Articles Archive for April 2010
Project Status »
Farming Concrete is looking for volunteers, interns, and funding! We have pending (but likely) fiscal sponsorship and a source of equipment, but we need your help.
Why we need volunteers:
- Make a map of areas within community gardens that are under cultivation (raised beds, etc.). No skills necessary to participate, but if you’re familiar with ArcGIS, you’ll be needed! A great chance to be outdoors and in the gardens. We’ll be using Walking Papers.
- Reach out to gardens and spread word! We hope to have up to $100 compensation for each garden that participates. If you are a gardener (or just an enthusiast) and you’re excited about this project, please volunteer some time to help us recruit up to 200 community gardens!
- Like to do documentary work on the urban agriculture/food movement? We need photographers, filmmakers, and graphic designers.
To volunteer or intern for any of these wonderful callings, email volunteer@farmingconcrete.com.
Stories and Quotes »
On its own, the act of cultivating one’s own food fosters self-sufficiency, healthier eating habits, and community empowerment. It gives more control over life’s basic necessities to the communities with the least power, and has resounding benefits for people of all ages and for the city overall. There is a movement to grow more food in cities to reduce the environmental impacts of industrial agriculture on land, water, and our climate while providing equitable access to affordable, fresh food across community lines. The movement is gaining momentum, bringing the issues surrounding food back into the collective consciousness of the city and back into the school curriculum for the city’s children. The community garden is the most prevalent form of urban agriculture already taking place in New York City: once-vacant open spaces, nurtured and invested in by those who live there.
