Yardens

While killing some time in a local bookstore a few days ago, I came upon this book on the 'local interest' table. I flipped through a few pages of Novella Carpenter's Farm City: The Education of an Urban Farmer and quickly decided based on the extremely clear descriptions of how she 'harvested' her first rabbit, that I would never farm anything other than fruits or vegetables. I would however be willing to trade produce with someone that could handle those details for me.

Urban Farming has been on the tip of a lot of people's tongues lately, probably as a side effect to so many people wanting to know where their food comes from and lately it hasn't been isolated to the coasts. Time magazine has published articles here and here and I just noticed a piece in a recent People magazine about a young girl that provides a homeless shelter with produce that she grows in her family's backyard. I know that folks living in Northern California seem to be particularly keen on eating local produce and meats. In 2005 four women from the San Francisco Bay area declared themselves Locavores and "urged people to buy, cook and eat from within ... their own foodshed, based on where they live." This "100-mile diet" challenge was taken by a handful of people around the world that year and has grown every challenge since then. In 2007 the word Locavore was chosen as the word of the year by the Oxford American Dictionary.

While the 100-mile diet isn't for everyone, something most of us can do is to grow some things ourself. Earlier in the year First Lady Michelle Obama had part of the White House lawn turned into a vegetable garden as a way to "teach children better eating habits by helping them understand where food comes from." Suddenly the idea of growing our own food didn't seem quite so crazy after all! If we each dug up a small corner of our yard or planted a pot on our patio to grow one thing, we could be one step closer to knowing where the food we eat comes from.

This summer, one of my neighbors did exactly that. After spending a couple of weekends pulling out a row of unruly juniper bushes they built four raised beds and filled them with soil and seeds. Before long the 'Yarden' across the street was sprouting things all over the place; more than the family that lived there could possibly eat. As a result everyone in the neighborhood has been the recipient of a bag of vegetables at some point since then. They definitely knew what they were doing and planted things that would produce all summer and into the fall. Even today, things are still going strong.

Now I recognize that some of us may have perfect growing spots, but not the know how to cultivate. And that is where organizations like San Francisco based Urban Farmers come in. Their goal is "to help families reduce their carbon footprint, reduce their water use, avoid agricultural chemicals in their food, and enjoy nutritious food that taste good -- one garden at a time." Once contacted, they will come take a look and help you get things set up in a way that is both productive and that looks nice. If all you can do is contribute land, that's fine too. This particular group has connected with a city sustainability organization to pilot a program where they plant 'Yardens' in order to grow fruits and vegetables that in turn can be distributed to the community.

Most of us have a space that we can have a container to put a cherry tomato plant and some basil. Add a little more space and there could be beans, cucumbers and a pepper plant. Those of us that are fortunate enough to have yards can plant a profusion of fruits and vegetables and share the bounty with friends, neighbors or even those that may not have the means or ability to grow their own. We've tried grass lawns and English gardens and rock gardens; why not try yardening and see if we can taste the difference.

eGroceries

Recently, I read an article in the Sunday New York Times magazine titled 'Faster Slow Food'. The author theorized that online grocery shopping could promote saner eating habits. As I considered what other implications there might be to buying my groceries online I came up with this; online shopping might be a way to reduce greenhouse gasses by removing cars from the roadway. On the other hand, if I did all of my shopping that way, I would have missed out on meeting and interacting with some really interesting people.

Some researchers in Finland have looked into whether or not online shopping is good for the environment and in 2003 published the results of their review in MIT's Journal of Industrial Ecology. One of the conclusions they reached was that in theory, having groceries delivered means fewer car trips. This makes sense. If every house on my street had their groceries delivered once a week, that's approximately 12 less car trips! Internet Marketing Consultant Dave Chaffey lists several other environmental benefits of eCommerce including fewer vehicle miles, less printed material, and less waste due to digitization of things like software and music.

After thinking about it, I decided that I would want to use grocery delivery as a kind of personal shopping service. Items could be purchased from a mass market grocer, a natural foods store, an outdoor market, or a specialty store like Trader Joe's. One charge to my credit card later, it would all be delivered to my house where all I would have to do is put it away. The time saved by not needing to drive to each store, park and shop and then put it all away would be worth the delivery fee. My car would also be removed from the road and the trip the truck makes to my house would be optimized by consolidating all deliveries from my area together. I already use online stores for commodity items that just need replacing to reduce my trips, so it stands to reason that this would work for me as well.

On the other hand, if I got all of my groceries by shopping online I would miss out on the interactive experience of going to my local farmer's market every week. For the past eight years or so, my neighbors and I have gone to the Walnut Creek Farmer's Market at nine o'clock every Sunday morning. We have favorite stands and try to spread our shopping dollars around evenly each week. Through this experience I have made good friends and met people that I might not otherwise have had the pleasure of meeting and getting to know. We know who grew the lettuce in our salad (Hi Barbie & Laurie), the peaches and apples in our lunches (Hi Michelle) the flowers on our table (Hi Stan), and who slaughtered the chicken that we roasted for dinner (Hi Hunter). It also makes me feel slightly less guilty about not growing all of this myself - - well, except for the chicken.

Buying as much as I can from the farmer's market is a way to 'be green' because I know that the items purchased there have not traveled hundreds (or thousands) of miles to get to our table. It also helps to support the local economy which is never a bad thing. In the end, we each have to decide for ourselves what will work best for our situation. But I can't help but think that by balancing grocery shopping at local markets (both farmer's and general grocery) with eCommerce I am acting in a sustainable manner towards both the economy and the environment.

(all images author's own)

An Idea Whose Time Has Come *

Here in the good 'ole United States of America most of us that live in urban areas have the luxury of a sewer system to take care of all that pesky storm water runoff that inevitably happens when H2O falls from the skies.

Generally speaking property owners are charged for this service via a variety of fees tied to water usage. This method assumes all properties in a service area are created equal and rewards those with poor storm water management strategies with a lower fee than they would be charged if each parcel was assessed individually. This unfairly subsidizes those that pour concrete and divert runoff directly onto their neighbors lot or into the storm drain system. As storm sewer systems are deteriorating in this country it is time to change how we handle run off. One way to begin to change could be to make it more attractive to property owners to install a passive storm water management system in the form of planted or permeable surfaces.Planted surfaces can slow the speed of run off leaving a property and reduce any pollution in the water as it filters through plants and soil. A properly planted green roof, green wall or native plant garden allows you to contribute mightily to your corner of the eco-system. Recently I toured the Vauban neighborhood in Freiberg, Germany during a steady downpour. The law in Germany state that each property owner is responsible for managing any storm water that arrives on their property. In Vauban this is accomplished in several ways; green roofs, lots of permeable surfaces, and landscapes that follow the natural curves of the land are used to capture any run off. I was surprised to see areas in the neighborhood that would normally be paved, planted with a sturdy ground cover. However as we continued to walk through the rain, I realized that there appeared to be no streams of water in a gutter that needed to be jumped as we crossed streets. In fact, there were not really any gutters as we know them to speak of, merely a curb to delineate the road from the walkway. This works!

Here in the United States we need to start to change how we think about our land and water management. It would be a start to think about how we can help to manage storm water on our own properties. Eliminating slabs of solid concrete, native plant gardens, and green roofs are several easy ways to do this. (well the green roof is not so easy, but once installed, it's very easy) Not only does this work to help absorb storm water, the plants will work to offset CO2 and will be an attractive contribution to the area. A patio constructed from interlocking or permeable pavers, is not only nicer looking than a slab of concrete, it is a permeable surface that allows water to flow through natural aquifers and into the watershed.

There have been several high profile commercial developments in Northern California that installed a green roof with much fanfare. In 2000 Gap Inc. built an addition to their headquarters campus in San Bruno that featured a green roof whose profile mirrors the surrounding hills. The redesigned California Academy of Sciences features a green roof that not only absorbs almost all storm water that falls on it, but also provides a habitat for native plants and a variety of wildlife. Other features in this particular roof include photovoltaic cells and skylights used to provide natural light as well as cool the building below. We have heard that the new Transbay Terminal building is planned to have a green roof. As we start to see success with commercial projects and fees associated with a deteriorating sewer system, more home owners may be inspired to install this type of roof.

(image courtesy of www.greenroofs.org)

Planting a native garden and eliminating non-permeable surfaces are a more likely choices for those looking to make a difference without major construction. Patio areas can be installed using open cell concrete block with a low, creeping ground cover planted in the cells or with interlocking pavers. Both options allow water to flow through and be absorbed into the ground underneath. Any neighborhood plant nursery should be able to provide a list of native plants for the area as well as being a source of the plants themselves. Ask when the best time to plant is and plan your purchases accordingly. Once established a native plant garden will be a low maintenance way to both stabilize the soil, absorb storm water, and a small refuge for all wildlife, including yourself!

* a thank you to Victor Hugo for his quote...

(images all property of author unless otherwise noted.)