Judy Alexander in Port Townsend, Washington (a city of 9,000 people about 40 miles north of Seattle) talks about how and what she’s been growing and gives us a tour. I found the rainwater/rain barrel irrigation system she and her brother rigged really interesting.
That video was for me a little like visiting Mars. This next video highlights what Copenhagen did to get to a state where so many people are transporting their stuff and themselves on bikes.
Joanne in Northeast Seattle (she gets some help from the community) converts her front lawn into a food-growing garden. She talks about and shows us the various steps in the process.
“Short piece from CNN featuring bicycle trucking company and delivery service, New Amsterdam Project”
“Bryon Waibel runs what he believes is the world’s only urban beekeeping store [in San Francisco]. It’s called Her Majesty’s Secret Beekeeper and Waibel, who uses the handle 006, does seem to believe that he/ the store/ urban beekeepers are serving a cause.”
“Milwaukee’s Growing Power, a community-based urban food center, is using plants as natural water filters for raising yellow perch. Fred Binkowski, an aquaculture specialist with the University of Wisconsin Sea Grant Institute, provides technical advice on the experimental effort.”
“Aquaculture (i.e. aquatic plants and animals) is North America’s third largest import, only following automobiles and fuel. However, we have managed to overfish our environment beyond repair. Overfishing poses an enormous threat to our oceanic ecosystems. Enter urban aquaculture, or more simply put: fish farming in the city.
Because urban aquaculture raises their fish rather than collecting them in mass quantities from their natural habitat, it provides an opportunity for fish levels and ecosystems to return to a healthier state.
Professor Martin Schreibman, distinguished Professor Emeritus of Biology at Brooklyn College, has developed a state-of-the-art, sustainable urban aquaculture facility. His aquaculture utilizes a water re-use system. Fish waste is filtered out and is used as a plant fertilizer, so ultimately, he is self-sustainably harvesting 2 types of crop — fish and plants.”
An intro to several motivated farmers who farm in Vancouver, Canada – their motivations, the rewards and the impact they hope it will have for their community.
Meet your Urban Farmer (trailer) from Fire and Light Media Group on Vimeo.
This video looks at the decline of West Oakland, California and how the community has started to bounce back in part through community and backyard gardening initiatives. The video looks specifically at the work that non-profit City Slicker Farms has been doing in the community.
Urban farmer and author (Farm City:The Education of an Urban Farmer and The Essential Urban Farmer), Novella Carpenter talks about urban agriculture and shows us around her reclaimed-from-vacant-lot farm in the “Ghost Town” neighborhood in Oakland, California. She grows vegetables and raised poultry, rabbits, goats, bees and at one time pigs in a relatively small space.
Stuff she touches on in the interview: Raised beds, apiculture, livestock farming, dumpster diving for animal feed, community gardens, food deserts, slaughtering, most productive vegetable, how growing your own food can save money, lead contaminated soil, soil testing, urban predators, seed starting, starting small, books she uses for reference, the power of online how-to videos…
Novella Carpenter blogs at http://ghosttownfarm.wordpress.com/
Warning: Some of the graphics around animal slaughter and Novella’s stories about her pig’s eating habits and her confrontation with an opposum may be too much for some.
The Real Know How 