Category: Frontpage

“Engaging youth in learning to grow and care for their plants serves as both a way to spark interest and curiosity in science and offers an easy way for after-school instructors to support their students in learning science,” said Lynch School of Education Professor of Science Education Michael Barnett, the project leader.

Most after-school instructors have little experience with science, thus it is important to design programs that support not only student learning but are also easy for instructors to implement and to support student learning in the scientific processes,” added Barnett, who co-authored the report with doctoral student Amie Patchen and former doctoral student Lin Zhang, now an assistant professor of education at Providence College.”

Read the FULL Article at: “Phys.org“

 

“The city is planning a 250-acre agricultural district, which will function as a space to work, live, shop, and farm food. Called Sunqiao Shanghai, it will include new public plazas, parks, housing, stores, restaurants, greenhouses, and a science museum. Some of the crops will be grown hydroponically indoors (i.e. under LEDs and in nutrient-rich water rather than soil).

Shanghai only constructed 3 single-story greenhouses at the time. Sasaki was commissioned to expand the plan for Sunqiao, Grove says. There isn’t a construction timeline yet, but Grove estimates that a crew will break ground on the project by 2018.”

Read more about this project at: “BusinessInsider.com“

“Part of the tower would be made of modular pieces, which would allow it to be taken apart and transported somewhere else. (Though, the designers do not say how long that process would take.)

‘When farmers improve their harvests, they pull themselves out of poverty. They also start producing surplus food for their neighbors. When farmers prosper, they eradicate poverty and hunger in their communities,’ the designers write.

Though the share of Africans living in poverty declined from 56% to 43% from 1990 to 2012, many more African people are poor today due to population growth, according to a recent World Bank report.

Today hunger and poverty may be only African matter, but the world’s population will likely reach nine billion by 2050. Scientists warn that this would result in global food shortage,” the designers write. “Africa’s fertile farmland could not only feed its own growing population, it could also feed the whole world.”

Read the FULL Article at: “BusinessInsider.com“

“Two very different New Jersey businesses — an online mortgage broker and an urban farming operation — are in line for sizable tax incentives from the state’s Economic Development Authority this week to locate operations in Camden.

E Mortgage Management LLC of Cherry Hill is awaiting word on a Grow New Jersey Assistance Program Grant that would award it $23.6 million in tax incentives over 10 years if it relocates and builds in Camden.

AeroFarms Camden LLC is seeking a similar grant of $11.14 million over 10 years to build an indoor hydroponic farm in Camden modeled on its operation in Newark, which its website calls the ‘world’s largest vertical farm’.”

Find the original article at: “Philly.com“

“The revised plan focuses less on agribusiness and more on beautifying the neighborhood, with some economic opportunities for entrepreneurs.”

“The orchard will feature a green space area for picnics, and a pathway for walking and biking. Residents will be able to sign up for membership to use a 2,100-square-foot hoop house for year-round gardening. A weekly farmers market during the summer months will allow those gardeners to sell their produce. Any excess crops will be used at Wolverine’s soup kitchen, which is across the street from the site and which the nonprofit wants to renovate for use as a commercial space. There, entrepreneurs can prepare food for retail, and a chef will offer community cooking classes.”

Read the FULL STORY at: “NextCity.org“