Category: community

community · smell

The Pantry – a community kitchen – to debut in Seattle

Beth Kelley1 Comment

I’m so excited! This is awesome, woot!

You may have noticed how I’ve been really getting into the idea of community cooking and gardening as a way of creating not only better community, and a better environment for human beings to reside in, but also a better environment to live in physically, AND better, healthier food!

I am also a bit of a foodie, and really like how homemade has now also come to mean quality made, at least when it comes to cooking.

With that train of thought, one of my favorite food bloggers, Molly at Orangette, who also just happens to be part owner/operator of a restaurant Delancey in Seattle (where I just happen to currently reside), has announced some of her staff are opening up a community kitchen, called The Pantry at Delancey.

The Pantry is a community kitchen. It’s a space for hands-on cooking classes, family-style dinners, private events, and locally sourced catering. It’s located directly behind Delancey, on Alonzo Avenue NW, with a garden entrance designed by Fresh Digs. (There’s only mud and fence posts right now, but not for long.) There’ll be a 16-foot farm table, a cooking camp for kids in the summertime, and a small retail area stocked with independent food magazines, Weck canning jars, Delancey cookie dough and pizza dough, all our best stuff. Brandi and Olaiya already have a number of classes in development: a pizza-making class with Brandon, butchering and meat-curing with Russ Flint of Rainshadow Meats, a food writing course with Francis Lam, a City Chickens class with the good people of Stokesberry Farm, classes with Olaiya, classes with Brandi, a class or two with me – more than I can easily list here. And eventually, the Pantry will also make a lot of products for Delancey, products that we currently have to source elsewhere, like fresh mozzarella, pepperoni, bacon, pancetta, and salame. The projected opening date is sometime in late spring. Cross your fingers.

more via Orangette: It’s called the Pantry.

Fingers crossed! I can taste the hand-rolled pancetta now!

community · education · emotion · happiness · hugs · mental health · Uncategorized

Yale law students can (maybe?) check out a dog for stress relief

Beth Kelley

For me, it is soooo one of those Fridays where everything is blowing up after a long week and you have a doctor’s appointment that took a month to schedule so you really don’t want to miss it, and the coffee’s worked a little TOO well this morning…

For days like this, I have my dog waiting for me at home (assuming I ever get home); for students away at school, they may not have that option.

There are now rumors circulating about Monty, a border terrier at Yale who is available for some quality time with Yale Law students who really need some good adorable animal therapy. While Yale has officially denied this, unofficially they announced he is available for therapy services.

The myth of Monty—short for “General Montgomery“—first surfaced last fall on the popular blog Above the Law. The border terrier was allegedly in a basket behind the circulation desk, but the school later issued a denial about Monty’s existence. Now New York Magazine’s reporting that Yale students have received a memo saying that, Monty is back and available for checkout.

It sounds like they’ve made Monty fully available to students now:

And, even though Monty is hypoallergenic, “visits will be confined to a dedicated non-public space in the library to eliminate potential adverse reactions from any library user who might have dog-related concerns. Kauffman also says they’ll be looking for student feedback on whether to have therapy dogs available “during stressful periods of the semester, for example during examinations.”

My firs thought? Why don’t they have this instituted in MORE high-stress places like graduate school? I can understand businesses not wanting people to bring their dogs into work, but a fully vetted and therapy-trained dog for as-needed therapy? Brilliant!!!!

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architecture · community · culture · design · environment

Creating a park that meets seattle’s needs

Beth Kelley
Alaskan Way Viaduct from Victor Steinbrueck Park
Image via Wikipedia

From Crosscut:

“This past weekend a small slice of the Alaskan Way Viaduct was bashed to the ground…The absence of the hulking, dirty superstructure with its squat legs immediately makes apparent new possibilities.

One can easily imagine a green promenade extending from the imposing facade of Qwest Field diagonally northwesterly, eventually touching down on an expansive waterfront park, perhaps outfitted with beaches and habitat for marine life. The promenade could be a splendid setting for food carts and festivals, art, and interpretive signs that explain the colorful history of the area previously known as the mud flats. The diminutive and delicate-looking triangle building would be a modest but distinctive landmark — now freed from lying in the shadow of the viaduct.

But still, as one looks along that alignment stretching towards Elliott Bay, the forest of dark gray columns is a dismal reminder of how much there is to be done before we reclaim the waterfront as attractive and accommodating public space.”

More

I’m really excited by the prospects of reclaiming urban spaces for pedestrian use!

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architecture · behavior · children · community · creativity · design · education · environment

Green learning and sustainable knowledge

Beth Kelley

Kids learn the best by what they see and experience, not just what they are told. What better way to teach about environmental and sustainable practices then by demonstrating that at school?! Two projects in the Pacific Northwest are combining creative alternative designs and technologies to create an ideal environment for learning and minimizing impact on the environment.

I always wanted to live in a tree house or a hobbit hole. But going to school in a “living building” would be a pretty close second. From KUOW:

LEED–certified buildings are meant to be environmentally friendly and highly energy efficient. But now, there is a new standard that goes well beyond that. It’s called the “living building” and there are only three of them in the world. In Seattle, one elementary school is building what could be the first living building in the state.

The kids got to offer ideas for the school, and with its grand opening last friday, will hopefully make a splash (it does have it’s own little stream, after all).

In a related project, a school in Poulsbo is putting in Washington State’s fifth largest solar array:

“Next month, Lander, 56, will flip the switch on his first full-size community solar project atop Poulsbo Middle School, the largest of its kind in Washington and the fifth-largest solar system in the state.”

I also love the fact that both of these projects are community-based, in that the kids got to provide input on the school, and the solar panels are also community-driven.

community · creativity · design · happiness

From: DesignSponge » paul price’s signs of affection

Beth Kelley

Just in time to get into the Valentine’s Day mood: enriching signs that spread joy and cheer to everyone, not just your favorite sweety!

Colorful “Signs of Affection” from graphic designer Paul Price. Wandering by one of these on a cold afternoon sure would be a cheerful surprise. I’m hoping Paul’s work somehow makes it over to the gray Brooklyn streets in my area, so I can stumble upon “Your Hair Looks Dashing.” That would totally make any bad day feel like it was taking a turn for the better. Click below to check out more of Paul’s work online.

 

 

more via DesignSponge » Blog Archive » paul price: signs of affection.

community · culture · education · environment · health · Nature

Urban farming in NYC

Beth Kelley2 Comments

Just read about this cool example of urban farming: Eagle Street Rooftop Farm in good ol’ New York City.

From the site:

On the shoreline of the East River and with a sweeping view of the Manhattan skyline, Eagle Street Rooftop Farm is a 6,000 square foot green roof organic vegetable farm located atop a warehouse rooftop in Greenpoint, Brooklyn.During New York City’s growing season, the farmers at Eagle Street Rooftop Farm supply a community supported agriculture (CSA) program, an onsite farm market, and bicycle fresh produce to area restaurants.

In partnership with food education organization Growing Chefs, the rooftop farm hosts a range of farm-based educational and volunteer programs.

 

Eagle Street Rooftop Farm offers educational programming in partnership with Growing Chefs: Food Education from Field to Fork.

 

 

They also offer talks, events (today was their annual pie eating contest!), and other ways to engage with urban farming. If you live anywhere near there, go check it out; it is amazing to see a true working farm in action, and to see it done in an urban environment is really exciting. Although, you might want to wait until the weather isn’t, you know, freezing!, to go visit:

The Farm is a bit windy & chilly this time of year, so we’re waiting ’til spring for visits.  To register for a workshop, contact us Education@RooftopFarms.org.

What a great way to learn about where your food comes from, and it’s healthier and fresher since it doesn’t have to travel as far or receive so many pesticides or preservatives for transport. And apparently these urban farms are now popping up all over the United States; check out some of the links below to read about other city’s urban farms. Eat up!

 

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behavior · community · education · environment · school

Mountain View to offer Ferndale Fries as pilot farm-to-school program – Local News – bellinghamherald.com

Beth Kelley

Where I live is incredibly fertile farmland, with lots of kids having to get up to milk cows, feed chickens, and so on before they catch the bus to school. It’s nice to see that connection to the land follow them into the classroom, and teach their classmates where their food comes from:

Mountain View to offer Ferndale Fries as pilot farm-to-school program – Local News – bellinghamherald.com.

Students at Ferndale’s Mountain View Elementary School will soon be treated to freshly baked potatoes from northwest Washington as part of their school lunch.

On Jan. 27, the french fries and tater tots at the school are being exchanged for locally grown potato wedges, as part of a pilot farm-to-school project.

“This is something that’s good for the students and it’s good for the local farmers,” said Alex Singer, Ferndale School District’s Food Program director. “We have students who may not have ever had french fries that weren’t frozen before.”

behavior · community · environment · health

Sustainable Food – James Gorman on Eating Invasive Species – NYTimes.com

Beth Kelley
Trashwiki.org logo.
A happy Freegan; Image via Wikipedia

Happy New Year! Time for New Year’s resolutions. Mine? To eat more healthy. And apparently so it is for these guys, as well as help the environment. Not to sound like my dad here, but I was doing this before it was cool!:

There’s a new shift in the politics of food, not quite a movement yet, more of an eco-culinary frisson. But it may have staying power; the signs and portents are there. Vegans, freegans, locavores — meet the invasivores.

more via Sustainable Food – James Gorman on Eating Invasive Species – NYTimes.com.

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anthropology · behavior · community · culture · happiness · health · mental health

What Makes People Happy? The Economics of Happiness | The Art of Manliness

Beth Kelley
dad July 26 1936
Image by liberalmind1012 via Flickr

 

A very nice essay about what it takes to be a happy, healthy man, woman, or general human being:

Men have a certain innate restlessness. We’re always looking for a new adventure, wanting to feel like we’re progressing in life, and wondering if the grass might be greener somewhere else.Our ever-searching nature can be a good thing if it’s channeled into pursuits that really lead to greater happiness and satisfaction. But restlessness can also get us terribly off track if we expend our energy journeying down avenues that are really dead ends.

…the key to finding the truly greener pastures is to concentrate on going after the right things-the things that really will make you happier-instead of expending your energy in pursuit of a happiness mirage.

This is where the economics of happiness comes in. Numerous studies have revealed what factors in life are correlated with greater happiness. Now granted, these things correlate to greater happiness; they don’t necessarily cause happiness. But I always say it’s at least worth checking out where the happy people congregate. Below we highlight eight areas of a man’s life that we often associate with increasing or decreasing our happiness and analyze if the grass really is greener in those pastures.

 

Read the best ways to be happy (or unhappy) at What Makes People Happy? The Economics of Happiness | The Art of Manliness.

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community · design · family · health

Granny Pods Keep Elderly Close, At Safe Distance : NPR

Beth Kelley

His idea might seem strange, but “granny pods” are catching on.The granny pods real name is the MEDCottage, and its basically a mini mobile home that rents for about $2,000 a month. You park one in the backyard, hook it up to your water and electricity, and it becomes a free-standing spare room for Grandma and Grandpa.The concept is catching on all over the country, but nowhere more so than Virginia, where the state government has eased zoning restrictions on these high-tech hideaways, which go on the market early next year.The MEDCottage is homey on the outside, with taupe vinyl siding and white trim around French doors. Inside, it looks like a nice hotel suite, complete with kitchen and bathroom — and security cameras.

more via Granny Pods Keep Elderly Close, At Safe Distance : NPR.