Thanksgiving looms on the horizon and I have decided to stay put this year. The holiday falls right before my final review of the term, which means I basically don’t get much of a Thanksgiving for the three years I am in grad school. So instead of traveling four hours round trip in one day to Portland and back, I am celebrating quietly in Eugene.
Fall at the Farm
I have been continuing to help at the Urban Farm here in Eugene, which has been going really well. I work with an awesome group of students this term who are hard workers and seem really interested and motivated to learn more about urban agriculture. We are moving inside now for the remainder of the term mostly because we no longer have enough light. It
Community Garden Inspiration
Up the street from our apartment in Brooklyn is a community garden I have admired for awhile called 6/15 Green. Several community gardens are located throughout the New York area and it is always a delightful surprise to see them tucked in between tall buildings. This one has some fruit trees and many irregular-shaped garden plots focused on food production. (Click on the picture below
Park Slope Food Coop’s Newest Member
My first experience with the Park Slope Food Coop was back in December when I was here in New York for a month. Jay had joined after realizing how awful New York grocery stores are. The produce is awful, the selection is meager and the prices seem enormous to our Northwestern eyes. A friend told Jay about the coop and convinced him to join. They
Finding Where I Fit
It has now been about a year since I uprooted my life in Portland and moved a couple hours down south to Eugene for my grad program. Part of me wants to design public urban green spaces. Another part of me wants to just focus on residential projects. And another part of me wants to build my own version of Zenger Farm – a place
Grassroots Garden Visit
Last week our Plants class visited Grassroots Garden, a local non-profit here in Eugene that grows food for the needy. We did some volunteer work that morning planting carrots in the morning sunshine and learning some interesting things about soil amendments. The garden itself is humming right now, making my own backyard look a little sleepy. They are situated on a couple acres of land
My New Gig
I have been a dedicated volunteer over the University of Oregon’s Urban Farm since moving to Eugene in June. This term I became an actual “employee” at the farm. The whole class has about 80 students who then get split up into smaller groups. My job is guiding about 10 of them in their journey of learning about food production. It has been easier than
Winter Gardening
It is that time of year to start planning the coming season’s garden and get our seeds going indoors. I have to admit that I haven’t started a thing yet and I am already feeling really behind. Hopefully this weekend will allow me a sliver of time to get my seed starting organized. In the mean time, there are still things to do outside in
Park Slope Food Coop
I had the pleasure of discovering the Park Slope Food Coop the other day located here in Brooklyn, just a short walk from Jay’s apartment. It is one of the oldest and largest food coops in the nation, boasting over 12,000 members and established in 1973. What a treat to find a haven of organic, local food in the city. After moving out here, Jay