City Lifts Beekeeping Ban!
Tuesday, March 16th, 2010
The city’s Board of Health has decided to end its decades-long ban on city beekeeping, and allow the honey to flow! Just minutes ago, the AP reported that the movement to legalize bees has succeeded.
Honeybees are non-aggressive, and the very low incidence of bee stings within the city limits convinced the Board to change the rules. Honeybees are great pollinators, and allowing rooftop hives and so forth will be a fantastic boon to the burgeoning urban agriculture movement!
Go bees!
(via Gothamist/AP)
Posted in Food, New York City, Organic Farming | Permalink
2009 Solar-Powered Film Series Continues for Second Week
Wednesday, September 16th, 2009It looks like the weather will hold and the films will go on as scheduled this weekend! For those of you who have not memorized the schedule yet:
Thurs Sept 17: A Sea Change, 2008, 85 mins.
Fri Sept 18: The Garden, 2008, 80 mins.
Sat Sept 19: Burning In the Sun, 2009, 65 mins.
Rain Date for any of the above: Sun Sept 20
For trailers and descriptions, please visit http://solar1.org/events/film.
Posted in Energy, Film, Food, Global Warming, Organic Farming, Photovoltaics, Pollution, Water | Permalink
Solar-Powered Film Series: “The Garden”
Friday, September 11th, 2009| September 18, 2009 | ||
| 7:00 pm | to | 11:00 pm |
Friday September 18th
Short: Hawthorne Valley Farm (from From Elegance to Earthworms)
Feature: The Garden
An Academy Award-nominee, The Garden follows the plight of the farmers who care for a fourteen-acre community garden at 41st and Alameda in South Central Los Angeles. Established to promote healing after the devastating L.A. riots in 1992, the South Central Farmers have since created a miracle farm in one of the country’s most blighted neighborhoods but are now challenged by bulldozers that are poised to level their oasis.
Speakers: Juventino Avila & Stacey Murphy
Juventino Avila, Co-owner and Chef of Get Fresh Table and Market, entered his first professional kitchen in 1995. He began his career as a line cook for Nuevo Latino pioneer Douglas Rodriguez at Patria, which was rated three stars by the New York Times, but received his formal training afterwards at Peter Kump’s School of Culinary Arts (now the Institute of Culinary Education) in New York City. As an instructor at the Institute of Culinary Education [ICE] he had the opportunity to work alongside top chefs like Diana Kennedy and attend seminars with food science writer Harold McGee and the father of molecular gastronomy Hervé This.
Eating exclusively from NYC’s Greenmarkets for two years reconnected Stacey Murphy to food production and led her to question what kind of agricultural was possible in a city as dense as NYC. She entered BK Farmyards in the Buckminster Fuller Challenge as a way to combine all of her passions and envision an urban agricultural system where everyone eats well. She hopes to stimulate new possibilities in our failing food system through partnerships with the city, developers, and homeowners.
Posted in Film, Food, Organic Farming, Solar One Events | Permalink
Black Swallowtail at Solar One
Monday, August 17th, 2009
In the herb garden just outside of Solar One, we spotted 4 Black Swallowtail caterpillars. The were munching on the seedlings of last years dill plant.
At first glance we thought the caterpillars were Monarch caterpillars only because they are the only caterpillars we ever see in that garden, and from a distance they have similar stripes. But on closer inspection we noticed that they were definitely not Monarch caterpillars, nor were they on the correct host plant. These caterpillars were on our dill plants which are one of the host plants for the Black Swallowtail along with carrots, parsley, Queen Anne’s Lace, and a few other species.
The Black Swallowtail starts its life as a cream colored egg, it then goes through 5 larval instars and then forms its chrysalis (cocoon). After the chrysalis it emerges as an adult Black Swallowtail Butterfly.
The instars are different stages of growth the larva goes through to reach its mature size. The first two instars the larva or caterpillar is brown with a white band in the middle of its body. The following 3 instars the caterpillar is light green with black bands that have yellow dots on them (as shown above). It is the larval stage that these insects do most of their eating, in fact is seems like they never stop!
When the caterpillar enters the pupal stage, the time it forms it’s chrysalis, it begins the process of metamorphosis. This is when it changes shape from a caterpillar to a butterfly. Depending on the time of year the pupal stage can last from 8-12 days (if formed in early summer) or it can over winter (if formed in late summer) and emerge 8-9 months later. The time of year also determines the color of the chrysalis; green in summer brown in winter.
It seems as though we may have to wait till next year to see the beautiful Black Swallowtail butterflies emerge from their chrysalides. In a few days these caterpillars are going to form their chrysalides, they seem to be in the 5th instar now.
Check back with us on our flickr account @ solaronenyc for updated photos of the caterpillars, chrysalides and hopefully the butterflies.
Posted in Education, Food, Organic Farming, Solar One, Stuyvesant Cove Park | Permalink
Stuyvesant Strolls
Wednesday, July 8th, 2009| September 16, 2009 | ||
| 6:00 pm | to | 9:00 pm |
SEPTEMBER 16th: The last in our series of evening walking tours of Stuyvesant Cove Park, will be co-led by NYC Audubon’s Gabriel Willow who will give detailed information about the birds in Stuyvesant Cove Park and how they relate to our native plants.
Refreshments to follow in the park.
TIME: 6 PM
RSVP: melissa@solar1.org
Posted in Education, Food, Native Plants, Solar One Events, Stuyvesant Cove Park | Permalink
Special Film Presentation–What’s On Your Plate?
Wednesday, July 8th, 2009| September 25, 2009 | ||
| 6:00 pm | to | 9:00 pm |
SEPTEMBER 25th: Screening of What’s On Your Plate?
Explore NYC food systems through the eyes of two children.
Plus FUN ACTIVITIES FOR KIDS!
Posted in Education, Film, Food, New York City, Solar One Events | Permalink
Sun to Stars South Asian Festival
Wednesday, July 8th, 2009| August 22, 2009 | ||
| 3:00 pm | to | 11:00 pm |
Inspired by the traditional all-night concerts along India’s Ganges River, Sun to Stars South Asian Festival presents an eclectic blend of classical, contemporary and folk performing arts powered by solar energy, while evoking the informal setting which performers and audience interact to create a positive artistic experience, as they do in India.
Past performers include: Rajika Puri, Guarav Shah, Preeti Vasudevan, Parul Shah, and Vivek Rudrapatna.
ACCESSIBLE TO ALL AGES!
South Asian food will be available for sale!
Posted in Art, Dance, Food, Music, Solar One Events, Solar Power, Stuyvesant Cove Park | Permalink
THIS WEEKEND! Citysol 2009
Monday, July 6th, 2009
On July 10-12, 2009, Citysol, a celebration of urban sustainability and creativity in a mini music and arts festival, returns to Solar One. And what a time we shall have! (more…)
Posted in Art, Citysol, Design, Food, I Heart PV, Legislation, Music, New York City, Solar One, Sustainability | Permalink
Solar-Powered Dance Series Program A
Monday, July 6th, 2009| July 23, 2009 | ||
| 6:00 pm | to | 8:00 pm |
| July 24, 2009 | ||
| 6:00 pm | to | 8:00 pm |
| July 25, 2009 | ||
| 6:00 pm | to | 8:00 pm |
JULY 23-25: The Fifth Annual Solar-Powered Dance Series features 14 emerging choreographers in a diverse variety of styles, from African/hiphop to circus to vaudeville/burlesque and beyond.
Performances are accessible to a general audience and are appropriate for all ages!
The first week’s dances will include choreography by: Sara Joel, Debra Wanner, Jessica Chen, Clairaudient, Sahar Javedani, Kristy Lewis, and Jamal Jackson.
Dances begin at 6 PM!
Rain Date: July 26th
Posted in Art, Dance, Food, Music, Solar One Events | Permalink
Stuyvesant Strolls
Monday, July 6th, 2009| July 15, 2009 | ||
| 6:00 pm | to | 8:00 pm |
JULY 16th: The second in our series of evening walking tours of Stuyvesant Cove Park, will be co-led by NYC Audubon naturalist Don Riepe, who will give detailed information about the birds in Stuyvesant Cove Park and how they relate to our native plants.
Refreshments to follow in the park.
RSVP to melissa@solar1.org
Posted in Education, Food, Native Plants, Solar One Events, Stuyvesant Cove Park | Permalink
