The Evergreen Cooperative Opens Largest Greenhouse in Urban Core Area in U.S.

It's been too long since I posted in this blog.  I've been busy teaching, grant writing, and working on my Foodshed to Watershed Environmental Education Curriculum, as part of my Together Green Fellowship through National Audubon Society.

As part of this fellowship, I've been monitoring and researching the development of urban agriculture.  The Evergreen Cooperative is actually an organization that I discovered last year through the New Economics Institute Conference I attended at Bard College in New York's Hudson River Valley.

The Evergreen Cooperative was formed to help create viable, environmentally sustainable member-owned businesses in Cleveland's urban core area - where unemployment in this mostly low-income minority community has been extremely high for years.  Like many urban cities in the Northeast and the Midwest 'Rust Belt', these low-income neighborhoods surround Cleveland's downtown urban center which is home to numerous institutions including an art museum, hospital and several universities.

In an effort to address the growing income disparity between the wealth of these institutions and the surrounding neighborhoods, a group of local nonprofits, businesses and local government leaders came together to find a way for these 'anchor institutions' to work together with the community to remedy the lack of jobs and income in the neighborhoods immediately surrounding these very wealthy institutions.

The group focused on identifying the key services these institutions utilized, such as laundry services, printing, and food - and then through creative investment - funded the startup of member-owned businesses that will provide these services.  Many of these institutions were utilizing 'local' businesses, but still, many of these businesses were located 30-40 miles away.  The group argued that a more truly environmentally sustainable business model would be to create member-owned businesses right there in the surrounding neighborhoods where you had a ready and willing workforce in need of jobs.  After a lot of trial and error, the Evergreen Cooperative has been a big success.

To date the Evergreen Cooperative has started a number of major businesses including Evergreen Laundry Services, Evergreen Energy Soluations, a solar PV panel design and installation company, and most recently, Green City Growers, the largest urban greenhouse in an urban core area.

Here is a video of some of the employees talking about the urban greenhouse.  I just love this concept of developing 'sustainable' businesses which meet our communities' basic needs.  I'm looking forward to visiting Cleveland later this year, and will report back after.  Until then - enjoy!

And here's a news clip about the opening of Green City Growers in Cleveland.

Still time to vote..Vote Smart

There's still a little time to vote, and I hope any readers here in the U.S. exercised your right - which for many of us, we wouldn't have the right if it weren't for the efforts of many many people who came before us, advocating for that right.

So, this blog is mostly off the topic of green, and, represents solely the opinions of this writer and not of any other affiliated organization.

In addition to exercising your right to vote, I also encourage you to consider a few things, which have mostly influenced me in my decision on which circle to fill in this morning on my ballot.

1) Need for a new Green Economy: Governor Romney, in his debate with President Obama accused the President of giving his business friends billions of dollars in 'Green Pork' - meaning, solar panel manufacturing firms, and other green energy firms.  In my opinion - I would much rather have the President give money to go toward creating a more environmentally sustainable and resilient economy and infrastructure than continuing to give millions in tax benefits to big oil companies or offshore manufacturing. 

Still, it's really time we embraced shifting to a new 'green' economy.  The Governor's statement shows no indication he supports such a move.

2)  Lets Not Turn Back the Clock on Women's Rights: Lots of people have shown that Vice Presidential Candidate Paul Ryan has voted repeatedly to weaken a women's right to choose. Here's my feeling on it -- as a Woman, I want to be the one to choose what I do with my body. I'm okay with some limitations for health reasons.  Still, whether it's a sin is between me and my God, not for a man to decide (and lets all agree, a majority of our Congressional representatives are still men). 

It's time women like me, and others, who have benefitted so much from the efforts of so many women and men before me, spoke up, and said We Won't Turn Back the Clock on a Women's Right To Choose.  To me, today's vote was that simple.

3) Who Represents the Majority: In my opinion, a look at the difference in the crowds at the Republican National Convention (mostly all white, with a small mix of black and hispanic), and the Democratic National Convention (a beautiful sea of diversity), show clearly who these parties represent.  I want a leader who represents the diversity of this country, and from a party that truly represents the diversity of people in this country.

I don't usually take such a strong stand, but as we head to polls closing and lots of reporting, I hope you, the reader, took the time to vote, and considered some of these elements when you voted.

To a peaceful, happy, healthy, country and election results!
Amy

TogetherGreen Fellowship

As a writer, I am much more accustomed to writing about and seeing in print articles about other people and things.  Thus, I'm not much of a self-promoter.  Still, since the press release went out and the Saratogian and a few other media outlets picked up the story, I do have to share about my recent TogetherGreen Fellowship award from National Audubon Society's TogetherGreen Conservation Leadership Program, funded through a grant from Toyota.

The TogetherGreen award is a competitive fellowship program for Conservation Leaders, to cultivate further leadership through community-based conservation action project.  In May, I was notified that I had been selected for the $10,000 fellowship to develop a 'Foodshed to Watershed' Environmental Education Program for urban youth working on an existing urban farm in downtown Troy. 

The farm is part of a jobs training program called The Produce Project, for urban youth from Troy High School.  The idea of the Produce Project, is to use urban agriculture to provide essential job and life skills to the youth.  The students participate in all aspects of the farm, from planting to harvesting, to selling at the Delmar Farmer's Market and several other area chefs and restaurants.

The goal of the Produce Project was also to provide hands on math and science skills building.  That's where my project comes in.  I'm planning to develop a year-long curriculum which connects the students to what they are doing on the farm, to the larger urban landscape and Hudson River Watershed, of which Troy is very much a part of.

The project will culimate in a stream cleanup along one of the creeks which runs through Troy.  The Poestenkill and Wyantskill Creeks both run through Troy, and both have active fisheries.  The curriculum I develop will involve some hands-on Citizen Science Projects such as amphibian monitoring at the farm, backyard bird count, and preliminary monitoring for the American Eel, part of the NYS DEC's Hudson River Estuary American Eel Monitoring Program.

The project is a really wonderful opportunity for the students working on the farm to connect to the local natural places right in their own backyard, and through various exercises, explore their own cultural and historical connections to place.

Above is a photo of all of the 2012 Awardees, at a 5-day conference and training we attended at Aullwood Nature Center in Dayton, OH in late May. 

A big Thanks to National Audubon Society and Toyota for their support, and to Capital District Community Gardens, where I also work part-time as a grant writer.  CDCG is one of the oldest community garden organizations in the country, and actively works to nourish healthy communities by increasing access to fresh food through community gardening, the Produce Project, Veggie Mobile and Healthy Convenience Store Initiative.  For more info go to their webiste at www.cdcg.org.

Thanks to the Saratogian for their coverage of the project, and all their past coverage of Sustainable Saratoga and the many other great things happening in the Saratoga Community.  It's a great local media resource. 
For more info on TogetherGreen - here's the link to my project: http://www.togethergreen.org/fellows/fellow/amy-stock

On Food Systems: FAO calls for less dependence on fossil fuels and more...

As many of you know, I'm a strong advocate for strengthening our local and regional food systems.  Having a diversified food production system is, in my opinion, essential for local and regional food security.


Below are three articles I am passing along.
1) The first, about the rise in food prices, should be sort of obvious for anyone responsible for grocery shopping.  If you haven't noticed an increase in food prices or other items over the past few months, you are fortunate.  Global food prices on the rise again, says World Bank


2) This second article, discusses a report just released by the United Nations Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO), calling for less dependence on fossil fuels to increase food production.  This report and article is heartening, as anyone who has taught anything about sustainable agriculture knows we DO have the technology and methods to grow food more sustainably and using less fossil fuel.


FAO calls for less dependence on fossil fuels to increase food production


The report suggests using such techniques as improving water use so as to ensure less water is wasted (like watering at night or during the cooler parts of the day), as well as reducing, recycling and streamlining waste.  I would also suggest we consider the current 'scale' of agriculture, and think more in terms of integrating agriculture into our urban and suburban environments (at least here in the U.S.)


3) The third article discusses a report from global scientists with policy recommendations for global food security in the foreseeable future.
Global scientists serve up food security policy recommendations


One of their recommendations which stands out for me is to 'significantly raise the level of global investment in sustainable agriculture and food systems.'  Again, for me, this goes back to my own thoughts that every region in this country has the opportunity to improve and enhance their regional food systems, and that these can be viable business and market opportunities.


In New York State, Governor Cuomo last year called for the development of new regional economic development plans.  I am glad to see in the Capital Region's Regional Economic Development Strategic Plan an emphasis on building regional agriculture and valuing "local" food.  I personally would like to see more of this happening, again, not just in the rural areas but also urban and surburban.  Whether its smaller scale farms or small-scale food production/processing businesses - opportunities abound!


Photos by Amy L. Stock (top: Homegrown produce; bottom: Maine farm field in winter)

NYC Rooftop Greenhouse

Life seems to be packed with work and projects these next few weeks. So, I'm going to keep posting by re-posting information I find.

This one follows my theme of 'Can NYC truly be environmentally sustainable?' Below is a link to a story that covers plans for a major rooftop greenhouse on the roof of an old Navy Warehouse in Sunset Park in Brooklyn. Plans are to produce a million pounds of produce per year using hydroponics (water).

If the average American consumes somewhere between 350-791 lbs of fruits and vegetables per year, this greenhouse could provide fresh produce for anywhere between 2,857 and 1,264 individuals. (Note: trying to find good #'s on average fruit and vegetable consumption proved time intensive, but these are numbers I found on the low and high end)

Here's a link to the full article.

http://www.nytimes.com/2012/04/06/nyregion/rooftop-greenhouse-will-boost-city-farming.html?_r=1

Enjoy!

(image from online article, Eric Michael Johnson for the NY Times)

Climate Change Awareness: Join Earth Hour 2012 - Sat March 31, 8:30pm

Launched in 2007 in Australia, Earth Hour was a public response to highlight the need to take action on countering climate change by reducing energy useage and energy emissions. Now an international 'day of action', you too can sign up to turnoff your lights for one hour on Saturday, March 31st from 8:30-9:30pm.

Go to the Earth Hour website to sign up.

More than 5,200 cities and towns in 135 countries worldwide switched off their lights for Earth Hour 2011, sending a powerful message for action on climate change. It also ushered in a new era with members going Beyond the Hour to commit to lasting action for the planet. Without a doubt, it’s shown how great things can be achieved when people come together for a common cause.

Though I personally believe we each need to take personal responsibility for our impact on this earth, and reduce our energy useage daily. I do believe these kind of actions really help highlight the importance of long term change.

Enjoy the lights out!

Can NYC truly be self-sustaining?

Can New York City, a city of 8 million people, Be Environmentally Self-Sustaining?

This is a question I've been thinking and pondering for a while, especially since last summer when I was researching some census data for a grant and was reminded again just how large of a population resides in this city - 8 million (this includes the boroughs.) Then, in the fall of 2011 I made several trips down to NYC, and each time, as I rode the train down and back up, I found myself pondering 'what would it look like for this city to be truly sustainable?'

Earlier this year I spent some time in the NYC watershed in the Catskills, and got an even greater sense of the vast resources dedicated just to provide this city of 8 million people with clean water. In essence, the NYC watershed begins up in the Schoharie Valley, at the Gilboa Dam, and then it's all down hill from there. More on this in another post. But lets just say, I never before quite understood how many acres of public land were off-limits to human activity just to help keep the water clean. It's fascinating. So, I've been wanting to write a series of blogs on what it would really look like and take for this city to be self-sustaining.

Then today I came across this article: Building the Self-Sufficient City: NYC Covered in Green, posted by SustainableBusiness.com News
An architect has been working for years on a design to 'green' NYC. It's truly in part the vision I had in mind. People growing food on patios and vacant lots; more bicycle paths, individual solar panels and water retention systems on roofs. I think for a city the size of NYC to become more truly self-sustaining, it will require this kind of relocalized effort.

I have attended several sustainable agriculture related conferences the past year, and always find it interesting when researchers studying the 'food shed' needed to feed NYC includes much of upstate NY, NJ, PA. Here's an architect designing a much more self-reliant city of 8 million. Check out the article here and Enjoy......

Building the Self-Sufficient City: NYC Covered in Green, re-posted from SustainableBusiness.com News