October 20, 201014 yr ^ Nice! I assume this is the parcel assembly surrounding the Evergreen Greenhouse and marketplace concept and not a separate project? ^^^ I believe a number of Cleveland's Reimagining sites have failed the soil safety tests. But I think there also has been some local interest in piloting some phytoremediation projects, a process where plants and mushrooms are actually used to remediate contaminated soil, such as through extraction by the plants or filtration through the root systems. In cities like Cleveland, Detroit, etc., even if 75% of vacant properties were contaminated, you could still coordinate a massive urban agriculture effort on remaining parcels. If Cleveland can figure out (and, granted, it's still a relatively large "if") how to put a public multi-use path through or around a site with enriched uranium contaminants, then I'm not too worried about elevated lead levels killing urban agriculture :)
October 21, 201014 yr So what you're saying is the next step is creating an urban composting initiative! ...maybe. They are doing this in Louisville in a big way, basically following Allens lead.
October 21, 201014 yr You can buy compost by the truckload from local governments. The compost is from the municipal leaf and brush collection. I would expect that there is lead in soil from paint scraped off of the houses in the neighborhood. Sherwin Williams quit putting lead in their paint over half a century ago (to their credit).
October 21, 201014 yr ^ Nice! I assume this is the parcel assembly surrounding the Evergreen Greenhouse and marketplace concept and not a separate project? It actually is not! The announcement has to do with a completely different project.
October 21, 201014 yr Not sure if this goes here or not - but it is a great read! http://www.freep.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=%2F20101016%2FBUSINESS04%2F10160311%2FCleveland-s-leaders-put-it-ahead-in-revitalization&template=fullarticle Cleveland's leaders put it ahead in revitalization Smaller size also helps, says one city official BY JOHN GALLAGHER FREE PRESS BUSINESS WRITER CLEVELAND -- As Detroit struggles to find a way to re-use its miles and miles of vacant land, one place to look for answers is Cleveland. This week, some 900 urban experts gathered in the city for the third Reclaiming Vacant Properties conference, a growing national forum for sharing ideas about a problem that plagues almost all cities.
October 21, 201014 yr http://www.gcbl.org/blog/marc-lefkowitz/cleveland-adds-another-six-acre-urban-incubator-farm#comment-1930 Cleveland adds another six-acre urban incubator farm Submitted by Marc Lefkowitz | Last edited October 21, 2010 - 1:11pm On Friday, Ohio Department of Agriculture Director Robert Boggs will be in Cleveland to announce the funding of the Cleveland Urban Agriculture Incubator Pilot Project. The city will get $1.6 million ($940,000 from the state) in grants to develop a farmer program on six-acres of contiguous Land Bank (city owned vacant) property. Located at Gill and E. 83rd Street, the funds will pay to prepare the land and provide infrastructure (such as water connections) for farming. A half-acre will be used by Ohio State University Extension as a demonstration area for educational purposes. The remaining will be leased in quarter-acre parcels to each of the 20 farmers enrolled in the incubator project. “The Cleveland Urban Agriculture Incubator Pilot Project embodies Governor Strickland’s initiative to bridge food gaps that exist in Ohio’s urban areas,” Boggs said in a statement. “Today we stand in a vacant lot, but one year from now, we will stand in a garden that will provide fresh, nutritious foods to Cleveland’s neighborhoods. This project will not only provide healthy food but will also create jobs and put money back into the local economy.” The site of a former industrial area near Kinsman Avenue commonly referred to as The Forgotten Triangle—the city’s largest concentration of vacant land—there’s room to expand the farm to 11 acres once it’s up and running. With the addition of the Kinsman-area farm to the Ohio City Farm, Cleveland will be the only city in the country to have two six-acre urban farms. The Urban Agriculture Incubator Pilot Project is cooperatively funded in part by the Ohio Department of Agriculture, which will grant $100,000; the city of Cleveland, which will grant $100,000 and will donate the land; and the Ohio State University Extension, which will fund $740,000 through grant money received from the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s Beginning Farmer and Rancher Development Program. The four-phase pilot project will be in full operation by April 2011. The city will hold a press conference on Friday, 10 a.m. (rain or shine) at the corner of Gill Avenue and East 83rd St. (off of Kinsman Rd.) in Cleveland.
October 23, 201014 yr Posted on Gardens Under Glass thread as well... PBS from San Francisco was in town.... http://web.me.com/gardensunderglass/gardensunderglass/My_Albums/My_Albums.html
October 28, 201014 yr New $1.1 million program to create urban farms in Cleveland's Kinsman neighborhood CLEVELAND, Ohio -- By next fall, a group of fledgling farmers could be harvesting the last of their crops on what today is a bleak stretch of vacant property in Cleveland's Kinsman neighborhood. Officials from the city of Cleveland, the Ohio and U.S. Departments of Agriculture and the Ohio State University Extension Service announced a three-year, $1.1 million pilot program Wednesday to create an urban farm at East 83rd Street and Gill Avenue. Read more at http://blog.cleveland.com/metro/2010/10/new_program_to_create.html
February 5, 201114 yr A great example from Detroit, with an equally great video and song by one of my favorite groups (Above & Beyond).... http://itunes.apple.com/us/podcast/above-beyond-gareth-emery/id121534774?i=88025051 "In the souls of the people the grapes of wrath are filling and growing heavy, growing heavy for the vintage." -- John Steinbeck
March 29, 201114 yr Looks like the new urban farm at E.67 and Superior is still pushing ahead: Cleveland Urban Farm Takes One Step Forward, One Step Back Posted by Vince Grzegorek on Tue, Mar 29, 2011 at 10:02 AM One of Cleveland’s most ambitious urban farming projects took a big step forward and one step back last week. Community Greenhouse Partners raised enough money to start putting up its first “hoop house,” a greenhouse-type growing structure, at East 67th and Superior. But their attempt to have the water turned on in the rectory of St. George — the decommissioned church the group bought from the Catholic Diocese of Cleveland — nearly ended in disaster. Water poured into the building, flooding the sacristy and a classroom. Quick action by volunteers and the donation of industrial fans and dehumidifers http://www.clevescene.com/scene-and-heard/archives/2011/03/29/cleveland-urban-farm-takes-one-step-forward-one-step-back
March 30, 201114 yr http://www.gcbl.org/blog/marc-lefkowitz/26-acre-urban-farm-zone-cleveland-get-boost-will-allen 26-acre urban farm zone in Cleveland to get boost from Will Allen Submitted by Marc Lefkowitz | Last edited March 9, 2011 - 4:32pm Cleveland kids garden at a ReImagine Cleveland pilot project in Summer 2010For Damien Forshe and David Hester, urban agriculture didn’t begin with 2007’s ReImagine a More Sustainable Cleveland or even 2010’s loosening of the city’s zoning to allow farming and livestock on residential property (nice as those efforts were in applying a salve to the popular belief that the city is were opportunity goes to die). “We’ve been bred into this,” says Hester. “My grandparents were farmers. When they migrated to Ohio, they brought those skills with them.” His grandmother taught him about raising chickens, planting veggies and fruit trees. “We had all those things on East 105th and Churchill.” For the past 45 years, Hester never stopped gardening. He enrolled in the OSU Extension training in Wooster where he learned the art of floristry and animal husbandry. And so it is with a sense of destiny that the pair of cousins—one who grew up near Kinsman, the other Glenville in the aftermath of fires in the late 60s that tore their neighborhoods apart and left them fallow—are repairing the land and the people who live on it. During the day they run Rid-All, an exterminating company, but their passion for urban farming got a big boost last year at an event in Youngstown where they met Will Allen, the rock star urban gardener who rubs elbows with the likes of Michelle Obama. Allen anointed the pair his Ohio partners, and will appear in town next week to help them build a regional training center, a Cleveland version of Growing Power, the urban farm/training/retail center he directs in inner city Milwaukee. “We are the team that will move (Allen’s) dream,” Forshe says proudly. Forshe is investing his own money—and working to attract capital with the help of Allen and local movers like Randy McShepard of PolicyBridge—to anchor what nonprofit community developers Burten Bell Carr (BBC) are calling the Urban Agriculture Innovation Zone, a 26-acre area of mostly city land bank and tax delinquent properties between E. 79th and E. 84th streets and Kinsman. The same fires from the Sixties were the demise of many a structure here, but Forshe and Hester envision it as ground central for an urban agriculture cluster—and they’re not the only ones banking on it. Image from Brink City: Green in the Ghetto Issue 2 Image from Brink City: Green in the Ghetto Issue 2 If you didn’t know better, the drive down E. 79th Street past Orlando Bakery and the overgrown Kingsbury Run and RTA Blue and Red Line corridors to Kinsman Road feels like backcountry Kentucky. It’s where you’ll find the city’s largest swath of vacant land all green and shaggy but also choked with rusty and twisted chain link fence and piles of illegally dumped brick and masonry. Down a bumpy lane with squat homes, large trees and cars and trucks parked on lawns, Forshe has framed out a tidy 60 x 40 ft. greenhouse with 2x4s and secured it with a polycarbonate shell. It is here at E. 81st Street and Otter Avenue, on an acre on loan from the Cleveland Land Bank, that Allen will lead a workshop on how he built his famous 2-ton worm composting system. And he’ll bring the blueprints for his 10,000 fish farm where 6 x 4 ft. tanks of tilapia and perch are raised for sale. The sustainable aspect of the ‘vertical farm’ system (which Allen credits the Dutch with inventing) is powering it by solar thermal energy and siphoning off the waste into tanks that fertilize watercress and hydroponic tomato plants. Forshe plucks a color illustration from a folder detailing his plans to scale up his operation, that is, once he can locate a six-acre parcel (with JP Morgan Chase and Neighborhood Leadership Institute signed on as partners, he hints that funding will not be a barrier). It shows a cluster of greenhouses and a 6,000 sq. ft. building with two classrooms and a prep kitchen. Outside, Hester will lead kids in planting beds of “TOP G” (Tomatoes, Onions, Peppers and Greens) produce following a method they call Original State (“No pesticides added. Never. Nothing added”). They have a strategy to attract kids from around the way, and build them up with an entrepreneur’s instinct at this state-of-the-art urban agriculture and training center. “We’re waking them up, through these comic books,” he says, handing over a copy of Brink City: Green in the Ghetto. It’s a serial about an extraterrestrial who arrives in the city to fight for the people and against the woes of environmental degradation. Created by Forshe and CIA artist Martinez Garcias, the Sisters of Charity paid to print 2,500 copies which will be distributed through schools in the Central area, Forshe says. Future issues will include the kids who go through their training program. “I define urban agriculture as the swagger of being able to communicate, to relate through comics, through sport programs,” he continues. Across the road from the greenhouse is a city park with a swing set and a basketball court where they plan to introduce kids to environmental science and urban agriculture through a program called “Shoot Hoops, Not Guns.” They would like to launch a farmer’s market on their property, and are talking to the founder of Soul Vegetarian restaurant about running a food cart. The dream was built over 14 years when Rid All exterminated pests in nearby CMHA properties like Garden Valley Estates. “Down in the projects, we opened people’s cabinets and it was all processed food. No veggies. We said, ‘I feel helpless right now. We’ve got to do something.’ “We live in a food desert. What we need is a food revolution.” * * * * * The hope is Forshe and Hester’s efforts join the constellation of those educating young Clevelanders to grow and to run a business of processing, packaging and selling food at market. Cleveland Botanical Garden’s Green Corps has trained hundreds of kids to garden on urban land, for example, and sell their wares at farmer’s markets. But it was OSU Extension—which also graduates hundreds of kids and adults from its market garden training—who made the bombshell announcement last fall. The non-profit won U.S. Department of Agriculture’s first urban ag grant, a whopping $740,000 to convert six acres of vacant land—right across the street from Forshe—into The Urban Agriculture Incubator Pilot Project (Ohio Department of Agriculture kicked in $100,000 and the city of Cleveland $100,000 plus it will donate the land). Site of the Rid-All / Growing Power regional training center in ClevelandAt E. 83rd Street and Gill, OSU Extension will remediate the soil and provide infrastructure and training for those who want to make farming a business. A half-acre plot will be used by OSU Extension as a demonstration growing area. The remaining will be leased in quarter-acre parcels to each of 20 farmers enrolled in the incubator project. It represents a big jump up for OSU Extension which manages many community and market gardens scattered across the city, but none this large nor with so many resources to bear. “Putting (multiple farmers) together will create synergies,” predicts Andy Hudak, the newly hired manager of the project. “It can be harder for one guy on a half-acre to go to market. “This incubator is about bringing people together. I would like to see a governance structure: I don’t know if it’s an official cooperative. This will be their space to manage, to build comradery and maintain a high level of productivity.” OSU will provide infrastructure, common marketing and distribution services. A CSA (Community Supported Agriculture) and a farmer’s market are two shared services that could be set up, if the farmers want, adds OSU Extension’s Morgan Taggart. Will OSU Extension also build synergies with its neighbors from the Rid-All site? “I think we need to have open conversations with them,” Taggart says. “We’re neighbors, we’re doing similar training. We’ve worked with community gardeners for a long time. “I could see bringing the aquaponics / fish production to some scale. By having site control for longer, maybe we can remove some of those barriers. We have space and resources now for entrepreneurial possibilities.” Hudak and Taggart also see possibilities for a food cart and developing a gateway leading into the district from Kinsman. They like the idea of grazing livestock on a common green. And since they’re targeting underserved populations, they will invest in curriculum and translators to train farmers among the disabled and refugees in partnership with Catholic Charities and International Services Center. Forshe and Hester also see possibilities of the two working together. “I think it’s great (OSU Ext.) are coming down there,” Forshe says. “I could see as people come through our program to create a scholarship—after they get the urban training then they go to OSU to get certified.” In fact, it was the very confluence of the city’s largest area of vacant land and a number of groups—including BBC, the city’s Parks and Recreation Department and ReImagine Cleveland—pushing for a bold experiment that brought the two together. The land has been on Burten Bell Carr’s radar, says program manager Sherita Mullins, for nearly a decade when they proposed a 20-acre tree farm that never got off the ground. “We’ve talked about native plantings, fruit and vegetables, biofuel, water retention in a natural way, livestock, although I don’t know that we could go that far,” Mullins says. “Residents like the rural type environment. We definitely want to partner with the school or a faith based organization. Kids have to make the connection between healthy eating and where their food comes from.” Cuyahoga County has already paid for environmental testing on the privately owned vacant parcels and the Cleveland Economic Development Department completed Phase I and II tests on all of the city land bank property. Soil conditions are OK, Mullins says. Terry Schwarz, director of the Cleveland Urban Design Collaborative, sees a connection between the urban ag zone and a ‘signature’ project evolving from ReImagine a Greater Cleveland. After years of planning, convening and momentum building, the ReImagine Steering Committee, which includes city officials and CDC directors, is preparing recommendations for large-scale vacant land reuse, with nearby Kingsbury Run topping their list. “The Kingsbury Run / Urban Agriculture Innovation Zone could become the basis for a linked network of food producing sites in the city,” the committee wrote in its final report. The ReImagine project budgets $40,000 to design a plan for physical improvements, infrastructure investments, and programs needed to attract innovative, sustainable agriculture uses in the zone. “Maybe way we can home in on processing food or agri-tourism, like W. 25th, The West Side Market and the Ohio City Farm,” Schwarz adds, “to create these moments in the city where we can talk about self sufficiency.” The Urban Ag Zone and Kingsbury Run are also attracting notice from the Sewer District which announced plans for three pilot green infrastructure projects, including Kingsbury Run, to address the chronic combined sewer overflow problems and promote sustainable land use. “The Sewer District has noticed that all these streets could be redesigned to put water into bioretention, and become the water that goes to the farmers and not contributing to runoff problems,” Schwarz says. They’re not the only ones investing millions in the neighborhood. The Cleveland Foundation-backed GreenCity Growers, the third Evergreen Cooperative, is moving ahead with a $23 million greenhouse—powered by a 1.5 MW wind turbine it will put 4.7 acres under glass to grow five million heads of lettuce for direct sale to commercial entities. The operation will create 35 jobs for local residents (perhaps some who learn the trade in the Urban Ag Zone). “Economically, it’s a good sell, as we saw at the Growing Power training in Wisconsin,” Forshe concludes. “(Allen) has 40 to 50 people working on a three-acre farm. He has a passion about making this new food system available to everybody. He has the same desire as I have to get our people healthy.”
June 8, 201114 yr Morning! Thought I'd share this press release with my fellow Ohioans regarding a dedication set for tomorrow for yet another urban farm in Cleveland! http://www.localfoodcleveland.org/events/dedication-of-free-stamp City Council claims we're second in urban farming behind Portland, but closing in on the one spot!
July 25, 201113 yr OK team Cleveland, time to cast some votes! http://blog.cleveland.com/metro/2011/07/west_side_group_positioned_to.html Cudell Improvement could win orchard for Cleveland's West Side As of today, an application by Cudell Improvement ranks fourth in nationwide online voting sponsored by Edy's Fruit Bars and the Fruit Tree Planting Foundation. The top five finishers will win orchards.
July 26, 201113 yr Voted. Hopefully we can pull this. I would love a public orchard in this part of town.
July 26, 201113 yr Here is the actual link to the site to vote. There are only a few days left, but once registered you can vote once a day... http://www.communitiestakeroot.com/?Brand=0
July 26, 201113 yr Nothing like an Edy's Fruit Bar when it's 91 degrees outside. Got my coupon all set and ready to go!!!
July 27, 201113 yr Remember UOers to keep voting! http://www.communitiestakeroot.com/?Brand=0 Cuddell is still in 4th place, holding steady.
August 2, 201113 yr From a press release e-mailed by Ward 16 Councilman Jay Westbrook..... Cudell Improvement, Inc. wins community orchard for Cleveland’s west side Cleveland site is one of five in the U.S. selected by Edy’s Fruit Bars CLEVELAND (August 2, 2011) – Come this time next year, a dilapidated stretch of property along Detroit Avenue on Cleveland’s west side will be reborn as a 1.5 acre community fruit orchard. Cudell Improvement, Inc. participated in a national contest held by Edy’s Fruit Bars, in collaboration with the Fruit Tree Planting Association, to award winning recipients with a community orchard. On August 1, Cudell Improvement, Inc. was awarded a fruit orchard and technical assistance for transforming the land and determining the best fruit trees for the soil. “I cannot express how excited we are to have won this contest and bring a fruit orchard to Cleveland’s west side,” said Anita Brindza, executive director, Cudell Improvement, Inc. “Where once run down, crime ridden apartments stood, nature’s bounty can grow. We will convert this barren land into fertile ground and provide produce for local food banks and meal programs.” In April, a handful of local sites were in the competition, but Cudell Improvement, Inc. remained the only Ohio entry in the final weeks of voting. “I thank everyone – from Cleveland to as far as Portugal – who took the time to vote,” said Jeanette Toms, special programs manager, Cudell Improvement, Inc. “We asked for you support and more than 22,800 of your votes made this a reality. Cleveland is truly a community that cares and works hard to make a difference.” Cudell Improvement came in fourth place in the national voting. All top five vote getters were awarded an orchard. “This project will add to the beauty of our community,” said Councilman Jay Westbrook. “100 years ago the ridge along Detroit Avenue was filled with orchards. This is back to the future. Again, you’ll encounter the sights and smells of a fruit orchard. The Cudell and Edgewater communities are a great place to call home in Cleveland.” Cudell Improvement, Inc. will kick off the orchard with a planting day on August 30. Details to come. Cudell Improvement, Inc. is a 37-year-old community development corporation serving the mid west side of Cleveland with programming in safety, housing, real estate development, energy conservation, commercial development, youth services and the arts. ### "In the souls of the people the grapes of wrath are filling and growing heavy, growing heavy for the vintage." -- John Steinbeck
August 5, 201113 yr Here's a pretty cool NYTimes article about vacant lots in Rust Belt cities, focusing on Cleveland, and focusing on "green uses." Well written and good botanical info. http://www.nytimes.com/2011/08/04/garden/finding-the-potential-in-vacant-lots-in-the-garden.html?pagewanted=1&src=recg
August 10, 201113 yr Whole Country Talking About Cleveland's Urban Farming Efforts and Vacant Lots Posted by Vince Grzegorek on Wed, Aug 10, 2011 at 2:11 PM Urban farming efforts in Cleveland are not exactly breaking news in town anymore. You know about it, you've read about it, you've driven by the farm off W. 25th, you've eaten vegetables grown right here in Cleveland and served up in dishes from Jonathan Sawyer and Michael Symon and others. But those outside of Cleveland are beginning to take notice and spread the word of the Forest City's penchant for local food, focus on sustainability, and a host of other buzzwords and trends that don't sound very sexy but boil down to: eating fresh, keeping money and work in the city, and making use of vacant land in productive ways. http://www.clevescene.com/scene-and-heard/archives/2011/08/10/whole-country-talking-about-clevelands-urban-farming-efforts-and-vacant-lots
August 11, 201113 yr The orchard idea is pretty good. One thing I think we need more of is fruits to along with the vegtables. BTW, not Cleveland, but here in Dayton I just had my first urban ag produce. Used some tomatoes I bought from a homeless shelter that is doing raised bed gardening. Mixed it in with cucumbers grown here in Centerville by a CSA (yes, there is a CSA in hoity-toity Centerville...and they sell downtown at the market) and peppers raised by a co-worker who home-gardens and some basil from some growers in Yellow Springs for an all-local salad (except for the vinegar and oil and salt and pepper). This urban ag thing is something that is very slow getting started in Dayton. There are things scattered around but they are smallish-neighborhood based plots, with the product not available in markets. The only exceptions are the ones I mentioned: the CSA place and now this homeless shelter doing some minor sales. I should note that in Cincy the Over The Rhine people are having some urban ag going and they sell at Findlay Market. Does this urban ag stuff in Cincy make it to the West Side Market or are there other local markets where the product is available?
August 11, 201113 yr They are doing the last round of Edy's "Community Grows" orchards for August. Cudell was one of the winning 5 for last month and there are several Cleveland area neighborhoods in the running again this month, including the Cleveland Botanical Garden. You can vote everyday until the end of the month! http://www.communitiestakeroot.com/?Brand=0&utm_source=Edys&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=FruitBars_MidSummer_2011
August 12, 201113 yr At 3.25 acres, this sounds pretty substantial! Also posted in the East-side Cleveland thread in the projects/development section...... City of Cleveland BOARD OF ZONING APPEALS August 22, 2011 9:30 Ward 5 Calendar No. 11-135: 5800 Diamond Avenue Phyllis Cleveland 17 Notices Green City Growers Corporation, owner, appeals to erect a commercial hydroponic greenhouse for food production on 3.25 acres, including a parking lot, offices, accessory uses and site work that includes three types of 8 foot high fence (decorative panel, decorative ornamental and black vinyl coated chain link) to surround the entire property that is located in Semi and General Industry Districts; contrary to Section 358.05(a)(1) fences in side street and front yards in a General Industry District shall not exceed a height of 6 feet; and contrary to Section 358.05(a)(2) fences in side street and front yards in a Semi-Industry District shall not exceed a height of 4 feet and no fence in a Semi-Industry District shall exceed a height of 6 feet; and subject to the provisions in Section 358.06(b), all fences shall be uniform in material and color, according to the Cleveland Codified Ordinances. (Filed 7-22-11) http://planning.city.cleveland.oh.us/bza/agenda/2011/crr08-22-2011.html "In the souls of the people the grapes of wrath are filling and growing heavy, growing heavy for the vintage." -- John Steinbeck
August 15, 201113 yr ^ This greenhouse will produce three million heads of lettuce and a million pounds of herbs to be sold commercially within a 150-mile radius every year. A substantial portion of its energy was to be produced by a wind turbine and the financing was lined up for it, but it got squashed because it is located in Cleveland Clinic airspace. Also what's notable is that 30 working class jobs will be created.
August 15, 201113 yr There is certainly a good location for this. Its right in the "forgotton Triangle" area just North of the East 55th station.
August 15, 201113 yr At 3.25 acres, this sounds pretty substantial! Also posted in the East-side Cleveland thread in the projects/development section...... City of Cleveland BOARD OF ZONING APPEALS August 22, 2011 9:30 Ward 5 Calendar No. 11-135: 5800 Diamond Avenue Phyllis Cleveland 17 Notices Green City Growers Corporation, owner, appeals to erect a commercial hydroponic greenhouse for food production on 3.25 acres, including a parking lot, offices, accessory uses and site work that includes three types of 8 foot high fence (decorative panel, decorative ornamental and black vinyl coated chain link) to surround the entire property that is located in Semi and General Industry Districts; contrary to Section 358.05(a)(1) fences in side street and front yards in a General Industry District shall not exceed a height of 6 feet; and contrary to Section 358.05(a)(2) fences in side street and front yards in a Semi-Industry District shall not exceed a height of 4 feet and no fence in a Semi-Industry District shall exceed a height of 6 feet; and subject to the provisions in Section 358.06(b), all fences shall be uniform in material and color, according to the Cleveland Codified Ordinances. (Filed 7-22-11) http://planning.city.cleveland.oh.us/bza/agenda/2011/crr08-22-2011.html That's a huge facility. I've seen plans for a 1 acre greenhouse, and it's a sea of green, and all automated. Aside from some small access walkways on either side it's uninterrupted garden. Seeds are planted in the front, and the plants are harvested / shipped in the back. Any maintenance, etc. is done from underneath.
August 15, 201113 yr ^ This greenhouse will produce three million heads of lettuce and a million pounds of herbs to be sold commercially within a 150-mile radius every year. A substantial portion of its energy was to be produced by a wind turbine and the financing was lined up for it, but it got squashed because it is located in Cleveland Clinic airspace. Also what's notable is that 30 working class jobs will be created. Sounds great! Sorry to hear about the big wind turbine being declined. Is there a possibility of establishing lots of smaller wind turbines like the one on Progressive Field? "In the souls of the people the grapes of wrath are filling and growing heavy, growing heavy for the vintage." -- John Steinbeck
August 15, 201113 yr This is the next EverGreen Coop business, correct? http://www.evergreencoop.com/ A substantial portion of its energy was to be produced by a wind turbine and the financing was lined up for it, but it got squashed because it is located in Cleveland Clinic airspace. Seriously? The CC helipad is almost 2 miles away. Any idea how tall the proposed turbine tower was?
August 17, 201113 yr This is the next EverGreen Coop business, correct? http://www.evergreencoop.com/ A substantial portion of its energy was to be produced by a wind turbine and the financing was lined up for it, but it got squashed because it is located in Cleveland Clinic airspace. Seriously? The CC helipad is almost 2 miles away. Any idea how tall the proposed turbine tower was? Yes, seriously. A 1.5 MW turbine was originally proposed. The tower was to be 87 ft high and blades would have been 86 ft in diameter, so the total height would have been about 130 feet. 40% of the greenhouse's energy would have been produced from wind. In addition to CC, the city didn't seem completely supportive of the idea due to the height. Unfortunately, the turbine ($3.6 million) was fully funded/financed. A smaller turbine has been discussed, but I'm not completely sure where those conversations have gone. There was no wind turbine in the plan presented to the local design review committee a few weeks ago. Yes, this is the next Evergreen Cooperative project.
August 17, 201113 yr ^Thanks for all the info. Wow, that is really disappointing. Still a great project though.
September 25, 201113 yr Sustainable Cleveland 2019: Local food movement could create 28,000 new jobs Published: Saturday, September 24, 2011, 6:00 AM Updated: Saturday, September 24, 2011, 9:04 AM By John Funk, The Plain Dealer CLEVELAND, Ohio -- Thirty-seven percent of Cleveland residents say it is important that their food be grown locally. Yet just 2 percent of the food purchased in the entire region is grown here. And that's despite a largely underground movement under way for the last couple of years that has led to the creation of urban gardens; restaurants that feature locally grow food, including grass fed beef; a surge in new farmers markets; and a service to connect consumers directly with farmers. Northeast Ohio's annual food bill is $11 billion, and the economic consequences, not to mention nutritional benefits, of eating fresh, locally grown food are staggering. READ MORE AT: http://www.cleveland.com/business/index.ssf/2011/09/sustainable_cleveland_2019_loc.html "In the souls of the people the grapes of wrath are filling and growing heavy, growing heavy for the vintage." -- John Steinbeck
September 30, 201113 yr Organic Pioneer: Maurice Small http://www.rodaleinstitute.org/20110908_organic-pioneer-maurice-small This urban garden pied piper helps inner-city communities transform empty, blighted lots into green and growing nutritional and financial resources. Part farmer, part passionate activist and part teacher, Small is pioneering organic food security in Cleveland, Detroit, Louisville and other Ohio cities. We're honoring Small as one of our Organic Pioneers on September 16th, but we caught up with him in advance to chat about how he found his passion and what he thinks we need to do to connect more people with good food. Rodale: What was the biggest challenge you’ve faced while working on food security and urban farming efforts, and what was the key to overcoming that challenge? Maurice Small: The biggest challenge is happening right now. It is the same challenge we’ve been facing for decades. Getting people access to food is still a chore. There are organizations working on the issues around the world, but there is still not enough of that. The health of our communities could be improved substantially by urban livestock in cities like New York and Cleveland. But we’re not quite there yet. People still don’t understand the value. They complain about why everyone needs to have chickens! You know job creation is a big part of it, too. But what job creation was in the 1960s is not the same as what is could or should be in this day and age. I met with a bunch of national organizers about hemp production as a means of job creation. These aren’t the kinds of jobs people automatically think of, but that just might be where the future lies. Rallying the common people and getting them talking the same language—being able to transcend the classroom and the boardroom and begin a conversation—is the only way to really overcome the challenges. ...more...
November 7, 201113 yr Aquaponics and tilapia production, worm casting and composting currently happening in the Kinsman neighborhood: http://videos.cleveland.com/plain-dealer/2011/11/rid-all_green_partnership_-_an.html
November 7, 201113 yr ^Thanks for posting! Major props to those three guys for putting this together.
December 22, 201113 yr http://cityfresh.org/ Welcome to City Fresh! City Fresh is a nonprofit program of the New Agrarian Center (NAC) that seeks to build a more just and sustainable local food system in Northeast Ohio. City Fresh meets the needs of both urban and rural communities by improving access to fresh, locally grown food for urban residents and increasing marketing opportunities in the city for local farmers. We are a movement of volunteers, farmers, youth and community members committed to local food and health in our community. The City Fresh program impacts the local food system through the development of neighorhood food centers called Fresh Stops, nutrition education, garden installations in urban areas, and the cultivation of direct farm-to-business connections. We delivered over 11,000 shares in Cuyahoga County alone in 2010, directly contributing more than $130,000 to the local foods economy.
December 23, 201113 yr Damn! I haven't see a hat like that since the 70s! Funky!!! "In the souls of the people the grapes of wrath are filling and growing heavy, growing heavy for the vintage." -- John Steinbeck
January 11, 201213 yr :clap: Urban farm among 3 groups getting $100,000 grants to fight hunger in Northeast Ohio Published: Wednesday, January 11, 2012, 12:10 PM Dave Davis, The Plain Dealer CLEVELAND, Ohio -- An urban farm in Cleveland's Kinsman neighborhood started by three childhood friends was one of three local groups to receive $100,000 grants from the Walmart Foundation today. The grants to the Rid-All Green Partnership, the Cleveland Foodbank and Junior Achievement of Greater Cleveland were part of Walmart's five-year $2 billion initiative aimed at hunger and children in need. In the last two days, the Walmart foundation officials have crisscrossed the state awarding more than $1 million to a dozen Ohio groups. "This isn't the only thing Walmart does for the Cleveland Foodbank," said Bill Coquillette, the president of the foodbank's board of trustees. "They also donate food, a lot of food, more than 1 million pounds a year." Foodbank officials said the $100,000 donation will be used for their children's nutrition programs, which they are planning to increase by 15 percent this year to feed 6,000 children. The money will help fund programs that provide about 600,000 meals over weekends, after school and during the summer. http://blog.cleveland.com/metro/2012/01/urban_farm_among_three_groups.html
May 3, 201213 yr From the St. Clair Superior e-newsletter ... crazy cool. From what I've heard, volunteer interest in becoming a shepherd has been high! St. Clair Superior Development Corporation and Urban Shepherds are looking for Volunteer Shepherds for Cleveland's first urban grazing program. Volunteers will be asked to make regular visits to a flock of sheep on North Marginal Road from May to October. A free, one-day training will be provided to all volunteers, which will go over how to work with sheep and spot common ailments. If you are interested in becoming volunteer shepherd, please email us at [email protected]. Be sure to provide your name, mobile phone number, email address, and a home or work address. In addition please let us know which days and times of day that you are generally available throughout the week. Please note that we may not be able to accommodate all applicants and will maintain a waiting list for this and future projects. Stay tuned for more updates on the sheep coming to St Clair Superior!
May 3, 201213 yr Sheep touted as mowing alternative Mary Beth Breckenridge, Akron Beacon Journal April 7, 2012 PENINSULA: Laura DeYoung doesn’t need a lawn mower to keep her grass cut. She has about 80 living grass-cutting machines roaming around behind her house. DeYoung raises sheep as the owner of the Spicy Lamb Farm in Peninsula. She’s also a partner in Urban Shepherds, a coalition of three Ohio sheep farmers that’s promoting the use of sheep to cut grass by grazing instead of using humans and machines. The group is in discussion with its first client, Cleveland’s St. Clair Superior Development Corp. If all goes as planned, Urban Shepherds will have sheep grazing later this month on green space near the lakefront east of downtown Cleveland ... ... More available at http://www.ohio.com/news/top-stories/sheep-touted-as-mowing-alternative-1.292472
May 3, 201213 yr Haha. Hey now! I think I'm going to volunteer to be a shepherd. What a lovely, crazy little city we live in.
May 3, 201213 yr It was definitely be awesome to be driving down the shoreway and see flock of sheep grazing.
May 3, 201213 yr Or how about the Fox News traffic helicopter overlooking the highway, the lake, condos and marinas and ... sheep.
May 7, 201213 yr According to the article, the employee at the St. Clair Superior group saw a film about a city in Brazil that uses sheep to "mow" the grass. The movie is called "A Convenient Truth". Most likely a lot of people on this board have seen it. I think it is a wonderful and inspiring film about a city that embraces many sustainable practices with sheep grazing on public lands being one of many. They also educated the children about recycling, improved transit, etc.
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