‘Growing Place’ Sheds Light on History of Growing Food in Milwaukee

Milwaukee’s past is often seen through the lens of industry and big factories, but “Growing Place: A Visual Study of Urban Farming,” now at MSOE’s Grohmann Museum, shows there were more ways to grow a city. Milwaukee was a frontrunner in gardening dating back to the late 1800s, laying the groundwork for the urban farm visionaries of today.

Guest curators Michael Carriere, assistant professor at MSOE’s Humanities, Social Science and Communications Department, and David Schalliol, assistant professor of sociology and anthropology at St. Olaf College, gathered a collection of photographs, documents, signs, posters and farm tools to tell Milwaukee’s agricultural story. Items were acquired from UW-Milwaukee, Milwaukee Public Library, the Milwaukee County Historical Society and individuals.

“Growing Place” was born out of a broader project Carriere had been involved with, which studied placemaking (a multi-faceted approach to the planning, design, and management of public spaces) following the Great Recession, and how cities try to bounce back from severe financial crisis.

READ THE FULL STORY: https://shepherdexpress.com/food/eat-drink/growing-place-sheds-light-on-history-of-growing-food-in-milw/

Urban Roots celebrating 50th anniversary

East Side youth nonprofit Urban Roots will spend 2019 celebrating its 50th anniversary.

The urban agriculture organization will kick off celebrations with an event at Summit Brewing Company, 910 Montreal Circle in St. Paul, on Wednesday, March 6, from 5:30 to 8 p.m.

The organization has grown substantially over the past half-century, starting with one small garden and expanding to include not only gardening but conservation and wellness to its programming.

Today, Urban Roots has three main programs for high school students: the Market Garden program, where students grow and sell produce; conservation, which involves students working on a number of natural resources projects on the East Side; and Cook Fresh, a healthy eating and wellness program.

With each program, not only are students getting job experience, they’re also learning leadership skills, self-development and about possible future careers, said Patsy Noble, executive director of the organization.

READ MORE: http://www.lillienews.com/articles/2019/02/25/urban-roots-celebrating-50th-anniversary

This Garden Planner makes urban gardening easy

Gardening can seem like a daunting task. When do you plant? What should you plant in your area? How can you effectively grow produce? When you start asking the questions, it may become too overwhelming to tackle. But don’t walk away from the idea of a balcony overflowing with greenery just yet, because the team at The Green Conspiracy understands your angst.

The template allows the user to list what was planted and then chart the plant growth in order to keep a record of problems, timelines, and harvests. The goal is not only to identify problems early but also to produce a record that will provide information for successful subsequent planting seasons. Another section of the planner actually includes a planting calendar, so you can organize when seeds or plants should go into the ground.

LEARN MORE ABOUT THIS: https://inhabitat.com/this-garden-planner-makes-urban-gardening-easy/

SF plans to launch an Urban Agriculture Resource Center for community gardeners

As part of its growing support for urban agriculture, the Recreation and Park Department plans to launch a new garden resource center in the southeast part of San Francisco to provide supplies, plant starters, and advice for community gardeners.

The site would include a fruit tree nursery, orchard space, and space for managed beehives.

Mei Ling Hui, Rec and Park’s program manager of community gardens and urban agriculture, told the Recreation and Parks Commission about the plans for the center Thursday when presenting an annual report on the department’s Urban Agriculture Program.

The center would have demonstration plant beds, a greenhouse to grow plant starts to give away to gardeners and a station for experienced gardeners to give all sorts of gardening advice.

READ THE FULL STORY: http://www.sfexaminer.com/sf-plans-launch-urban-agriculture-resource-center-community-gardeners/

Race on to make urban agriculture viable, durable

In a world faced with the conundrum of mountains of waste and obesity for some and dire shortages and malnutrition for others, the future of food is the main dish on today’s global menu.

A key ingredient is a trend in ever more imaginative forms towards urban agriculture, a multi-faceted recipe already being pored over by some 800 million people globally, according to the UN’s Food and Agriculture Organization.

The trend takes many forms—from collective market gardens in even the most run-down of urban districts to connected vertical farms using indoor farming techniques to meet spiraling food demand in areas largely bereft of arable land.

The FAO wants to see the trend prosper and become durable and sustainably embedded within public policy.

Yves Christol, of French cooperative In Vivo, has identified six models of the genre.

They include a key European variant, electronically managed without recourse to pesticide—or even soil or sunshine.

Read more: https://phys.org/news/2019-02-urban-agriculture-viable-durable.html

An app can help introduce newbies to the garden. But the real rewards are in the dirt.

Some children garden at the knee of their parents or grandparents, and by the time they are young adults and ready to start their own plant adventures, a lot of the horticulture comes naturally.

But such lucky people are thinner on the ground than in previous generations, I suspect, even though there has never been a more urgent time to introduce younger folks to the power of the plant kingdom, given the issues of climate change.

As the naturalist and broadcaster Sir David Attenborough said at the World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland, last week, “The connection between the natural world and the urban world … since the Industrial Revolution has been remote and widening.” Attenborough has spent a 60-year career trying to narrow that gap in television programs that began as a form of entertainment and, in recent years, have become a cry for an ailing planet. “The Garden of Eden,” Attenborough says, “is no more.” He speaks with such affable authority that resistance is futile.

READ MORE AT: https://www.seattletimes.com/explore/nwhomes/an-app-can-help-introduce-newbies-to-the-garden-but-the-real-rewards-are-in-the-dirt/

The battle against bugs: it’s time to end chemical warfare

Insects are important wildlife often overlooked in urban habitats. What we do notice are the cockroaches, ants, and mosquitoes in and around our homes. All too often we reach for the insect spray.

But not all insects are pests – a wide variety of them help keep our cities healthy. They pollinate plants, feed other wildlife, recycle our rubbish, and eat other insect pests. Insects are vital to our well-being.

Unfortunately, like many other wild animals, insects are under threat. A recent study warned that 40% of the world’s insect species face the prospect of extinction, amid threats such as climate change, habitat loss, and humanity’s overenthusiastic use of synthetic chemicals.

Australians use large amounts of pesticides to tackle creepy crawlies in their homes and gardens. But our fondness for fly spray has potentially serious impacts on urban ecosystems and public health.

READ MORE AT: https://phys.org/news/2019-02-bugs-chemical-warfare.html

What are soil contaminants—and how did soil get contaminated?

Newswise — Feb. 18, 2019 – Soil is all around us, in cities and rural areas. But some soil becomes contaminated. The Soil Science Society of America (SSSA) Feb. 15 Soils Matter blog post summarizes common contaminants and the risks they carry.

“The biggest risks for soil contamination are in urban areas, and former industrial sites,” writes Lauren Svejcar, a researcher at Murdoch University. “Common contaminants in urban soils include pesticides, petroleum products, radon, asbestos, lead, chromated copper arsenate, and creosote.”

Svejcar has specific tips for gardeners. “Urban gardens are usually a good idea, but it’s best to know your soil. Many vegetables and herbs can absorb contaminants as they grow. That puts you at risk if you eat them. Also, vegetables and herbs can have dust on them coming from contaminated soil. If not properly washed, you could ingest the contaminants. Some garden beds may also be lined with chemically treated wood. If you did not build your garden beds yourself, it’s best to test your soil because the chemicals can leach into the garden soil.”

READ THE ARTICLE: https://www.newswise.com/articles/what-are-soil-contaminants-and-how-did-soil-get-contaminated

High School Garden Club Helps Students ‘Grow’ Their Skills

LOS ANGELES, CA – Pens and paper are the typical supplies for many high school students, but that is not the case at Arroyo High School in El Monte.

• Students growing their skills in garden club
• Found in part by Eco Urban Gardens
• Helping students learn about agriculture, nutrition

The school is part of a growing program, founded in partnership with a local nonprofit Eco Urban Gardens, meant to help students learn skills in agriculture, environment, and nutrition. Arroyo’s garden club features about 15 students who meet regularly after school to tend to their crops.

“What school wouldn’t have a garden because it honestly promotes healthy living and gives students a place to chill if they’re stressed out,” said senior Oscar Ramos, the president of the club.

READ THE STORY: https://spectrumnews1.com/ca/la-east/education/2019/02/13/gardening-program-grows-at-arroyo-high-school#

7 Innovative Architectural Ideas With World-Changing Potential

Our ancient relatives, Homo heidelbergensis, were constructing shelters at least 400,000 years ago, and architectural innovation has been a defining feature of societies since then, changing to suit the needs and desires of the builders and occupants as they evolved. From energy-efficient designs to community-based spaces, these seven designs could help shape the future.

As the population ages, society is faced with a challenge: How to help people who require special care. The current way that many buildings are designed—and even the way hospitals are set up—makes it difficult for older people to get around and be independent. This is a big problem, because older people are a huge part of the population. As of 2015, there were nearly 50 million people in the United States over the age of 65. By 2030, the Census projects that 20 percent of Americans will be older than 65. “By 2035, there will be 78.0 million people 65 years and older compared to 76.7 million … under the age of 18,” Jonathan Vespa, a demographer with the U.S. Census Bureau, stated in a 2018 press release.

READ THE FULL ARTICLE: http://mentalfloss.com/article/91686/innovative-architectural-designs

Plants ‘talk to’ each other through their roots

Plants use their roots to “listen in” on their neighbors, according to research that adds to evidence that plants have their own unique forms of communication.

The study found that plants in a crowded environment secrete chemicals into the soil that prompt their neighbors to grow more aggressively, presumably to avoid being left in the shade.

“If we have a problem with our neighbors, we can move flat,” said Velemir Ninkovic, an ecologist at the Swedish University of Agricultural Sciences in Uppsala and lead author. “Plants can’t do that. They’ve accepted that and they use signals to avoid competing situations and to prepare for future competition.”

READ THE FULL ARTICLE: https://www.theguardian.com/science/2018/may/02/plants-talk-to-each-other-through-their-roots?fbclid=IwAR1UZqFg_Du0XYlvKIYqUq0DZyfO7sYMrh8dE_WIE7a4YiDdlXJgzVPGsas

After Years of Planning Santa Clara’s Urban Farm ‘Agrihood’ is Set to Break Ground by 2020

One of Santa Clara’s biggest and most unique affordable housing projects in the pipeline promises to offer a blend of urban living and farm life.

The City Council last week granted final approvals to a housing project on a six-acre plot of land across the street from Westfield Valley Fair mall. The project, known as the “Agrihood,” will to provide 361 new homes, 181 of which will be below market rate. Of these 181 homes, 160 will be set aside for low-income seniors. The project will additionally feature a 1.7-acre urban farm and community retail and open space.

The Agrihood, which is on track to break ground by next year, consists of a partnership among real estate firm The Core Companies, the nonprofit California Native Garden Foundation and the city of Santa Clara. But it came to fruition in no small part because of its biggest champion, local business owner and activist Kirk Vartan.

“We wanted to make a vibrant place,” Vartan said. “Somewhere where people can engage. A place to go for people to unwind, meander, walkable and be human.”

READ THE FULL ARTICLE: http://www.sanjoseinside.com/2019/02/07/after-years-of-planning-santa-claras-urban-farm-agrihood-is-set-to-break-ground-by-2020/

Will The Generation That Wants To Change Agriculture Show Up To Work?

What is interesting about this younger generation, who are stereotypically labeled as harsh critics of our current food production system, is that on the surface most only seem to want to voice their dissatisfaction vicariously. It is easy and safe to go after genetically modified apples and Roundup in your Cheerios via your Facebook and Twitter accounts. What is becoming increasingly apparent is that there is a much, much lower percentage of this next generation that actually wants to “get their hands dirty” when it comes to becoming a part of the solution to the problem that they are essentially creating.

How bad is that problem?  Well according to a 2016 National Science Foundation survey, the percentage of adults who now find GMOs dangerous was at a staggering 79 percent. That is up dramatically from numbers from similar surveys taken in the previous years of 2010 and 2000.  Want more proof? A study last year by the International Food Information Council concluded that six in 10 consumers tagged food sustainability as important to them. The better question may be, do consumers really know what sustainability even means?

For something that is so dangerous and so important you would think there would be more bodies and minds actually flocking to the industry of agriculture to “transform” it more to their liking. Right now, the numbers are showing that not to be the case. In 2016, an industry study by food and agriculture conglomerate Land O’Lakes found that only 3 percent of college graduates and 9 percent of millennials have or would consider a career in agriculture. Such numbers, if true should not just be concerning but instead alarming. If according to recent statistics it takes 15 percent of the American workforce to produce, process and sell our nation’s food and fiber, then Houston we have a problem. A math problem.

READ THE FULL STORY: https://www.agweb.com/article/will-the-generation-that-wants-to-change-agriculture-show-up-to-work/

On rooftops and in tunnels, city farms lead food revolution

Only the Northern line tube trains rumbling through tunnels overhead provide any clue that Growing Underground is not a standard farm.

The rows of fennel, purple radish and wasabi shoots could be in almost any polytunnel, but these plants are 100 feet below Clapham High Street and show that urban agriculture is, in some cases at least, not a fad.

The underground farm has occupied a section of the second world war air-raid shelters for nearly five years, and Richard Ballard, one of the founders, is planning to expand into the rest of the space later this year.

“The UK is the hardest market for growing salad,” he said. “We’ve got very low prices in the supermarket, so if we can make it work here we can make it work anywhere.”

READ THE FULL STORY: https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2019/feb/10/urban-farming-feeding-cities-of-the-future

Urban agriculture gives Paris space to breathe

Green walls, rooftop gardens, and urban farms are aiming to bring nature back into central Paris as the city looks to improve its air quality and create a more sustainable future.  

In the last few decades, manmade surfaces have taken over green space, leading to urban heat islands and more pollution in the air. It’s left Paris, like many other big cities, with higher urban temperatures and a greater risk of flooding as rain can no longer be absorbed into the ground.

To counter these issues, local authorities are increasingly looking to incorporate more greenery into both old and new buildings as well as developing public parks and gardens.

READ THE FULL STORY: https://www.jllrealviews.com/places/emea/france/urban-agriculture-gives-paris-breathing-space/

A Farm and Restaurant Program that Helps Foster Kids Succeed

By the time Will Nash got to the Hart Community Homes (HCH) in Fullerton, California, he’d temporarily lived—and lost placement—in 19 foster and four group homes. Dealing with intense feelings of abandonment and anger in ways that caused those into whose care he’d been placed to label him “troublesome,” he was bounced from house to house. “You’re told you’re loved,” he says. “Then you get kicked out and you’re like, ‘Wait, I thought you loved me.’”

But at HCH, Nash landed among 11 other similarly hard-to-place boys aged 13 to 18, the older of whom—those eligible to work outside the house—were granted an opportunity rare among foster kids: after-school afternoons and weekends spent on a farm at nearby California State University, Fullerton (CSUF), tending crops alongside college students, faculty, and retired volunteers. It was a welcome new world of hands-on learning, camaraderie, and tentative belonging.

READ THE FULL STORY: https://civileats.com/2019/01/15/a-farm-and-restaurant-program-that-helps-foster-kids-succeed/?fbclid=IwAR3gT2NdZ2C_gZeEInVF0xZOOZYWdXqkKSlOvZ5_gIW1JZ-R4AB_zdLfCUk

How a low-income Louisville neighborhood became a fresh food oasis

In Louisville’s Hazelwood neighborhood, where a third of the residents live in poverty, an urban farm has grown from the site of a former low-income housing complex.

It took two years for community members to remove truckloads of concrete from the 14 acres where the farm now resides. But come spring, the farm will produce crops that the nonprofit Food Literacy Project can use to teach youth leadership skills and engage with residents who want to reconnect with the land.

The farm has become central to a communitywide movement to improve food access within the Hazelwood and Iroquois neighborhoods, located in southern Jefferson County.

SEE THE REST OF THE ARTICLE: https://www.courier-journal.com

We Need to Prioritize Urban Farming in City Planning

Last November, I stood on the stage of the Meeting of the Minds Summit in Sacramento, sandwiched between a panel led by energetic Stockton Mayor Michael Tubbs and his vision for economic prosperity, and a talk on the future of autonomous delivery vehicles. My talk? To encourage city planners, developers and urban architects to bring agriculture back to cities and urban spaces, and what this addition can do for the future of their communities’ resiliency, job creation, healthy citizens and carbon footprint.

Stay with me here. I know, agriculture is not “the new wave.” It’s not even close. I mean, we’re talking something that started about 10,000 years ago when eight of the Neolithic founder crops, like emmer wheat, hulled barley, lentils, and chickpeas, were first cultivated. Fast forward to the late 1800s in the Sacramento Valley, when Yolo County was the largest producer of wheat in the entire United States.

READ THE ARTICLE AT: https://www.comstocksmag.com/article/we-need-prioritize-urban-farming-city-planning