Kristen Baumlier

NEWS

Windowfarmers R&D-I-Y: Edible Gardens For Urban Windows

Posted on December 8, 2011December 8, 2011 by Kbaumlier

A Windowfarm is a vertical, hydroponic growing system that allows for year-round growing in the windows of your house or apartment. It lets plants use natural window light, the climate control of your living space, and organic “liquid soil.” Using a hydroponic system, nutrient water is pumped bottle to bottle, helping feed the roots. The Windowfarm allows you to grow food all year, while maximizing space.

Britta Riley and Rebecca Bray are the artists behind the Windowfarm project. The first Windowfarm system produced 25 plants and a salad a week in mid winter in a dimly lit 4’ x 6’ NYC window.

With the Windowfarm project, they developed a Windowfarm kit that you can purchase to make your own Windowfarm, as well as providing directions on how to build your own. They also built a website that supports an online community of windowfarmers around the world. Online, growers can share ideas, and work to get better at growing food in the local conditions of inside the home.

Riley and Bray call it R&D-I-Y, or Research & Develop It Yourself. On the website, there are changing designs for vertical hydroponic systems. Users propose experiments, test techniques, and contribute to developing a shared knowledge base. Currently the website has an online community of 25,872 Windowfarmers from around the world.

The goal of the project is to empower urban dwellers to grow some of their own food inside year-round and to empower citizens to collaboratively & openly innovate online toward more sustainable cities and improved urban quality of life.

Researchers have argued that for someone to grow some of his/her own food is the most effective action an individual can take for environment, not only because of the food industry’s heavy carbon footprint but also because participating in agricultural production cultivates a valuable skill set around sustainability issues. Many neighborhoods (particularly low income ones) in cities around the world are considered food deserts, meaning little fresh food is easily accessible. Residents tend to consume processed, packaged, and canned food having depleted nutrients. The Windowfarm project explores how people in cities can explore alternatives to growing and getting food.

The project has grown, and Britta Riley has stayed with the project full time since it started. Bray is working on other projects but serves on the project’s board. Sales of windowfarm kits, sourced locally in New York, and donations (such as those from a Kickstarter campaign) help fund the project.

Image Source:

Windowfarm Project

Links:

Windowfarms website

Download the Windowfarms Project Look Book (3mb)

Research and Develop it Yourself Website

Britta Riley TED Talk: A Garden in my Apartment

Britta Riley and Rebecca Bray Artist website

Rare Botanical Prints on View and For Sale – Saturday December 10th

Posted on December 7, 2011December 7, 2011 by Kbaumlier

Last week I stopped by the library at the Cleveland Botanical Garden (CBG) and learned about the upcoming sale of botanical art books, rare prints, and posters which is happening this Saturday December10th in the Eleanor Squire Library. Each year the library has this sale to help raise funds for CBG.

I got a sneak peak at some of the prints, which included some hand colored lithographs, some rare Mary Vaux Walcott prints and some original seed catalogue prints. Gary Esmonde, librarian explained to me that the Walcott prints are extremely rare. They come from a 5 volume set and are rarely split up, either as books or as individual prints.

I got a look at some of the smaller prints that are for sale which included some prints from the late 1800’s, and were various plants and flowers. You could see the plate marks on the print, and the fine lithograph lines lend a quality of detail only seen in prints. One of my favorite prints included a lithograph of a Picotee flower, which has lots of petals in an interesting arrangement.

Some of the books for sale have 30-40 prints inside of them (so you could split the book up later if you want a series of prints), and there are over 160 single prints that will be on display and for sale.

Want to buys some prints – or just take a peek at some interesting botanical prints and books? The sale is open from 10am-5pm, and is free with CBG admission.

For more information, call 216 707-2812 or contact librarian Gary Esmonde at [email protected].

Image Source:

Prints from the CBG library

Links:

Cleveland Botanical Garden

Rare Print Sale @ CBG Information Event Page

Tonight – Free Dial in Conference Call about Climate Change with 350.org

Posted on December 6, 2011December 6, 2011 by Kbaumlier

350.org is a group that online campaigns, grassroots organizing, and mass public actions through volunteer organizers in over 188 countries. The name of the group comes from the CO2 number of 350 parts per million, a number that scientists have said that we need reach. Currently it is at 392 parts per million, and the number 350 has become a symbol of where we need to head as a planet.

Last week, there was a nationwide brainstorm session about ideas of the future. This collaborative “movement strategy session” was held in various institutions, living rooms, and community centers across the country. These ideas were discussed either online or in person.

Tonight there is a conference call with Bill McKibben of 350.org to go over the best ideas that emerged last week. He also give an update about the latest political developments on the Keystone XL oil pipeline. Last week, a few Senators and Representatives in Congress introduced legislation to fast-track approval of the pipeline.

It is a one hour free phone call – and anyone can dial in.

The details for the call:

What: Climate Movement Strategy Sessions Debrief Call
When: Monday December 5th, 9 PM Eastern Time
To join: Call (712) 432-1001, and enter the access code 485501597#
On the web: There will be a online discussion chatbox so that indivudals can discuss what’s happening on the call without talking over each other: www.350.org/strategy-chat

Image Source:
350.org

Links:

350.org

www.tarsandsaction.org

Try Something New For 30 Days

Posted on December 5, 2011December 5, 2011 by Kbaumlier

We finally did it. Last month we got a new HD tv with streaming capability. Now we have Netflix, Hulu Plus, and can add other websites/channels like TED talks on the television. The other day, after I streamed an episode of Gossip Girls off of Netflix on the new tv, I thought about what would happen if I watched TED talks (videos of inventors, thinkers, and people who are “inspired” rom the annual TED conferences) regularly instead of junky television shows?

Since then, I can’t say I have watched TED talks every day, but by watching some of the talks it has given me some new ideas and new perspectives to ponder. One talk I watched last week was by Matt Cutts entitled “Try Something New for 30 days.” In the video he shares about feeling stuck – and deciding to try something new for 30 days. He biked to work for 30 days in one challenge, and during one November (which is National Novel Writing Month) he wrote a novel.

I recently have been feeling like I am not sure what to make next for my research and artwork. I recently completed two bodies of work. I started to work with some images that I shot in the studio a few months ago but things were not going the way I wanted, and I felt frustrated. I decided to take a break and focus on research. Research for me includes reading, taking notes, and sketching ideas – not focusing on the end result.

I find that the older I get – the more pressure I put on myself to think about what will the end result be, where will the pieces show or function, and what will people think. This focus on the end result is not helpful – but it is a habit I easily slip back into. What gets me out of it? Reading, research, sketching, and experimenting.

My current interest is on food and food equity. I have ideas about making a new series of photographs, and also making a public online tool (or app?) available to others to support the creation of making images of food.

After watching the TED talk about trying something new for 30 days, I have decided that I am going to generate one image a day of food. Good, bad, and even on some days uninspired, but I’m going to make one every day to see where it goes – and to see if my work gets more direction.

My studio setup is ready to go. I start today. Not sure what I am going to photograph yet today. I am thinking about buying a piece of fried chicken or carrots to photograph today. I also have six books on reserve for me at the library to pick up.

Is there something you have always wanted to do – or are you feeling stuck? Why not do something for 30 days?

LINKS:

TED Talk: Matt Cutts – Try something new for 30 days

Networking tools for Farmers, Planners and Activists

Posted on December 4, 2011December 4, 2011 by Kbaumlier

One of the best ways to preserve farmland is for family farmers to understand and use market opportunities to support agricultural production.

In November of this month, Mike Hogan, an Extension Educator and Professor at OSU presented at the 12th Annual Ohio Farmland Preservation Summit and shared some tools and ideas to help support Ohio farmers, planners and activists. He is the Ohio Coordinator for the USDA’s Sustainable Agriculture Research and Education program, and he specializes in sustainable agriculture and small farm issues including direct marketing, local food systems and alternative crop and production systems.

Hogan promotes the idea that farmers shouldn’t get hung up on the definition of “local,” and that different buysers define buying locally different. Sometimes it can be home county, but it often can be expanded into neighboring counties or being statewide. There might be a demand outside of what you think is “local” yourself.

Hogan promotes three tools that can be used by farmers, farmers market managers or other local food activists which include: Ohio MarketMaker, Ohio MarketReady and Meet the Buyers.

MarketMaker, a free on-line resource was developed as a way for Illinois farmers to gain greater access to regional markets by linking them with processors, retailers, consumers and other food supply chain participants. The site has expanded and is currently one of the most extensive collections of searchable food industry related data in the country. It has almost 500,000 profiles of farmers and other food related enterprises in sixteen states. On the site, a farmer can build a profile and enter information about his/her farm, crops, and livestock – and indicate what is for sale. Buyers can set up similar profiles – but with what he/she wishes to purchase. The site provides a networking tool, and users can map their data and searches, which provides the ability to find local, regional, or nationwide sources and suppliers.

Ohio Market Ready is a program currently managed by the OSU Extension that started Kentucky to great success and is currently getting support in Ohio. The program is a set of workshops and tools for producers to develop their best marketing practices. Market Ready begins with farmers analyzing their business goals and lining them up with a potential customer base. In one-day workshops, family farmers learn the basics of marketing including subjects ranging from product selection to signage, delivery, promotion, regulatory and insurance issues and how to get to know your potential customers. To find out about upcoming workshops or to schedule one, check out Market Ready on the Web.

Meet the Buyers is a program that will sponsor events where institutional or wholesale buyers set up booths and displays in a trade show setup, and producers can interact with the buyers to find out more about how to sell to large food service distirbutors such as Sysco or OSU’s cafeteria system. Currently due to budget constraints, there are fewer events and fewer buyers participating.

Starting a farm, or want to connect with others in the agriculture area? These tools might get you started.

Image Source:
msue.msu.edu

Links:

MarketMaker

Market Ready

Ohio Farmland Preservation Summit Conference – Presentation and Podcasts