Urban Chickens, Rooftop Farms, and You
Posted in Exhibitions, The Edible Garden on August 11th, 2010 by Plant Talk – Be the first to commentWhat Do These Have to Do with Helping Solve the Climate Crisis?
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Anna Lappé is author of Diet for a Hot Planet: The Climate Crisis at the End of Your Fork and What You Can Do About. She will give a talk at the Garden as part of The Edible Garden’s Food for Thought series on August 19 at 7 p.m. |
A few nights ago, I watched the sky darken over the East River while I listened to clucking chickens peacefully pecking on the roof of a loft in Greenpoint, Brooklyn. Eagle Street Rooftop Farm is just one of the rooftop farms sprouting up across the city, bringing to communities fresh food and the opportunity to get our hands in the dirt.
Eagle Street, all 6,000 square feet of it, has only been around two growing seasons, but it already boasts a loyal following. A dozen families are members of its CSA; hundreds of kids have munched on its peppers and tomatoes; and from 40 to 65 volunteers a week have dug in its raised beds. The place is buzzing with life and, the day I was there, newborn rabbits, who earn their keep with droppings used for fertilizer.
Eagle Street is just one of the reasons I’m not feeling so blue these days. In the face of mounting environmental catastrophes—from global climate change to a dead zone in the Gulf of Mexico that swells to the size of New Jersey every year—there’s a lot to feel depressed about. These crises can feel far removed from our daily lives and from our control. But with every choice we make about where get our food, how we support sustainable solutions in our cities, we are helping to heal the climate. read more »