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| The UAC will offer hands-on demos at several sites including (pictured) Randall's Island Urban Farm, a 3,000 square foot urban farm created through GrowNYC and the Randall's Island Park Alliance that offers environmental education and nutritional learning |
Double-down for homegrown. For
two blissful, farm-fueled days – and evenings -- Thursday, May 29 and Friday,
May 30 -- The Horticultural Society of New York (The Hort) and attendees will travel
to working urban farms in Manhattan and Queens for its fourth annual Urban
Agricultural Conference (UAC), promising to break records for attendance.
The program will focus on urban
farming as a viable and successful business venture and an additional, augmented
food source for urban dwellers.
The Urban Ag Conference will
feature hands-on demonstrations on all aspects of urban farming from bee
pollination to wicking beds, cover crops, youth empowerment and aquaponics, at various
sites including, Smiling Hogshead Ranch in Long Island City, Battery Urban Farm
at Battery Park, Randall’s Island Urban Farm and Wards Island Farm on Randall’s
Island, and Boswyck Farms and Build it Green! in Astoria.
The conference will also include
a film on European urban and organic farming, along with a panel discussion led
by Billy Polansky, general manager, Columbia Center for Urban Agriculture.
“Today, urban agriculture isn’t the little
known entity it was when we launched the conference in 2010,” says The Hort’s
Director of Horticulture and Public Programs George Pisegna. “This year, we are
focusing on educating the food industry, consumers, environmentalists, and many
others on ways to make urban agriculture succeed as a viable business,” Pisegna
explained.
It is wouldn’t be wrong to note
that the burgeoning commitment to urban agriculture here in Gotham – and across
the country -- has been ignited by The Hort, its leadership, and networking community
support.
The UAC opens May 29th
at Mombucha’s Magic City, a kombucha-maker’s facility in Greenpoint, with a
screening of Guerilla Cycling: Growing on
a Bike, a short film by urban grower Tom Boyden from F.H. King &
University of Wisconsin Madison Horticulture Department. The film chronicles
Boyden’s 5,000-mile bike journey through organic and urban farms in western and
central Europe. Guests will enjoy
locally sourced food and cocktails.
The next day (Friday, May 30th),
at NYU’s Kimmel Center (Rosenthal Pavilion, Washington Square), boasts a full
day of robust Urban Ag content, kicking off with keynote speaker, Polansky.
Following Polansky, moderator
Adam Saunders, public outreach coordinator, Columbia Center for Urban
Agriculture will lead a discussion: The Business of Farming: Organizational
Structures & Operations, focused
on the tools needed to support successful urban agriculture ventures from
incorporation as a non-profit, land access, paid labor and volunteers,
programming, design in urban food systems, as well as the ways urban dwellers
can support viable food economies.
Panelists are Kelsey Ripper,
Equal Justice Works Fellow, from the Lawyers Alliance for New York; Community
Food Lab’s Erin White, principal; Feedback Farms’ co-founder Thomas Hallaran,
and Daron ‘Farmer D’ Joffe of Farmer D Organics.
In the afternoon (1:30 to 5:30
pm), participants will choose a
workshop track offering hands-on, on-site demonstrations. Attendees choose one of five locations:
1. At Smiling Hogshead Ranch in Long Island City,
they will learn how Container Gardening
can develop alternative gardenscapes to grow abundant, healthy food in limited
spaces.
2. At Build it Green! in Astoria, Composting & Soil Management will
offer a first-hand view of small and large scale composting operations and
techniques that maximize the complex ecosystem underneath crops.
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| Riverpark Farm |
3. Outdoor
classrooms on Farm Education at Battery Urban Farm in Battery Park will
show how to practice food sovereignty and make healthier choices.
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| Battery Urban Farm |
4. Farm Practices will demonstrate varied techniques
from chickens to bees, mushrooms to propagation, to establish balanced farms at
Randall’s Island Urban Farm and Ward’s
Island Farm.
5. Hydro & Aquaponics at Boswyck Farms in Astoria will show how
alternative designs; new technology and sustainable systems support high
productivity.
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| Boswyck Farms |
Demonstrations will be led by known
professionals including Zachary Pickens of Riverpark Farm; Thomas Hallaran and
Clare Sullivan, Feedback Farms; Jonathan Wilson, Snug Harbor Cultural Center
& Botanical Garden; Gil Lopez, Smiling Hogshead Ranch; Erik Martig, Build
It Green! Andrew Blancero, NYC Compost Project on Staten Island; David Vigil
and Cameal Tapper, East NY Farms!; Cara Chard, City Growers; Esther Gottesman
and Perri Erlitz, Edible Schoolyard NYC; Anna Ellis, Camilla Hammer, and Josie
Johnson, Battery Urban Farm; Nick Storrs, Randall’s Island Park Alliance; Lily
Kesselman an Yanet Rojas, City Chicken Project at Just Food; Andrew Coté,
Silvermine Apiary; Andrew Casner, Project EATs; and Lee Mandell, Boswyck Farms.
Further, conference attendees have the rare opportunity to visit these examples of urban farming and see that farming in town is not only doable but vital – and doable.
A bus will be provided to the Randall's Island demo. The Hort staff will provide MetroCards to the attendees for the other four locations to amplify how a quick subway ride will transport you to a bucolic farm right in the heart of New York!
The closing reception will
allow for a discussion of the day’s events and a preview of the future over
complimentary beverages from 6 to 9 pm at Good Co. in Williamsburg.
For a complete agenda, visit http://thehort.org/UAC/
About The Hort
The mission of the Horticultural Society of New York (The Hort) is to
sustain the vital connection between people and plants. Social service and
public programs educate and inspire, growing a broad community that values
horticulture for the many benefits it brings to our environment, our
neighborhoods, and our lives.
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