Rooftop Farm in New York City Grows 50,000 Pounds of Organic Produce Per Year

Geoff Lawton demonstrates how a wheel-barrow can have more than one use. Photo credit: The Permaculture Research Institute

January 4, 2014, ecowatch.com | “Sitting on a concrete roof, totaling 2.5 acres and producing more than 50,000 pounds of organically-grown vegetables each year, you need to walk its length to appreciate how vast this rooftop garden truly is in scale.”

High yield 2.5 acre rooftop garden in Brooklyn, more like this please everyone http://ecowatch.com/2014/01/04/rooftop-farm-new-york-city-organic-produce/
Rooftop Farm in New York City Grows 50,000 Pounds of Organic Produce Per Year | EcoWatch
ecowatch.com
By Ecofilms“That view behind me is not a painted backdrop!” said Geoff Lawton to the camera. But the view looked great from where I was standing. Brooklyn Grange is a rooftop farm with a magnificent view looking over the Manhattan skyline.Sitting on a concrete roof, totaling 2.5 acres and producing…
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PROFILE: Siskiyou Regional Education Project staff in 1997

PROFILE: Siskiyou Regional Education Project staff in 1997
These folks helped save millions of acres of forests throughout the Pacific Northwest.
Throwback Thursday! Siskiyou Project staff circa 1997. KS Wild joined with the Siskiyou Project in 2011.
Photo: Throwback Thursday! Siskiyou Project staff circa 1997. KS Wild joined with the Siskiyou Project in 2011.
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A New Agricultural Revolution Takes Root in El Salvador

 

October 21, 2013, www.care2.com | “El Salvador in the past wholly embraced the concepts of the “green revolution,” importing huge quantities of chemical fertilizers and pesticides and converting thousands of acres to monocultures of cash crops like cotton and sugarcane.  Two days into a trip I led with my project SEE Turtles to explore El Salvador’s culture and nature with EcoViva, a US-based development organization, our group of residents from Portland, Ore., and Evergreen University students took a short bus ride to a local farm for a volunteer work project. We had heard from EcoViva fellow Aaron Voit that agriculture was a major area of focus of local organizations, and here was our chance to get our hands dirty.”

A New Agricultural Revolution Takes Root in El Salvador
www.care2.com
Local communities are changing El Salvador’s agricultural system from one based on chemicals to organic and sustainable methods

Vandana Shiva meets and honours women seed keepers in Vidarbha

Photo: 2nd October - Being greeted by Bhilli women's group, Vidharba, IndiaVandana Shiva meets and honours women seed keepers in Vidarbha, India at the start of the Seed & Food Freedom Fortnight: http://bit.ly/SF2-16Oct13In India, the introduction of GMO Bt cotton seed has increased seed costs by 8000%, locking farmers into debt and pushing them to suicide. More than 270,000 Indian farmers have committed suicide due to debt created by the high cost seeds and chemicals with most suicides concentrated in the cotton belt of Vidarbha. Dr Shiva's organisation, Navdanya, has responded to this tragedy by helping women and farmers in Vidarbha become organic seed keepers. www.navdanya.org

www.navdanya.org | “Navdanya means “nine seeds” (symbolizing protection of biological and cultural diversity) and also the “new gift” (for seed as commons, based on the right to save and share seeds In today’s context of biological and ecological destruction, seed savers are the true givers of seed. This gift or “dana” of Navadhanyas (nine seeds) is the ultimate gift – it is a gift of life, of heritage and continuity. Conserving seed is conserving biodiversity, conserving knowledge of the seed and its utilization, conserving culture, conserving sustainability. Navdanya is a network of seed keepers and organic producers spread across 17 states in India.”

2nd October – Being greeted by Bhilli women’s group, Vidharba, India
Vandana Shiva meets and honours women seed keepers in Vidarbha, India at the start of the Seed & Food Freedom Fortnight: http://bit.ly/SF2-16Oct13
In India, the introduction of GMO Bt cotton seed has increased seed costs by 8000%, locking farmers into debt and pushing them to suicide. More than 270,000 Indian farmers have committed suicide due to debt created by the high cost seeds and chemicals with most suicides concentrated in the cotton belt of Vidarbha. Dr Shiva’s organisation, Navdanya, has responded to this tragedy by helping women and farmers in Vidarbha become organic seed keepers. www.navdanya.org

Elementary Students help salmon

An inspiring update from our colleagues at Sanctuary Forest. Their good news is good news for salmon!
Students hold signs in front of the completed tank installation project at Whitethorn Elementary School–which is the newest participant of the Sanctuary Forest tanks and forbearance program. When asked what kind of fish we have in the Mattole, the children answered with a resounding “SALMON!”
Photo: Students hold signs in front of the completed tank installation project at Whitethorn Elementary School--which is the newest participant of the Sanctuary Forest tanks and forbearance program. When asked what kind of fish we have in the Mattole, the children answered with a resounding "SALMON!"
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4 Playgrounds With Good, Clean Energy Fun (For Grown-ups, Too)

4 Playgrounds With Good, Clean Energy Fun (For Grown-ups, Too)

October 6, 2013, www.care2.com | “In the belief that there’s no better way to teach kids about clean energy than by using it to power their schools, more and more school districts are investing in solar panels and other renewable energy sources. Some inventors have gone a step further and figured out how to turn kids’ play — all that energy expended on the playground — into a renewable energy source.”

ELECTRICITY FROM MERRY-GO-ROUNDS!
4 Playgrounds With Good, Clean Energy Fun (For Grown-ups, Too)
www.care2.com
What better way to teach kids about clean energy than by using it to power their schools and to help them study?
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Women Connect to Boost Resilience of Planet

September 27, 2013, newswatch.nationalgeographic.com | “It was that moment on stage when Jane Goodall turned to Vandana Shiva and said, ‘We should start working together,’ and without a beat Vandana replied, ‘Yes, let’s!’ Watching two legends of the environmental movement linking up before my eyes was more evidence of a wider phenomenon I am increasingly witnessing around the world, and that was ever present at this week’s International Women’s Earth and Climate Summit.”

Illia Heart shared a linkWomen Connect to Boost Resilience of Planetewswatch.nationalgeographic.com

By Jensine Larsen Women everywhere are claiming power and linking networks to restore the Earth and address climate change. They are harnessing digital media and in-person convenings to accelerate …

Hi Hoe Produce at Bluebird Farm

 

Photo: A field in SeptemberHi Hoe Produce at Bluebird Farm, Williams, Oregon http://www.ashlandfood.coop/growers/hi-hoe-produce-bluebird-farm

www.ashlandfood.coop | “The crops at Bluebird Farm aren’t just a feast for the table – they’re also a feast for the eyes!  Listening to Chi Scherer talk at an Ashland Food Co-op sponsored farm tour of his farm can be a mystical experience. “Plants are the skin of the earth,” he observes, explaining further that when you turn soil, “you’ve created a wound.” To heal that wound, you plant either a cover crop or a production crop. On his farm harvest isn’t over until the ground has been seeded with a cover crop. It’s a cycle of giving, and receiving, and giving back.”

 

A field in September
Hi Hoe Produce at Bluebird Farm, Williams, Oregon
http://www.ashlandfood.coop/growers/hi-hoe-produce-bluebird-farm
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How gardening lessons impact positively on school kids

September 2, 2013, www.theecologist.org | “Growing food in schools looks set to become part of the curriculum starting from September 2014, furthering the positive impacts of those very successful initiatives already working to promote gardening and ‘grow your own’ schemes in schools nationwide.”

GoodNews FortheEarth shared a link.

“Children and the Environment: Increased Gardening Programs Help School Kids
www.theecologist.org
Pending reforms to the UK’s school curriculum mean that from September 2014, pupils aged 7-14 can expect to learn gardening skills. Camilla Scaramanga takes a look at some of the initiatives that are already taking the lead…”
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Greenpeace Petition to Save the Arctic

Photo: GREAT NEWS! Leading the way, Finland has become the first Arctic country to back the call for a global sanctuary around the North Pole!Join our movement of 3.7 million people worldwide to help us win this: www.savethearctic.org/?fbgpifinland

www.savethearctic.org | “The melting Arctic is under threat from oil drilling, industrial fishing and conflict. You can Save The Arctic by signing this petition.”

Finland is leading the way! ♥
GREAT NEWS! Leading the way, Finland has become the first Arctic country to back the call for a global sanctuary around the North Pole!
Join our movement of 3.7 million people worldwide to help us win this: www.savethearctic.org/?fbgpifinland
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