Category: Archives

Introduction

“We Are Not Faced With Two Separate Crises, One Environmental And The Other Social, But Rather, One Complex Crisis Which Is Both Social & Environmental.” – Pope Francis’ encyclical

Only a soil-centered farming system can meet human needs going forward. Food security, environmental sustainability and the global health crisis requires that we restore the microbial, fungal and mineral constituents to soil. The soil must be reconstructed in a precise way using all available scientific methods to create humus in the soil as plants grow.

Sir Albert Howard, the father of the organic farming movement, saw nature as “the supreme farmer.” He encouraged farmers to follow nature’s model. Nature’s farm is the forest; it is planted intensively, is high-yielding and nutrient-dense. This is possible because the forest makes its own humus. Everything that goes into making the forest returns to the soil over time.
He further observed that in nature, the presence of pests indicates low soil fertility or other unhealthy conditions in the soil. He found that when the undesirable soil conditions were corrected the crops were virtually immune to disease and insect attack and the health of grazing livestock was greatly improved.

Healthy soil will also increase yields by more than double those of our farming methods now. Additionally, sound soil will require only half the water and fertilizer to produce higher yields and the food will be nutrient dense, containing more than enough vitamins and minerals to sustain human health.
Farmers must be informed, supported, and empowered to bring their soil back to its balanced biological mineral-rich baseline. Only an ecological agricultural system can produce this result in the soil and the food, yet it must be economically sound for growers. The good news is that this soil-centered model also helps farmers realize higher profits since plants grow faster and the yield per plant is significantly higher. To support the transition to the soil-centered model, farmers must realize higher profits.

Our grower consulting programs, based on 30 years of our own organic farm research, will assist farmers in restoring the essential minerals, organic material and biological lifeforms to depleted soils and result in increased production and nutrient-dense food. We will facilitate the introduction and implementation of advanced organic soil science technology to stop the loss of topsoil, restore and remediate the soil, and assure growers’ ability to produce high value nutrient-dense food.

SOIL—it’s easy to miss when our attention naturally goes to the awesome plants it produces (like those gorgeous spring tulips). Yet when we give soil our attention, we learn that it
tells a riveting tale.

Soil is the skin of our planet, which grows our trees and plants. It’s what makes our fruits and veggies so healthy—
and tasty. Soil provides a rich habitat for most of the living creatures on Earth and helps slow climate change by storing carbon. Ultimately, soil is the source of all terrestrial life.
Soil is vital for the health of the planet and its inhabitants—it
deserves our care. A growing number of farmers, scientists, consumers, chefs and even world leaders are giving it just that. They are championing methods to restore nutrients to the soil and highlighting soil’s role in climate change. Chefs are working directly with farmers, or farming themselves.
Home gardeners are composting and opting out of chemicals. The United Nations even designated 2015 the International Year of Soils.

Organic Connections has been a soil advocate from its first publication in 2007. We hope you join us and give soil a few minutes of your attention by digging into this eBook that celebrates this life-giving resource.

After decades of population loss, job loss and disinvestment, parts of Philadelphia are on the rise again. Our population is experiencing slow but steady growth, our housing market and unemployment rate are showing signs of improvement, and new high-end development projects are transforming Center City and University City. Growth and development are reaching some of our neighborhoods too, with Northern Liberties, Francisville, Point Breeze, Passyunk Square and other areas seeing an explosion in new market-rate home construction, and opening up of new shops and restaurants.

As much as we need to celebrate and encourage redevelopment, the enthusiasm about this renewed Philadelphia can feel like it’s about a different city if you are one of the many Philadelphians still struggling, or live in a neighborhood fighting decline. Some moderate-income neighborhoods that have been stable for decades are seeing decreasing homeownership rates, property values flattening or declining, and properties that are staying vacant for too long. OpOther neighborhoods are still reeling from decades of devastation where poverty rates are persistently high, and low wages means too many Philadelphians are paying an unsustainably high percentage of their income on housing. Crumbling buildings and empty lots can be found in every neighborhood, and are magnets for garbage and crime. Vacant storefronts and poor property conditions on our commercial corridors frustrate small businesses that work hard to contribute to the local economy. Long time homeowners and renters live in properties that are becoming uninhabitable due to inadequate maintenance.

It’s imperative that Philadelphia nurtures new market-rate development and investment in order to strengthen our tax base, turn vacant properties into vibrant spaces, and make our city a world-class destination. But we must also recognize that the new private investment transforming some of our neighborhoods does not automatically “trickle down” and benefit those who are most economically disadvantaged or struggling to remain in the middle class. We must build the pipes and direct resources toward our neighbors and communities who have historically been hurt most when our city declined, and left out when things have improved. Without such a strategy, we will deepen the already inexcusable inequalities and economic segregation that exist today, and we’ll hamper the economic stability of our city and region for generations to come.

This thesis explores the gentrification process in Church Hill, one of the oldest neighborhoods in Richmond, Virginia. After World War II, Richmond residents knew Church Hill mostly for its crime rate and dilapidated housing. The white, middle-class flight to the
suburbs left the remaining residents, mostly African American, to experience decades of disinvestment. Church Hill was considered a neighborhood to avoid for much of the late twentieth century. Yet, Church Hill is currently one of the most desired neighborhoods in Richmond, particularly for young professionals. This thesis seeks to explain the reasons why there has been such a dramatic change in the perception of Church Hill and whether revitalization can occur without causing gentrification. Chapter 1 explores the top-down efforts of the Historic Richmond Foundation, a non-profit organization, and the Model Neighborhood Program, a federal program. Chapter 2 explores revitalization efforts by various non-profits
organizations as each tried to work with community members. Chapter 3 explores the reasons why young professionals are moving into Church Hill and the impact of gentrification on the neighborhood.

Communities across the country want to protect their water quality while also getting the greatest possible benefit out of every investment they make. Many are conserving, restoring, or enhancing natural areas while incorporating trees, rain gardens, vegetated roofs, and other practices that mimic natural systems into developed areas to manage rainwater where it falls. These types of approaches, known as “green infrastructure,” are an integral component of sustainable communities primarily because they can help communities protect the environment and human health while providing other social and economic benefits, allowing communities to achieve more for their money. Using green infrastructure strategies to reduce stormwater runoff can strengthen efforts to preserve open space and natural areas and encourage development in existing communities. Green infrastructure elements help make neighborhood streets and greenways pleasant and safe for walking and biking and reinforce a sense of place. Integrating green infrastructure and sustainable communities encourages collaboration in development decisions and promotes green building practices.

Engaging the entire community creates a vision for the future based on people’s and businesses’ needs, desires, and aspirations. This vision guides the plan and ultimately implementation. A sustainable communities and green infrastructure plan will touch nearly every aspect of a community’s design. Involving a wide range of community members in developing both the vision and the plan creates broad support and encourages multiple champions to emerge to handle different aspects of implementation. Such broad-based involvement also helps ensure people from all walks of life, including vulnerable and disadvantaged populations, can share in the benefits that come from implementing a green infrastructure plan.

Successful plans include clear goals, an assessment of assets and opportunities, a comprehensive look at how to achieve implementation, a means for funding implementation, a way to monitor and measure progress toward achieving the community’s goals, and a strategy for long-term operations and maintenance. With such a plan in place, a community will be well on its way to improving quality of life, protecting the environment, improving public health, becoming economically stronger, and preparing for climate change impacts.

Environmental institutions have been working on diversity
efforts for the better part of five decades. This report discusses
the findings of a study of three types of environmental
institutions: 191 conservation and preservation organizations,
74 government environmental agencies, and 28 environmental
grantmaking foundations. It also reports the findings of
interviews conducted with 21 environmental professionals
who were asked to reflect on the state of diversity in
environmental institutions. The study focuses primarily
on gender, racial, and class diversity in these institutions as
it pertains to the demographic characteristics of their boards
and staff. It examines the recruitment and hiring of new
workers as well as the types of diversity initiatives undertaken
by the organizations. The report also discusses other kinds of
diversities such as cultural, sexual orientation, intergenerational,
and rural-urban.

Urban agriculture has become a popular topic for metropolitan areas to engage in on a program and policy level. It is touted as a means of promoting public health and economic development, building social capital, and repurposing unused land. Food policy councils and other groups that seek to position urban agriculture to policy makers often struggle with how to frame the benefits of and potential problems with urban agriculture. In some cases, the enthusiasm is ahead of the evidence. This review provides an overview of the documented sociocultural, health, environmental, and economic development outcomes of urban agriculture. Demonstrated and potential benefits, as well as risks and limitations, of this growing field will be discussed. We also offer recommendations for further research to strengthen the scholarship on urban agriculture.

https://drive.google.com/file/d/110JyrHUp61FPXT-B9Wdk0DPKXQhf-RVz/preview?usp=drivesdk” title=”urban-ag-literature-review.pdf

The legacies of racist land-based policies are built into the urban and exurban landscapes of the United States. The area of food systems planning provides a special opportunity within planning practice to recognize these histories and work to ameliorate contemporary inequities. Racial equity assessment tools offer one strategy for prioritizing principles of racial equity into food systems
planning processes. The Food System Racial Equity Assessment tool and process is one such strategy for considering how people, place, process, and power are interrelated in a particular plan, policy, or proposal. Pilot sessions with local food-centered organizations informed the development
of this tool and provided valuable insight into its relevance in planning practice. By using food system-specific racial equity tools, planners can normalize conversations about racial difference, ask critical questions about who is or is not served by plans, and prioritizes deliberate consideration of who is involved in visioning, framing, and proposing solutions to planning problems.