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 · mental health · psychology

The New Science of Happiness — PsyBlog

Beth Kelley
Many 18th c. treatments for psychological dist...
Image via Wikipedia

This is a field I’ve skirted around in my blog, but now I’m interested in diving in and taking a deeper look at: Positive Psychology.

A new and blossoming field of psychology – positive psychology – has begun to uncover fascinating, evidence-based answers to many questions about happiness. I’ve been sizing up the most recent findings to reveal the emerging science of happiness.

What are the everyday sources of happiness?

Because happiness is something most of us aim for, how we define it has important implications for how we conduct our lives. To see why, compare these two competing definitions of happiness.

Excerpt from the article The New Science of Happiness — PsyBlog.

Many have argued that traditional psychology only explores what makes people sad, but Positive Psychology specifically focuses on what makes us happy. Do you agree/disagree? Leave your thoughts in the comments below.

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anthropology · behavior · culture · health

Americans Falsely Believe Their Diet Is Healthy : Discovery News

Beth Kelley
Macro photograph of a pile of sugar (saccharose)
Magnified sugar crystals. Image via Wikipedia

So much for my New Year’s Resolution “Eat Healthier,”  and good reminder that it’s all relative; although, in my defense, my definition of healthy may be a little more stringent than the average American:

Nine in 10 Americans say their diet is healthy but only a quarter limit the amount of fat or sugar they eat, and two-thirds don’t eat enough fruit and vegetables, a poll published Tuesday found.

“Americans tend to give themselves high marks for healthy eating, but when we asked how many sugary drinks, fatty foods, and fruits and veggies they consumed, we found that their definition of healthy eating was questionable,” said Nancy Metcalf of Consumer Reports Health, which conducted the poll.

Of the 1,234 American adults polled, 89.7 percent said their diet was “somewhat” (52.6 percent), “very” (31.5 percent), or “extremely” healthy (5.6 percent).

more at Americans Falsely Believe Their Diet Is Healthy : Discovery News.

It’s really disturbing just how much credit we give ourselves… we also all tend to consider ourselves “above average” in many categories.

behavior · environment

BBC News – Italy to begin ban on plastic bags in shops

Beth Kelley
Plastic food bags and pouches.
Image via Wikipedia

It’s official: Italians are more eco-friendly than Seattle-ites, at least when it comes to petroleum:

A ban on plastic bags is coming into effect in Italy, which has one of the highest rates of consumption of the bags in Europe.

The ban begins in shops across Italy on 1 January, with only biodegradable, cloth or paper bags to be offered.

Italians use 20 billion plastic bags a year – more than 300 per person.

Supporters of the ban say plastic bags are an environmental hazard which use too much oil to produce and can take decades to break down.

The law for a gradual ban on plastic bags was introduced in 2006.

more via BBC News – Italy to begin ban on plastic bags in shops.

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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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children · creativity · play

Merry Christmas

Beth Kelley

Or better yet, I will let Mila say it for me:

Hyvää joulua, Merry Christmas, God Jul, Boas Festas e Feliz Ano Novo, Joyeux Noel, Froehliche Weihnachten, Mo’adim Lesimkha. Chena tova, Buone Feste Natalizie, Shinnen omedeto. Merii Kurisumasu, Kung His Hsin Nien bing Chu Shen Tan, Sarbatori vesele, Feliz Navidad, Wesolych Swiat Bozego Narodzenia or Boze Narodzenie, Pozdrevlyayu s prazdnikom Rozhdestva is Novim Godom, Buorrit Juovllat, Noeliniz Ve Yeni Yiliniz Kutlu Olsun!

For the past year Mila’s mom Adele has taken photos of her daydreams.  She has called it her maternity leave hobby:

“While my baby is taking her nap, I create scene around her and take quick snap photos. I use only few minutes per picture, including creating idea, implementation and editing, ’cause I don’t want to disturb her sleeping.”

She has used just regular towels and toys to create some amazing photos.

So while visions of sugar plums may dance in your head, you can see what Mila’s been dreaming about all year. Mila’s mom is now branching out to other topics, but Mila still pops in now and again. Stay tuned…

Uncategorized

Happy Winter Solstice!

Beth Kelley

On this, the shortest day of the year in the Northern Hemisphere, many wishes of warmth, sun, and a good new year to come! 🙂

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.