall Tuesday — but developers are concerned that they weren't consulted first.
Developers Concerned By Councillor's Motion To Make Green Roofs Mandatory In Vancouver
Green Party Coun. Adriane Carr says it would help the city cope with increasing rainfall
Micki Cowan · CBC News · Posted: Jul 24, 2018
The green roof on top of the Vancouver Convention Centre is the largest of its kind in Canada. (Denis Dossman/CBC)
Roofs with gardens and greenery on top could become a lot more common in Vancouver if a motion is successfully passed at city hall Tuesday — but developers are concerned that they weren't consulted first.
Coun. Adriane Carr wants to make having a green roof mandatory for new large buildings, including commercial, industrial, institutional and multi-family residential developments. Single-family homes wouldn't be impacted.
Carr said there are a host of reasons behind the motion, the most immediate being coping with excess rainfall in the city.
"People probably around the city have seen the bubbling up of the water from our storm sewer, drains that come out and flood their streets. We have an excess of water and we need to deal with it and green roofs are a great way to do it," she said.
A study from BCIT's centre for architectural ecology found that a green roof reduced rainfall runoff by 28 per cent when averaged between the wet and dry seasons.
The convention centre's green roof helps prevent runoff from entering the city sewers. (Denis Dossman) CBC
Carr said Toronto introduced a similar bylaw and found green roofs reduced the amount of rainwater hitting the streets by about 25 percent because it gets absorbed by the roofs.
That could have cost-saving measures for the City of Vancouver, according to Carr.
"It would reduce our costs a lot, because we're having to replace pipes, and it increases the capacity because primarily we are getting more rain and we are expected, under climate-change predictions, to get even more rain in the future," she said.
Concern from developers
But the Urban Development Institute, which represents 870 members in the development and planning industry, voiced concerns about the proposal.
"As a key city stakeholder, we are extremely disappointed UDI was not consulted in the development of the Mandatory Green Roofs Motion, and that there does not appear to be any plans to engage the industry," the institute said in a press release.
Of particular concern were added construction costs and the potential for conflict with urban design policies for peaked roofs or green objectives like solar panels.
The Vancouver Public Library's $15.5-million revitalization project includes plans for a rooftop garden. (VPL)
Carr said she expected there would be some pushback from developers, but said in the long term, green roofs save on heating and cooling costs and therefore contribute to overall savings.
She said many developers in Vancouver are already choosing to incorporate green spaces on rooftops into their designs, for play space for children, garden space and patio areas.
Green roofs are part of the plan for several major projects in Vancouver, including the redevelopment of the Plaza of Nations and the Oakridge Centre.
The Vancouver Park Board tweeted out this concept image of what the green space at the redeveloped Oakridge Centre could look like.(@ParkBoard/Twitter)
If the motion is passed successfully, staff will be instructed to draft a green roofs policy for council to vote on at a later date.
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Micki Cowan Reporter/producer
Micki is a reporter and producer at CBC Vancouver. Her passions are municipal issues and water security.
Watermelon, Corn Sprout From Broadway In Uptown Urban Farm
A group of Inwood bodega owners has turned a corner of sidewalk into an urban farm, amazing passersby with a bounty of food growing from tiny patches surrounded by concrete.
Watermelon, Corn Sprout From Broadway In Uptown Urban Farm
Owners of a bodega on Sherman Avenue and Broadway have planted beans, corn and even watermelon in neglected tree planters.
By Brendan Krisel, Patch National Staff | July 25, 2018
INWOOD, NY — A tree might grow in Brooklyn, but Uptown there are watermelons, tomato vines, beans and corn.
A group of Inwood bodega owners has turned a corner of the sidewalk into an urban farm, amazing passersby with a bounty of food growing from tiny patches surrounded by concrete.
Owners of the store on the corner of Sherman Avenue and Broadway set up the makeshift farm at the beginning of the summer and plan to donate the produce to their neighbors.
"We did it before in the '90s," bodega owner Al Stell said. "We saw this empty and wanted to do something for the community."
Close to the store, the city had left five planters on the sidewalk but failed to put in trees or flowers. They were just open patches of soil, Stell said.
The urban farmers took them over, dedicating a planter to each type of crop.
They tend to the fruits and vegetables every day, Stell said. They even have people watch over the plants at night to make sure nobody tries to steal them or prematurely harvest the crops.
"It's a lot. It's every day," Stell said. "Somebody took a watermelon which wasn't done yet, I don't understand why they did that."
Most plants are left unprotected, but the bodega owners have installed a makeshift cage around the watermelons. Stell said that the last remaining unused planter might be used to harvest sugar cane.
The bodega owner estimated that some of the plants might be ready to harvest in August.
"We're not going to sell any of the plants," Stell said. "Maybe we'll set up a grill outside the store."
Photos by Brendan Krisel / Patch
Vertical Farming Is A “Viable Solution To Growing Crops” Says Badia Farms Founder
It is the Middle East’s first commercial vertical farm
By CatererME Staff July 29, 2018
The man behind the Middle East’s first commercial vertical farming facility has told Caterer Middle East that the method is a “is a viable solution” to the region’s farming problems.
Badia Farms CEO and founder Omar Al Jundi spoke with us as we visited the innovative farm in the Al Quoz industrial estate in the heart of Dubai, saying: “We are a region that is agriculturally challenged and we cannot grow most of the year. So this is a viable solution to farming and growing crops.”
The method works by growing leafy greens inside a carefully controlled environment on a rack system that allows for multiple crops to be grown side-by-side, including lettuce, mint, basil, and kale.
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Al Jundi explained that “because you’re growing indoors it helps us to control the environment, control the humidity, control the temperature, so we can grow all year round.”
The system uses 90% less water than conventional farming, as it is able to reuse the water not taken in by the plants for nutrients.
Over 70 customers have signed up to receive greens from Badia Farms, said Al Jundi.
“The minute they see the product, the quality, the sustainability aspect of it, they are very intrigued. They try testing the product and they start placing orders,” he explained.
You can see more of the interview with Badia Farms by watching the video below.
You Can Farm Anywhere, Even Inside A Shopping Mall
You Can Farm Anywhere, Even Inside A Shopping Mall
BeGreen, a startup company in Belo Horizonte in Brazil, is producing fresh and organic produce inside the city’s main shopping center.
Giuliano Bittencourt and Pedro Graziano launched BeGreen with the goal of producing sustainable and healthy food for the urban community, while simultaneously reducing the amount of food wasted along the supply chain. The urban farm uses hydroponic methods to grow fresh and organic produce and sells it locally.
Food travels a long distance from farmer to consumer in Brazil, a major inefficiency in their food system. An estimated 80 percent of all agricultural production in Brazil is lost during transportation. Along with this tremendous quantity of wasted edible food, there are additional transportation costs resulting in increased greenhouse gas emissions. BeGreen is a response to these inefficiencies.
Bittencourt was first introduced to this type of urban farm when he visited the Agricultural Technology lab facility of MIT. It was after this visit that he was inspired to start BeGreen, which brings accessible and affordable technology to modernize the Brazilian food chain.
Ricardo Batistic, CTO of BeGreen, explains, “we want to change the general perspective that access to healthy food is only viable in rural areas, we want to impact as many people as we can with our vision and bring the best product we can to the market.”
Using aquaponic methods, the farm produces roughly 40,000-60,000 plants per month. Most of these are greens and microgreens including beet leaves, watercress, parsley, coriander, basil, thyme, sage, arugula, radish, mustard, cabbage, and a diverse range of lettuces.
The fish serve as a natural fertilizer for the farm, and they raise over 500 tilapia per month. There are biofilters, which metabolize the fish’s waste to enrich the water used throughout the whole system. The farm uses 90 percent less water than conventional farming and does not use pesticides, significantly lowering their environmental footprint.
BeGreen sells their produce to approximately 30 restaurants, four retail stores, and directly to visitors of the farm. Sustainability is at the heart of the business model. They keep sales as close to the farm as possible, with the farthest shipment located only 10 kilometers away.
Producing high-quality organic vegetables and minimizing waste are at the core of BeGreen’s mission. They have very strict quality control processes including daily production area checks for diseases, water shortages, leakages, or any other systems issues. They conduct daily pH and water temperature tests, and weekly tests of the macronutrients in the fish water. They are developing a new system to assess the growth conditions of the plants to optimize quality and productivity. BeGreen keeps a robust database tracking the number of seeds that fail to grow and the amount of full-grown produce lost during distribution. Currently, these failures are under 2 percent of their total production.
BeGreen implements additional methods to avoid waste, such as preserving the roots on the plants at the point of sale, which extends their shelf life an additional week. They also donate unsold produce to a charity, Mesa Brasil.
BeGreen is currently seeking to expand their operations and is building their second urban farm in São Paulo. According to Batistic, the company “want[s] to have at least three working urban farms by the end of 2018. We intend to grow at a steady pace to cover as many cities in Brazil as possible, and we are also open to international possibilities if they present themselves.”
Edmond, Oklahoma - Native NBA Player Officially Launches Hydroponic Farm In Edmond
Edmond, Oklahoma Native NBA Player Officially Launches Hydroponic Farm In Edmond
JULY 22, 2018, BY SARAH STEWART
EDMOND, Okla. - This weekend, Edmond native and Utah Jazz Center Ekpe Udoh has officially launched his company, LGR Farms, in Edmond.
Oklahomans attended the Saturday night launch party, getting a hands-on tour, even planting some seeds that will eventually grow into crops.
“It’s been four years in the making,” Udoh said.
It’s a hydroponic farm that literally sits in a shipping container. The crops grow vertically with filtered water and nutrients instead of soil and blue and red LED lights instead of sunlight.
It’s herbicide- and pesticide-free for the leafy greens and herbs grown there. And, the “farmer” can control everything from a phone.
“I can turn on and off the lights with the touch of my phone, and it controls like literally everything,” said LGR Farms Vice President Erica Young. “We have in, our farm, approximately nine to 10 different crops being grown currently. We have four or five lettuces, herbs right now, different leafy greens that we’re growing.”
Udoh hopes his farm can make a difference in inner city communities.
“There’s higher rates of obesity and such in inner city, inner city areas. As you can see just going around, fast food’s on every corner in those neighborhoods, unfortunately. And, this is just something different, you know, be able to get them fresh produce and, then, try to educate them along the way,” Udoh said.
One of Udoh’s goals is to provide food for public schools, especially inner city schools.
“Growing up in Edmond, we had salad bars. I didn’t appreciate it back then, you know, being a knucklehead. But, now, I understand it. With all the pictures that have been going viral, Oklahoma City public schools, just want to give them a choice,” Udoh said.
Udoh plans to expand his Edmond operation and go into other states as well, eventually selling to chefs and grocery stores also.
He also announced he’s partnered with Magic Johnson’s food service company, Sedexo MAGIC, to provide produce to kids in inner city schools. And, he said he’s in talks with Oklahoma City public schools to provide food for them as well.