Inside Urban Green

PS 102 SIPs Are Home For The Summer Recess

Bob Patterson of The Growing Connection (TGC) conducting an EarthBox workshop for parents and teachers of PS102.

Thanks to The Growing Connection (TGC) (part of the UN Food and Agriculture Organization - FAO) and the Center for Urban Greenscaping (CuGreen) there are 25 sub-irrigated planters (EarthBoxes and utility bucket SIPs) helping to grow some fresh food for local Brooklynites this summer. In the process, they are demonstrating the superior productivity, ease of use and water conserving benefits of SIPs.

The SIPs home base is the PS 102 garden but due to limited access over the summer recess, it is not the best place to be. That is why the SIPs are growing fresh vegetables at the homes of parents and teachers over the summer.

Children who live at these homes will know more about modern urban gardening methods by the end of summer than most adults. The sad commentary is that there is no New York educational institution teaching about the subject. In my view, there are people who should be reprimanded or even lose jobs over this social injustice.

As any reader of this blog can easily discover, sub-irrigated planter systems are a successful reality of urban food production across the country. Our educational system seems to be either not tuned in or there are people who are practicing obstructionism for some reason known only to them

The Brooklyn Eagle published an article about the PS 102 garden recently.

via www.brooklyneagle.com

Help From ‘CuGreen’ Founder

Local neighborhood resident and gardening landscaper (edit urban greenscaper) Bob Hyland has been immensely helpful, said Sheri. “The Center for Urban Greenscaping (CuGreen) that I founded last year was instrumental in helping make this a modern garden with the donation of a sub-irrigated planters (SIP) system and significant pro-bono consulting help,” explained Hyland.

Earthbox Kids Learning About Good Nutrition And Food Security

Growing Food Security in Alberta (GFSA) is a Canadian non-profit organization working to increase the availability of fresh food and thereby improve food security.

GFSA experienced the benefits of sub-irrigated planters (SIPs) through  a project known as EarthBox Kids and blogged about it.

I do not know of a better way to teach and encourage good nutrition and food security.

In my view, food security starts with each of knowing how to produce at least some of our own food. We should learn this at an early age. All kids should be given the knowledge of modern SIP systems. A good motto for parents and teachers is "give a kid a SIP". It is a gift that will last a lifetime.

via gfsa.wordpress.com

Could a simple planter box change the way kids think about food? Based on what I’ve seen and heard so far, yes. Since implementing a project known as Earthbox Kids in a local Fort Vermilion school, I am certain that these lucky children will have a new perspective on food and it’s origins.

Woolly Pocket Vertical School Gardens

Woolly School Garden from Drew Falkman on Vimeo.

I must admit that this is a school garden idea that is growing on me. Pun intended.

Although I've yet to product test Woolly Pockets the concept obviously relates to the needs of space short city schools.

Like sub-irrigated planters (SIPs), Wooly Pockets do not require breaking up paved surfaces and they avoid the risk of contaminated soil. This makes a lot of sense that so many dirt huggers seem to ignore.

I need to do some hands-on work with them to experience their horticultural functionality. I'm also very interested in their portability. Can they easily go home with teachers or students over the summer is the question? It appears that they can.

via latimesblogs.latimes.com
Website: WoolySchoolGarden.org

From an L.A. Times blog...

I’ve been smitten with Woolly Pockets ever since they came on the market in the spring of 2009. The fuzzy, brightly colored planters create an instant vertical garden without any complicated construction. Just fill the pockets with dirt, pop in a seedling or some seeds, and water. They're simple, they look great and they're green -- made of recycled plastic bottles.

EarthBoxes: A School Garden In Brooklyn

 

Kudos to EarthBox and P.S. 107 for publishing this about the EarthBoxes in the school's garden in Brooklyn. Read the following particularly if you are a parent, educator or administrator involved with the education of urban children. 

It would be good to get Mayor Bloomberg to visit and learn that there's more to urban gardening education then publicity events with Rachael Ray. I have nothing but praise for what Rachael is doing but dirt gardening is not likely the future of fresh food in the city.

Gardening in the ground is more of a throwback to a bygone time in rural America. Modern methods such as sub-irrigated planter systems are much more appropriate to urban life in the 21st century. 

The use of sub-irrigated planters (SIPs) in the P.S. 107 school garden is a living and growing example of a more modern approach to urban food production be it in a school yard, on a rooftop, a paved driveway or on a balcony.

SIPs put urban food production directly in the hands of individuals of all ages and incomes whatever the color of their thumbs may be.

via www.themulch.com

The concrete schoolyard at P.S. 107 in Brooklyn, New York has been transformed into a robust vegetable garden! Teachers and parent volunteers began the EarthBox project together last summer.   

Michele Israel, Co-Chairman of the PTA Garden Committee, describes the evolution of the project: "Although P.S. 107, an urban public elementary school in Park Slope, is two blocks from Prospect Park, most of its students live in apartments and have no access to hands-on gardening opportunities.  

The Mayor Of New York Leading Us Into the 20th Century

In looking at this photo it stretches my imagination to believe that Mayor Bloomberg made all of his money in the field of technology. But don't worry we've now got foodie Rachael Ray on the job. With what they're learning here these kids will be well trained for future careers at McDonald's and Home Depot.

There are better ways to teach about local food, plant science, technology and the environment. Contrary to popular belief, the word garden is not synonymous with dirt.

via www.nyc.gov

Mayor Bloomberg and Rachael Ray today announced a series of initiatives to help our City’s youth eat healthier and understand where their food comes from. The new programs, supported by Rachael Ray and her Yum-o! organization, will help schools build a garden or connect them to an existing garden and provide cooking and nutrition instruction to young New Yorkers. May 13, 2010
(Photo Credit: Edward Reed)

School Gardens: Dirt Not Needed

If you are a school principal, teacher or parent you should know about year-round sub-irrigated planter (SIP) gardens like the EarthBox. You can use SIPs outdoors during the summer and indoors year round to create school gardens at modest cost.

Don't let the dirt-huggers tell you that you need to rototill the lawn or break up paved surfaces to have a very productive school garden. Our greatest need in the city is to educate future scientists rather than dirt farmers.

Teachers who are trained in the use of SIPs can use these systems to do a much better job of teaching plant science and environmental topics. This is particularly true as related to the urban built environment where land is scarce and often contaminated. 

via www.duprey.cps.k12.il.us

I am happy to announce that we received a small grant from the Consortium to Lower Childhood Obesity (CLOCC) of $1,336 to implement a project- “Project G.R.O.W. (Gardening to Reduce Obesity and promote Wellness). We have targeted the 5th grade, who are receiving nutrition classes from Sts. Mary & Elizabeth Medical Center. Ms. Nunez and Diaz have agreed to implement the project. With the funds, we will purchase Earth Boxes, soil, plants, and special growing lights to start an indoor vegetable garden in the classroom. We will also have a culminating event where we will take the students and their parents to The Kids Table to cook a healthy meal using the vegetables they harvest. We are very excited about this project and hope to replicate it in other grades if it is successful.

Gloria Román, Ed.D.
Principal
Ana Roqué de Duprey Elementary

Trust Trey! He Knows!

Trey Buckman knows something that most New York City gardeners don't know about because of a retrogressive education system that teaches only about digging dirt and drain holes.

Read what Trey had to say in an interview with the Sarasota Observer. Michelle Obama would do well to recruit him for her anti-obesity initiative.

Even better, let's groom him to be a future Secretary of Agriculture. Now that I've read his stump speech, I trust him. How about you?

Do you have advice for someone who is new to EarthBox?

“It’s going to be weird. You’re going to think, ‘Why is there a box?’ You’re going to think it’s ridiculous. But trust me, and trust the box.”

via www.yourobserver.com

Third-graders at Gulf Gate Elementary have spent the past two seasons planting, fertilizing and harvesting everything from cabbage to strawberries inside EarthBoxes. On April 20, they talked gardening with The Sarasota Observer.

Trey Buckman

What’s the best thing about growing an EarthBox?

Saipan School Garden Teaches Science And Technology

With shovels in their hands these kids may look like dirt farmers but read on and you will find that they are learning much more than how to dig dirt.

They're learning about using modern science and technology to grow food. They're also learning about recycling and upcycling.

Read the article and you will find words like hydroponics, aeroponics and scientific method.

Are these words characteristic of your kids school garden (or planned garden)? If not, speak up and speak out! Don't wait until you hear the noise of jackhammers or rototillers that are rarely necessary.

Using modern methods such as sub-irrigated planter systems (SIPs) you can garden on paved surfaces...and in classrooms!  All you need is enough sunlight.

via www.saipantribune.com

Want to know how hydroponics works? What are the best tomatoes to grow on Saipan? How about papayas or lettuce? Why should you watch out for ironwood trees? What's the hardest part of growing veggies? What kind of rats should you worry about?

What's better, hydroponics or aeroponics? Can I make my own hydroponics garden cheaply with recycled materials? What exactly are plants on steroids? Want the answers?

Welcome To The Modern World Kids!

Students from The Burlington Academy of Learning with their garden.

If I had small kids I'd want them going to a school like this that is smart enough to use modern educational tools like AeroGardens and sub-irrigated planter systems (SIPs) like the EarthBox. Each kid should also have a soda bottle SIP to play with.

With tools like these, they will start learning about plant science and the modern world around them at an early age. As most kids do, they will play in the dirt on their own time. 

What is your kids school doing? Hopefully it is not wasting money breaking up concrete, asphalt or plowing the back forty to make a dirt garden when it isn't necessary.

via www.courant.com

Mary, Mary Quite Contrary, How Do The Burlington Academy Of Learning's Gardens Grow?

Inka Biospheric Systems: A Modern Vertical School Garden

There is now an Inka Biospheric Systems vertical garden installed at Sanchez Elementary School in San Francisco. It was good to see this sign of modernity in the school gardening movement.

In my view the students at this school will learn much more about plant science and urban food production then they do when growing in the dirt.

Systems of this type have broad applicability in space-short urban schools all across America. Kudos to Inka Biospheric Systems and Slow Food San Francisco for their involvement.

via www.slowfoodusa.org

The soil-less vertical garden, which was installed by Inka Biospheric Systems and can be mounted on a chain-link fence, is an option for campuses where space is an issue. As well, solar panels and a wind turbine will power the circulation of nutrient-enhanced water, adding another level of sustainability to this project. Students at Sanchez Elementary will monitor the garden’s energy use, water nutrient levels, and produce outputs over the course of the spring and compile the results in May. The way that the Sanchez Elementary School administration has embraced the garden project makes the school a model on which Slow Food San Francisco can base future Slow Food in Schools projects.