Author Archive

Today I learned about some course offerings at Prince George’s Community College which will be of interest to many of the DC-area readers.  The school is partnering with Engaged Community Offshoots, which has an urban farm in Edmonston , Maryland (through a great program called ECO City Farms), and Healthy Solutions, a produce co-op based in Washington, DC to offer the following courses this spring AGR-301 Urban Agriculture: The New Frontier in the Green Economy AGR-320 Composting for Urban Agriculture and Sustainable Landscaping Summer courses will include: AGR-301 Urban Agriculture: The New Frontier in the Green Economy AGR-320 Composting for Urban Agriculture and Sustainable Landscaping AGR-330 High Tunnel Construction I&II AGR-315 Distribution: Getting Food from Farm to Table In the fall, they will be expanding the urban agriculture offerings, including a partnership with DC Honeybees for an introductory beekeeping course.  Thanks to Helen McClure for the info!

This week, I interviewed Kathy Nothstine, Program Manager for Regional Development at the National Association of Development Organizations (NADO).  Kathy performs research and develops training resources and peer learning programs related to regional planning, community and economic development, and transportation planning.  Nothstine received her Master of City Planning degree from the University of Pennsylvania and her Bachelor of Arts in Political Science from Villanova University.  She recently authored “Regional Food Systems Infrastructure”, available for download here (PDF). 1. You work in an organization that promotes regional development.  How does food fit into that? As a national association representing America’s regional planning and development organizations, NADO focuses on regional solutions to planning and economic development issues.  Many of our members work in rural and small metropolitan areas, and so their districts often include agricultural lands and other working landscapes, as well as more urbanized areas.  We’ve found that food systems issues and

Article first published as How to Start a Garden Blog on Technorati. So you have a lot to say, and think others would be interested in hearing it? A blog may be the perfect outlet for you. Here are seven practical tips, from my experience, for starting a successful garden blog. 1. Write about something you have firsthand knowledge of: this will make it easy to maintain interest and find content to write about. In my case, I am an urban planner, and so I write about the intersection of agriculture and urban planning. It gives me endless stories to write about and connects me to interesting people in my field. 2. Choose your host wisely: there are many free services, from Blogger to WordPress that offer a range of customizable options and ease of use. If you’re just dipping your toe into the world of blogging, a free site

From the Grow it Eat it Network, this event looks extremely interesting for those in the DC area. The food system of the United States is currently witnessing a remarkable shift, with the revival of small farms and artisanal producers working with restaurants, institutional food services, and retail outlets to make locally-sourced, sustainably-produced food more widely available. This shift has both stimulated and is now responding to a growing demand from “locovore,” health-conscious consumers in ways that are affecting America’s economy as well as its eating habits and well-being. Join us for a day-long conference to explore this conjuncture. Flom Auditorium, Woodrow Wilson Center Friday, March 4, 2011, 8:45 a.m. to 5:30 p.m. This conference is co-sponsored by The Program on America and the Global Economy and the United States Studies Program of the Woodrow Wilson International Center for Scholars and the Chesapeake Bay Trust. This is a free public

Carolyn Beeler from WHYY interviewed Kim Hodgson, AICP, Manager of the American Planning Association’s Planning and Community Health Resesarch Center (and Grown in the City contributor) about Philadelphia’s new comprehensive plan, which includes aspects on public health and explicitly addresses food systems.  You can listen to the full interview here, with Kim’s peice coming toward the end: Kim Hodgson Interview According to the report, Goals written into the comprehensive plan are already affecting proposed zoning laws, and how the laws will be applied. Proposed codes would allow for urban agriculture and community gardens in most residential and commercial districts, and for raising bees or livestock in industrial areas. And new rules will limit the number of parking spaces in some districts to encourage people to take public transit and walk. The article also quotes Clint Randall, a planner with the city of Philadelphia whose work is funded by a federal grant administered

I wanted to share this email from Food Democracy Now! with the Grown in the City community.  Many in the blogosphere and twitterverse have been wondering how to make their voice heard regarding GMO crops.  Well, in addition to voting with your grocery budget,  here’s another way to make your opinion known: Unbelievably, in the past 3 weeks, the Obama administration has approved 3 GMO crops. First it was Monsanto’s Roundup Ready alfalfa, then Monsanto’s GMO sugar beets and just last Friday, as Egypt celebrated it’s freedom, the Obama U.S. Department of Agriculture gave the go ahead to a GMO variety of industrial corn to be used to produce ethanol.1 That’s right, 3 GMO crops got the Obama Rubber Stamp in the past 3 weeks. At a time when the Obama administration should be forging ahead to make agriculture more sustainable, encouraging more farmers to convert to organic farming practices, they’ve decided to

Last Friday, I posted about Urban Agriculture: Growing Healthy, Sustainable Places (click the link to order a copy from Amazon.com).  I had a chance to spend some time with it over the weekend, and it’s really a great read – I had read the manuscript once before, but it really looks great with all of the photos and diagrams.  For those of you who are interested in what’s inside,  here’s a peek at the contents: Chapter 1: Introduction Chapter 2: What is Urban Agriculture? Chapter 3: Facilitating Urban Agriculture Through Planning Practice Chapter 4: Linking Urban Agriculture with Planning Practice Chapter 5: Planning for Urban Agriculture: Lessons Learned Appendix 1: Urban Agriculture Components in Food Charters Appendix 2: Urban Agriculture Components in Local Comprehensive Plans Appendix 3: Urban Agriculture Components in Local Sustainability Plans Appendix 4: Urban Agriculture Components in Regional Plans Appendix 5: Urban Agriculture-Related Zoning Regulations Appendix 6: Allowances