It’s mid-March, although with snow and frost in Northern Europe, you can’t really tell. Still, as the days get longer, the birds return and the crocuses pop out of the thawing ground; spring is in the air. Store windows change their displays to spring clothes or BBQ grills, but I have become occupied with a… Read More Urban permaculture & balcony compost
And another fabulous TED talk on urban agriculture, can you tell I am excited for the spring? 🙂 Guerilla gardener Ron Finley lives in South Central Los Angeles: the home of drive-thrus & drive-bys. According to Finley, drive-thrus kill more people though, due to obesity & food-related diseases. Some 26.5 million Americans live in food… Read More Los Angeles: urban agriculture and garden graffiti
For all TED Talk lovers out there, this is a great one. Pam Warhurst of Todmorden, England, discusses “Incredible Edible” – an initiative she cofounded to bring urban agriculture back to towns & cities; this has now spread to 30 cities and towns across England. She describes actions taken in Todmorden (population 15,000) to contribute to… Read More Food: a language linking all urban residents
As the days get longer and winter draws to a close, the time to prepare the fields for the coming spring season approaches – not just in the countryside, but also in the city. While it is still too early to plant outside, preparations of the garden beds are already underway. In Amsterdam, I am… Read More Preparing for the spring: urban agriculture style
As a child I spent a lot of time in the garden with my parents: flowers with my mother, vegetables with my father. We moved a lot, and it was important (at least for my mother) that when we moved into a new house, the flowerbeds were there and waiting. Although not quite guerilla gardening,… Read More Balcony Garden Bliss
I love fall: the air is fresh, the sun sits lower in the sky and the colors almost pull you outside, begging for exploration. In Amsterdam, this is always best by bicycle. With the city and its surroundings turning yellow and orange, the Amsterdamse Bos (a 1000 hectare park) is a perfect destination for a cycle… Read More Biodynamic farm on the edge of the city
In September 2012, I attended the Amsterdam Harvest Event, hosted by ‘Farming the City’ and Cities Magazine. Local farmers and urban agriculture enthusiasts were invited to sell their produce (produced in or around Amsterdam) or share ideas. At the Harvest Event, I learned about Cityplot. “City Plot is an urban farming collective that supports people… Read More Urban Compost: it’s all about the worms
The Urban Observer 