Bushwick Campus Greenhouse Gets Expansion Funding
Wednesday, January 4th, 2012In 2010, Solar One helped initiate a greenhouse project at the Bushwick Campus which contains the Academy of Urban Planning, Academy of Environmental Leadership, Brooklyn School for Math and Research, and Bushwick School for Social Justice.
This project grew out of our Green Design Lab project that was recently highlighted in the Wall Street Journal and elsewhere. Now, the Greenhouse project will be taken to a new level thanks to a Kickstarter campaign that raised over $16,500.
Working with EcoStation:NY, students will develop the existing structure to “make it an environment for year-round growing and learning by building shelves, tables, and workbenches, installing solar panels, aquaponic and hydroponic systems, winterizing it for year-round use, and implementing a water catchment system for rainwater harvesting.” From there, it will be used in some new classes covering Agriculture, Hydroponics, etc. that will be available to students at the schools. Other plans include “cooking classes, guest teachers, and field trips,” and it’s all in service of the project’s goal “to connect the dots between the food system, economics, health, the environment, social justice, and sustainable agricultural practices.”
We want to extend our congratulations to everyone involved in making this project happen and hope that it inspires other schools to take up similar projects that educate while improving our local environments. We are looking forward to seeing the completed work in effect in the near future. For more background on the project, check out the Bushwick Campus Farm YouTube Channel.
Posted in Education, Food, Green Design Lab, Organic Farming | Permalink
UPDATE! DIRT! Repostponed Due to Rain! 2011 Solar-Powered Film Series Begins Next Thursday August 18 with DIRT! the Movie
Saturday, August 20th, 2011| August 18, 2011 | ||
| 7:00 pm | to | 11:00 pm |
UPDATE! MORE THUNDERSTORMS SUNDAY NIGHT, DIRT! THE MOVIE CANCELED AGAIN
Please check back here to find out when we might be able to screen DIRT!
Due to thunderstorms on Friday, the screening of DIRT! the Movie has been postponed until TONIGHT Sunday August 21 at 7pm (film will screen around 8:30).
The summer is more than half over, and you know what that means- time for Solar One’s annual Solar-Powered Film Series! As usual, we’ll have 6 programs of (mostly environmental) features and shorts, with a few surprises and special guests thrown in. Also as usual, we’ll be partnering with the always-amazing Green Edge NYC, a social network that helps New Yorkers live more sustainably. This year’s Film Series is also sponsored by Chapin Hill Advisors, a financial planning and wealth management firm with a strong commitment to the environment. We’re excited to welcome them to the Solar One family!
Also new this year: the first week of films deal with the themes of food and urban agriculture, and we’re incredibly excited that the urban farmers of Eagle Street Rooftop Farm will be coming to Solar One and setting up a farm stand where attendees will be able to buy popcorn, snacks and produce grown right across the river in Greenpoint, Brooklyn! Eagle Street is close to Solar One’s heart not only because of their farming venture, but also for Growing Chefs, a great program that teaches schoolkids to not only grow food, but to prepare it as well.
Come and meet them on Thursday, Friday and Saturday August 18-20!
And now, more about the first film we’ll be screening- DIRT! the Movie:
From the website:
DIRT! The Movie–directed and produced by Bill Benenson and Gene Rosow–takes you inside the wonders of the soil. It tells the story of Earth’s most valuable and underappreciated source of fertility–from its miraculous beginning to its crippling degradation.
The opening scenes of the film dive into the wonderment of the soil. Made from the same elements as the stars, plants and animals, and us, “dirt is very much alive.” Though, in modern industrial pursuits and clamor for both profit and natural resources, our human connection to and respect for soil has been disrupted. “Drought, climate change, even war are all directly related to the way we are treating dirt.”
DIRT! the Movie–narrated by Jaime Lee Curtis–brings to life the environmental, economic, social and political impact that the soil has. It shares the stories of experts from all over the world who study and are able to harness the beauty and power of a respectful and mutually beneficial relationship with soil.
DIRT! the Movie is simply a movie about dirt. The real change lies in our notion of what dirt is. The movie teaches us: “When humans arrived 2 million years ago, everything changed for dirt. And from that moment on, the fate of dirt and humans has been intimately linked.” But more than the film and the lessons that it teaches, DIRT the Movie is a call to action.
“The only remedy for disconnecting people from the natural world is connecting them to it again.”
What we’ve destroyed, we can heal.
Speaker: Leanne Spaulding, Program Coordinator for the Western Queens Compost Initiative will talk abut the latest in compost initiatives and how YOU can get involved! Find out more about WQCI on their Facebook page http://www.facebook.com/wqnscompost.
You can see trailers and get information about the entire Series HERE, and check back here in the coming days for more details about each program!
Posted in Education, Film, Food, green roof, New York City, Organic Farming, Solar One Events, Sustainability | Permalink
UPDATE! SCREENING CANCELED DUE TO RAIN! 2011 Solar Powered Series Continues this Friday August 19 with Urban Roots!
Friday, August 19th, 2011| August 19, 2011 | ||
| 7:00 pm | to | 11:00 pm |
Unfortunately and once again, severe thunderstorms are headed straight for us, so we’ll be canceling the screening of Urban Roots tonight. Since we’ll be screening DIRT! on Sunday August 21, we’ll have to see about a rain date for Urban Roots.
URBAN ROOTS!
We’ve all got some urban roots, don’t we? Well, a small group of Detroit natives have discovered that their urban roots, and brought them to the center of a farming revolution! The movie, URBAN ROOTS, directed by Detroit-native Mark McInnis details the powerful story of a small group of unique individuals involved in Detroit’s inner-city agricultural movement.
The documentary from Tree Media (produced by Leila Conners and Mathew Schmid and directed by Mark Mac-Innis) the film follows the urban farming phenomenon in Detroit. Urban Roots is a timely, moving and inspiring film that speaks to a nation grappling with collapsed industrial towns and the need to forge a sustainable and prosperous future.
While it follows the inspiring stories of several agricultural programs, each story in Urban Roots is designed to address a specific issue. Not only are the organizations amazingly productive and emotionally driven, but the people tilling the soil and picking the harvest have fantastic stories to tell!
Speaker: TBA
Posted in Film, Food, Green Collar Jobs, Organic Farming, Solar One, Solar One Events, Sustainability | Permalink
2011 Solar Powered Film Series Keeps Rolling on Saturday, August 20th with Food Fight!
Tuesday, August 16th, 2011| August 20, 2011 | ||
| 7:00 pm | to | 11:00 pm |
Anyone Up For A FOOD FIGHT?
When we walk into a supermarket, we assume that we have the widest possible choice of healthy foods. But in fact, over the course of the 20th century, our food system has been co-opted by corporate forces whose interests do not life in providing the public with fresh healthy and sustainably-produced food.
Fortunately, for America, FOOD FIGHT, produced and directed by Christopher Taylor, is here to expose the nation’s tainted, conventional food system. FOOD FIGHT documents the journey of a group of political, anti-corporate, protesters – led by Alice Waters – as they voice their dissent over the conventional food system. The unintended result was the birth of a vital, local, sustainable, organic, food movement that has brought back taste and variety to our tables.
FOOD FIGHT is a fascinating look at how American agricultural policy and food culture developed in the 20th century, and how the California food movement has created a counter- revolution against big agribusiness.
In addition, FOOD FIGHT empowers views to share in this revolution. We have the power through our food choices to put the culture back in American agriculture. We get three votes a day, and they don’t all have to be perfect. But if just one meal is made with a mind to the small farmer, the land, and the environment, then we can all make a huge difference, one meal at a time.
Speaker: Paula Lukats, CSA NYC Program Manager for Just Food
Paula has 15 years of experience working in community and program development in New York City and has helped groups start CSA sites for the last 6 years.
Just Food has been the leader in connecting local farms to NYC neighborhoods and communities since 1995. Our mission is to unite local farms and city residents of all economic backgrounds with fresh, seasonal, sustainably grown food.
Posted in Film, Food, Organic Farming, Solar One, Solar One Events, Sustainability | Permalink
Missed Carbon Nation at Lincoln Center? You Still Have a Chance to See It!
Monday, February 14th, 2011
Last Thursday, Solar One partnered with Film Society of Lincoln Center’s Green Screens program to show Carbon Nation, Peter Byck’s climate change solutions documentary. The screening on Thursday was a phenomenal success, with a full house, a great discussion with director Peter Byck, Solar One Executive Director Chris Collins, Solar One Green Workforce Development Director Diallo Shabazz and “green hawk” Dan Nolan. Thanks to everyone who was able to come!
However, if you weren’t able to be there, you can still see Carbon Nation this week at the Cinema Village at 3:30pm and 7pm from now through Thursday February 17. You can get tickets HERE!
After Thursday, Carbon Nation is going on the road, and if you happen to live in one of the following cities, you’re in luck:
Los Angeles, CA- February 18
Austin, TX- February 25
Portland, OR- March 4
Seattle, WA- March 4
San Francisco, CA- March 11
Group tickets are available for the above screenings- please contact Jackie Papier, jackiepapier[at]hotmail[dot]com.
Posted in Film, Food, Global Warming, Green Building, Green Collar Jobs, Organic Farming, Photovoltaics, Pollution, Recycling, Renewables, Sustainability, Technology, Transportation | Permalink
