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Your responses to: seeking nut & fruit tree nursery in southern tier
Hi
Below are the responses to my query, with thanks to those who wrote.
-Adam
seeking nut & fruit tree nursery in southern tier
I would suggest, Cumins nursery, St. Lawrence Fruit and Nut Trees, and Oikos
On May 1, 2012, at 11:32 AM, Adam Flint wrote:
> Greetings
>
> We are interested in purchasing a few more fruit and nut tress (apple > and chestnut to start), and are looking to see what nursery’s are > recommended in the southern tier as having a wide variety of healthy > trees of this kind. We are already aware of bgm & end. agway and W & W > in Appalachin.
>
> thanks
>
> -Adam
>
> –
> Adam Flint
> Coordinator
> *Energy Leadership Program, Cornell Cooperative Extension of Broome County
> *Green Jobs Green New York Outreach and Workforce Development, Public Policy and Education Fund of the Southern Tier >
> Adjunct Lecturer
> Environmental Studies Program
> SUNY-Binghamton
> Binghamton, NY 13902
>
> Co-founder and Board Vice Chair
> Binghamton Regional Sustainability Coalition
> http://www.binghamtonsustainability.org
>
> flint@igc.org
> 607-761-8337
>
>
> _______________________________________________
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> FingerLakesPermaculture@lists.ibiblio.org
> http://lists.ibiblio.org/mailman/listinfo/fingerlakespermaculture > Visit http://FLXpermaculture.Net to manage your subscription.
seeking nut & fruit tree nursery in southern tier
Greetings
We are interested in purchasing a few more fruit and nut tress (apple and chestnut to start), and are looking to see what nursery’s are recommended in the southern tier as having a wide variety of healthy trees of this kind. We are already aware of bgm & end. agway and W & W in Appalachin.
thanks
-Adam
Spring Pickling: DIY Fermentation Workshop
Join Ithacan for a hands-on fermentation workshop!
We’ll gather to learn the basics of pickling vegetables through the process of lacto-fermentation*. We’ll also make some of our own pickled foods to take home.
We’ll make two ferments: a traditional pickle and a spring chutney or salsa with seasonal, ecologically produced, and locally-available ingredients.
When: May 12, 2012 from 9am to 11:30am
Where: House of Katie Quinn-Jacobs, 52 Sodom Rd, Ithaca
View Larger Map
Max # of participants: 6
Cost: ~$5-7 for veggies and supplies
Bring your own: 1 glass pint jar and 1 glass quart jar (if you have them)
RSVP to: rfirak
We’ll start off learning the basics of preserving foods with lacto-fermentation, using beneficial bacteria (probiotics) to create healthy, live foods. We’ll touch briefly on health and safety of fermented foods, and then move into the hands-on portion, where participants will gain experience creating their own fermented pickles. Participants will leave with an understanding of fermentation, plus two jars of vegetable dishes made in class. A light mid-morning snack will be provided.
This gathering is food-allergy and special-diet friendly. Please RSVP to rfirak and include any dietary needs you have.
Participants will split the cost of veggies and supplies at the workshop (cost will not exceed $7).
* Lacto-fermentation= lactic acid fermentation, using bacteria that produce lactic acid as a preserving agent.
Edible Mushroom Inoculation for Backyard Growers and Gardeners – Rochester, NY – Sunday, 5/13
We have a few spaces left in this class. Please contact me by Wed, 5/2, if you’d like to join us and haven’t yet registered.
Edible Mushroom Inoculation for Backyard Growers and Gardeners
Sunday, May 13, 2012 time 10-4 $60-100 sliding scale includes one inoculated mushroom log
Join us for this hands-on workshop with guest teacher, Steve Gabriel, an ecologist, mushroom farmer, and teacher at the Finger Lakes Permaculture Institute. In the morning, we will focus on cultivation of common mushrooms (shiitake, oyster, stropharia, lions mane). The afternoon focus is on a discussion of the role mushrooms play in permaculture systems and how functional interconnection of mushrooms can support healthy gardens, farms, and forests.
Class size will be limited to 12 participants. Payment in full is required to reserve your spot. Carpooling is always encouraged. Because this workshop is held at a private residence, full location details (including address) will be provided upon registration and payment.
To register: Send a check payable to Rochester Permaculture Center, PO Box 18212, Rochester, NY 14618 along with (1) your name, (2) your mailing address, (3) your email address, and (4) phone number. Additionally, please send a quick email to patty@barefootpermaculture.com letting me know to expect you.
Warmly,
patty love, MALS, PDC
Barefoot Edible Landscape & Permaculture – owner
patty
RochesterPermacultureCenter – Program Director
www.rochesterpermaculturecenter.org
patty
Chicken Coop/Chicken Tractor Workshop – Rochester, NY – Sun 5/6
We have a few spaces open for this workshop. Please email me by 5/1 if you’d like to join us.
Chicken Coop/Chicken Tractor Workshop
Sunday, May 6, 2012 1-4 pm $30-45 sliding scale (household maximum $60-90 sliding scale)
Join us for a family friendly introduction to (sub)urban chickening. We’ll cover the basic needs of the chickens, including alternative feeds and incorporating them into a permaculture system. Together we’ll build a chicken coop and chicken tractor using mostly salvaged materials. Workshop participants will go home with a fact sheet on (sub)urban chickening and some innovative suggestions for sheltering them.
Class size will be limited to 20 participants. Payment in full is required to reserve your spot. Carpooling is always encouraged. Because this workshop is held at a private residence, full location details (including address) will be provided upon registration and payment.
To register: Send a check payable to Rochester Permaculture Center, PO Box 18212, Rochester, NY 14618 along with (1) your name, (2) your mailing address, (3) your email address, and (4) phone number. Additionally, please send a quick email to patty@barefootpermaculture.com letting me know to expect you.
Warmly,
patty love, MALS, PDC
Barefoot Edible Landscape & Permaculture – owner
patty
RochesterPermacultureCenter – Program Director
www.rochesterpermaculturecenter.org
patty
Learn Shiitake Cultivation on 5/5
LEARN SHIITAKE MUSHROOM CULTIVATION
Curious about growing edible mushrooms at home?
Join Steve Gabriel, local mushroom farmer and instructor for the Finger Lakes Permaculture Institute on Saturday, May 5th from 9am to 12pm for an overview of the basics of mushroom cultivate and the chance to inoculate your own mushroom log to take home.
Cost: $30 includes one inoculated mushroom log. Additional logs may be purchased for $15 each. Class will be located on Buck Hill Rd in Mecklenburg, NY.
TO REGISTER, send your name, email, and preferred payment (check or credit card) to: steve@agroforestrysolutions.com
Good Life Farm’s first Asparaganza! May 5, 2012
I am forwarding this announcement from Garrett and Melissa at The Good Life Farm. For those who don’t know about the Good Life Farm, it’s a really inspirational project that is seeking to build a post-fossil fuel food system based on permaculture principles. Check out their website www.thegoodlifefarm.org or read this article in Fresh Dirt magazine http://www.freshdirtmag.com/pdfs/new-beginnings.pdf.
This will be a fun, family-friendly event. If anyone is interested in joining a carpool from downtown Ithaca, please email me off-list at jharrod. Hope to see you there!
Jon
Dear Friendly Farm Folks,
Yippee! We are officially inviting you all to our first and much hoped for Asparagus festival at the Good Life Farm- Asparaganza 2012! Three springs past we planted that crop, with much assistance from dear friends and neighbors. This year, is a big year for production to start really ramping up, making us unstoppable with asparagus energy. On that note- pray for rain!
Without further ado, here are some details. We ask that you share this wherever and however you like- we’d like to mob it!
· What: Celebration of Spring, Asparagus and Community
· When: Saturday, May 5—- 4-7PM
· Where: the Good Life Farm, 4017 Hickok Rd., Interlaken, NY 14847 (map on the website)
· More what: A country style fair with from The Piggery and Crooked Carrot, drink from Redbyrd Orchards, acoustic music from Toivo, games on the green and farm tours. Come with friends, come make friends, come celebrate our community! Entry is free, food and drink sold separately.
· Contact: Melissa- melissa OR (607) 351 3313Attached is our ad, designed by one Q Cassetti. Thanks Q! Please use it as needed… it can be printed at quarter page size.
We are looking for some help putting this shindig on… most especially a Games Master. Trades are available for this valuable service- please contact Melissa if you are interested in helping out!
Email: melissa
Phone: (607) 351 3313
Can’t wait to see you all, so please come on out!
Best,
Melissa
On behalf of Garrett, Liz, Randy, Betsy, Pet, Leo, Reepicheap, Goose, Rogue, ducks-geese-guineas-chickens-turkeys and microbes.
Working Across Differences to Make a Difference, Mon. 4-23-12, 12-2:30pm, Mann Library Room 102, Cornell
Working Across Differences to Make a Difference
-Collaborative Engagement as a Pathway to Sustainability, Justice and Equity
Monday, April 30th, 2012, 12:00 – 2:30pm
Mann Library Conference Room 102
"all life is interrelated, and we are all caught in an inescapable network of mutuality, tied in a single garment of destiny. Whatever affects one directly, affects all indirectly. " -Martin Luther King Jr.
Four days before his death, on March 31, 1968, Dr. King elaborated on these words, asking “people of goodwill [to] put their bodies and their souls in motion”, to not sleep through the revolution that was occurring around them, and to work together in making a positive difference in the world. He also delivered what might be considered a direct challenge to our Land Grant institutions in better supporting equity and justice.
Over forty years later we find these urging equally relevant and necessary. In his recent article in Orion Magazine, Gus Speth suggests if we are to address a litany of social, environmental and economic problems collectively faced:
“systemic change must be both bottom-up and top-down—driven by communities, businesses, and citizens deciding on their own to build the future… Our best hope for real change is a movement created by a fusion of people concerned about environment, social justice, true democracy, and peace… We have to recognize that we are all communities of a shared fate.”
A broad coalition of campus and community partners are initiating an ongoing conversation around how we might better come together in a respectful and empowering manner while addressing these challenges. Ideally these efforts will result in new and productive partnerships, including innovative whole systems approaches which activate and engage a variety of stakeholders and institutions in support of healthy, just, equitable and resilient communities.
Wrapping up its April Connected Minds, Resilient Communities programming, Mann Library will be hosting a discussion on this topic Monday April 30th. Please join us for this community conversation! Refreshments will be served. Sponsored by the Center for Community Engaged Learning and Research. Learn more here: http://bit.ly/across-diff
Free and open to the public. Please RSVP to ccelr.rsvp
Apologies for cross-postings!
Getting there:
-Cornell interactive map: http://www.cornell.edu/maps/interactive.cfm
-Campus parking map: http://www.transportation.cornell.edu/tms/cms/parking/commuting/walkers/upload/VisitorParkingMap-11.pdf
-Parking meters: http://www.transportation.cornell.edu/tms/cms/parking/campusparking/visitors/metered.cfm
-TCAT Bus Trip Planner: http://tcat.nextinsight.com/
Cheers, Jeff
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Jeffrey Piestrak
Community Outreach Specialist
Albert R. Mann Library
Cornell University
Ithaca, N.Y. 14853
jmp36
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
http://cugir.mannlib.cornell.edu
http://guides.library.cornell.edu/local_food
Edible Forest Gardening In A Nutshell: An Introduction – April 29, Rochester, NY
Edible Forest Gardening In A Nutshell: An Introduction
Sunday, April 29, 2012 9am – 1 pm $45-60 sliding scale
Edible Forest Gardening (EFG) is an effective way to design home scale gardens in our climate that mimic forest ecosystem structure and function, but grow food, fuel, fiber, fodder, fertilizer, “farmaceuticals,” and fun while we consciously apply the principles of ecology and permaculture. Join us for a hands-on skill-building experience in edible forest gardening. Learn to transform traditional lawn landscapes into abundant food-producing perennial forest gardens. Participants will learn the skills needed to get started at their own home or expand the abilities of a gardening business. We will get our hands dirty while we install and establish a new forest garden. Have you wanted to:
■learn about Permaculture and/or Edible Forest Gardening?
■learn how to grow more food in less space with less weeding and watering?
■learn how to use organic gardening methods to produce healthier food for your family?
■learn how to build healthy soil?
■learn how to incorporate healthy nuts, fruits, and perennial vegetables into your garden space?
Topics covered:
■An Introduction to Permaculture and Edible Forest Gardening
■Basic Organic Gardening Techniques
■The Design Process Using Forest Garden Pattern Language
■Installing an EdibleForestGarden
This dynamic, hands-on class will meet from 9 am-1 pm in Rochester, NY. All classes will be held in Rochester, NY. Because this workshop is being held at a private residence, full location details (including address) will be provided upon registration and payment. Class size is limited. Sliding scale $45-60. Optional brown bag lunch after class. Preregistration is required.
To register: Send a check payable to Rochester Permaculture Center, PO Box 18212, Rochester, NY 14618 by April 20, 2012 along with (1) your name, (2) your mailing address, (3) your email address, and (4) phone number. Additionally, please send a quick email to patty@barefootpermaculture.com letting me know to expect you. Save $10 if you register and pay in full by March 9, 2012.
Warmly,
patty love, MALS, PDC
Barefoot Edible Landscape & Permaculture – owner
patty
RochesterPermacultureCenter – Program Director
www.rochesterpermaculturecenter.org
patty
Ithaca-April 28th: Finger Lakes Bioneers Presents A New Film That Explores a Different Wa y of Seeing and Knowing Nature: “An Ecology of Mind- A Film and Conversation About the Patte rn that Connects”
APRIL 28th SPECIAL EVENT!! Finger Lakes Bioneers Presents A New Film That Explores a Different Way of Seeing and Knowing Nature
(TITLE ): “An Ecology of Mind- A Film and Conversation About the Pattern that Connects”
Location of event: Cinemapolis, 120 East Green St. in downtown Ithaca
SATURDAY APRIL 28th, 1-4PM: Finger Lakes Bioneers and Sustainable Tompkins are very pleased to host a visit to Ithaca of the international tour by director Nora Bateson who will introduce her new documentaryAn Ecology of Mind. The 60-minute film presents a richly engaging portrait of the very relevant and compassionate insights of her father Gregory Bateson (1904-1980). He was and is recognized as an influential figure in a number of arenas of thought especially family therapy, anthropology, early cybernetics and environmental philosophy. Nora walks the viewer through a landscape of ideas her father (the son of one of the founders of genetics) explored and together we better appreciate “the pattern that connects.” The film offers a “tender and poetic portrayal…of one of the most provocative thinkers of the last century but also a vivid relationship between a daughter and father.”
Humanity faces highly complex and interwoven problems. Crises and conundrums. Science and art — our search for pattern– help us find solutions yet our understanding of relationships is lacking. We are all interconnected and speedily we advance, we hope, in the direction of well-being for all. BUT we are all on a learning curve here and now–
co-educators struggling to cope and seeking still to inspire. Gregory Bateson’s ideas and Nora Bateson’s film can help to cut through the din and assist in the quest to design for the “pattern that connects.” In An Ecology of Mind we discover a resonant voice and renewed insights for advancing human wisdom and ethics as well as for guiding technology.
The afternoon event begins at 1PM (doors open at 12:30) and will include Nora and other panel members in a stimulating exploration of themes related to education, systems thinking, biomimicry, indigenous wisdom, and the interwoven economic, political, and environmental problems we face. Panelists include Derek Cabrera of ThinkWorks and Dana Levy of NYSERDA’s Industrial Research Program. Visit the Finger Lakes Bioneers Facebook page and website: http://wemakeourfuture.org/ where there is more info about this and the ongoing regional film events organized by Finger Lakes Bioneers and Sustainable Tompkins. This event is made possible by the generous support of NYSERDA, Finger Lakes Environmental Film Festival and Sustainability at Ithaca College. With thanks for the important contributions of La Tourelle Resort and Spa and the Cornell University Department of Anthropology and its Graduate Student Association. Appreciation for its collaborative outreach is extended to Cornell University’s Mann Library ongoing programming for “Connected Minds, Resilient Communities.” The film is being shown as part of a regional film series organized by Finger Lakes Bioneers, a program of Sustainable Tompkins. More details about the film series are at www.wemakeourfuture.org.Tickets at door: students and under 21 – $3.00, adults – $7.00 includes refreshments.
For More Information: Nick Vaczek, tel. 607-227-7222 or Nick
“Bateson’s style of presentation was an essential and intrinsic part of his teaching. His central message was that relationships are the essence of the living world, and that we need a language of relationships to understand and describe it. One of the best ways to do so, in his view, is by telling stories. “Stories are the royal road to the study of relationships,” he would say. What is important in a story, what is true in it, is not the plot, the things, or the people in a story, but the relationships between them …To experience the essence of Bateson’s message, you would really have needed to experience his own live delivery of that message” — which is now possible thanks to this unique film.
HOMAGE TO GREGORY BATESON
by Fritjof Capra<< More quotes from reviews of film from this website:http://www.bullfrogfilms.com/catalog/emind.html
“Edwin Land said that people who seem to have had a new idea have often just stopped having an old idea. Gregory Bateson taught us how to stop having the most fundamental old ideas–the static, separating, reductionist fictions that disintegrate an integrated world. Nora Bateson’s beautiful portrait of her father’s key insights is a stunningly effective antidote for a new generation that now needs his wisdom more than ever.”
Amory B. Lovins, Chairman and Chief Scientist, Rocky Mountain Institute, Author, Let the Mountains Talk, Let the Rivers Run: A Call to Save the Earth
“An inspiring, meditative film that shows Gregory Bateson’s range and depth and ultimately gives us a larger glimpse into our place within nature and the cosmos, asking us to consider: What pattern connects art to science, and the cave to the universe, and all of that to us? Bateson-father and daughter-have not only asked a challenging question, they have given us the tools to reimagine our world.”
Wild River Review
“Exquisite…The film conveys [Bateson's] complex ideas in such a way as to take us right inside them so that we see them as clearly as pebbles in a crystalline mountain stream. That the film accomplishes this is a testament to the filmmaker’s artistry and her grasp of her father’s subtle and unique style of thinking…A beautiful and important film.”
Dr. Marilyn Wedge, Huffington Post
“Gregory Bateson revolutionized our understanding of the dynamic relationships in (and between) our human consciousness, our communities and societies, and our ecological systems. His work still challenges and informs us as we create new pathways toward health and resilience in our lives, and in our world. An Ecology of Mind is the first documentary film to explore the life and innovative ideas of this essential thinker. Through this deeply thought-provoking film, we follow Bateson on his remarkable journey toward insight. We discover how his own life experience led him to comprehend the patterns in our reality. Bateson’s work remains indispensible as we come to terms with our responsibilities to future generations and to the larger community of life.”
Dr. Curt Meine, Director,Conservation Biology and History, Center for Humans and Nature, Author, Correction Lines: Essays on Land, Leopold, and Conservation
“This documentary kindles the spirit of Gregory Bateson, and guides you on two fascinating journeys: One of a daughter’s effort to understand her father who died before he could tell her everything she yearned to know, and the other through the ideas that Gregory Bateson developed for us to understand ourselves in the larger ecology to which we contribute. Gregory was an anthropologist, naturalist, cybernetician, and philosopher who never returned to where he came from, restlessly searching to expand the boundaries of our thinking and acting in a world in which everything is connected to everything else. The documentary continues the conversation he started among friends and acquaintances whose lives he touched.”
Klaus Krippendorff, Professor for Cybernetics, Language and Culture, University of Pennsylvania, Author, On Communicating: Otherness, Meaning, and Information
A Beginning Farmers Dream: Shiitake as a Niche Crop
A Beginning Farmers Dream: Shiitake as a Niche Crop
Beginning farmers young and old have their work cut out for them: while their passion and persistence may be strong, the barriers to getting started can often seem overwhelming and even impossible. Enter Shiitake as perhaps one of the best candidates as a niche crop, at least in the Northeastern US. The markets are more or less wide open, with consumers and chefs eager to get their hands on this tasty and nutritious food.
Read full article:
http://agroforestrysolutions.blogspot.com/2012/04/beginning-farmers-dream-shiitake-as.html
Want to grow your food this season? New community gardens in Ithaca.
Wood’s Earth is not your ordinary garden site. Nestled on a glacial delta between a state park and a brewery, there is much more to offer than just growing organic produce. Community and education merge to cultivate food, beauty and stewards of the land.
We offer gardeners more than your average community gardens -
- Drip irrigation makes it easy and efficient to water your plants.
- The perimeter deer fence means you don’t have to buy or install fencing.
- Gardeners choose the the plot size they want. Discounts on large plots (great for groups).
- A variety of soil amendments, from compost to topsoil, are on-site.
- Tools, wheelbarrows,books, a message board and other resources are available in the shed.
- Gardeners can use the greenhouse or start mushroom logs by the pond.
- The site in conveniently located, but tucked away with great views and easy access to state parks.
- Education is offered for all ages, and gardeners may offer specialty workshops.
- Kids can learn and play in the children’s garden.
- Hang out in the picnic area.
Check out the website. Visit the gardens. Contact us for more info.
Get your plot today!
Living Downstream at Watkins Glen, May 1, 2012 Sandra Steingraber speaks & film showing
Local Groups Will Host Film and Discussion on Responsible Planning at Glen Theater on Tuesday, May 1st at 7PM
Community leaders and residents are invited to a special event screening and Watkins Glen premiere of Living Downstream, a documentary film based on the acclaimed book by Trumansburg author, ecologist and cancer survivor Sandra Steingraber, Ph.D. She has taught biology at Columbia College in Chicago, held visiting fellowships at the University of Illinois, Radcliffe/Harvard, and Northeastern University, and served on President Clintons National Action Plan on Breast Cancer. Dr. Steingraber is currently Distinguished Visiting Scholar at Ithaca College in Ithaca. At the May 1st event she will be giving a talk and be available for book signing.
With Schuyler County and surrounding towns reviewing their comprehensive plans, many local citizen groups are asking community decision-makers and citizens to be mindful of the impact heavy industry will have on the Finger Lakes region. The Finger Lakes Sierra Club Group and Gas Free Seneca are co-sponsoring an event with Finger Lakes Bioneers to foster learning and communication within the region regarding heavy industry and what it means to be “Living Downstream.”
The film is being shown as part of a regional film series organized by Finger Lakes Bioneers, a program of Sustainable Tompkins. “We’ve been partnering with local groups since last fall,” said Nick Vaczek, the series coordinator, “and we’ve found that people really enjoy watching films on challenging issues and innovative solutions, especially when that’s followed by a chance to discuss how that connects to hometown endeavors.” More details about the film series are at www.wemakeourfuture.org.
Dr. Steingraber has a strong bond with Watkins Glen. Her son, Elijah, was born in Seneca Lake water. Steingraber will attend the screening and make a short presentation, answer questions, and do a book signing. Community leaders and decision-makers throughout the region have been personally invited to attend.
Our region faces economic and environmental challenges. The area is being considered for hydrofracking, gas storage and transport, and frack-related industry. We need to be informed, to learn together, and to work together to formulate a vision for the future of the region, said Yvonne Taylor, co-founder of Gas Free Seneca. Our goal is to provide an opportunity for the community to engage in a respectful, open dialogue about the connection between the health of our bodies and the health of our air, land, and water.
For more information about Dr. Steingraber go to: http://steingraber.com/bio
For more information contact Nick or visit www.wemakeourfuture.org.
Hedging on Hunger: Action Against Global AgInvestment Conference at Waldorf Astoria, April 24, 2012
Hedging on Hunger
Join food justice activists, African students, OWS groups,and environmental organizations challenging agricultural investment
that harms communities and the environment at the Global AgInvesting (GAI) conference
Meet at 10:30 am
Waldorf-Astoria, 301 Park Ave., New York
For more information contact:
Jeff Furman, jfurman@twcny.rr.com; Frederic Mousseau, fmousseau@oaklandinstitute.org (510) 512-5458; Anuradha Mittal: amittal@oaklandinstitute.org/(510) 469-5228
April 23-25, New York’s hotel Waldorf Astoria is the venue for the fourth annual Global AgInvesting (GAI) conference. The $3,000 admission ticket is not for the small land holders from Africa or farmers who resemble John Steinbeck’s Joad family. Instead, it targets institutional and global end investors, and fund managers – all mulling over economic opportunities that agricultural lands have to offer.
This year in attendance are several retirement and pension funds including Alaska Retirement Board and California State Teachers’ Retirement System, among others. Philanthropic institutions such as the Ford Foundation and Rockefeller Foundation are also present, with hopes of translating their investments into "development" for the world’s poor. Joining them are the fund managers of endowments of several U.S. universities, including Harvard, Princeton, and Yale among several others. They, like Lockheed Martin Investment Management Company, view agriculture as the new soft commodity market where they can see their monies grow.
Such conferences provide a platform from which fund managers connect with potential investors and make mouthwatering promises. Susan Payne, current CEO of EmVest and ex CEO of Emergent Asset Management, for instance, promises 20 to 40 per cent returns, hailing the low cost of African land as “an arbitrage opportunity.” Real estate speculative opportunities are behind her claim, “we could be moronic and not grow anything and we think we would make money over the next decade.” Lured by such promises, Harvard University and Vanderbilt University have both invested in the fund in the past.
While billed as an ag conference, this event is about making high returns. Ensuring food or water security are not its concerns. For example the first question the water session hopes to address is “What are the real economic opportunities in water now?”
An examination of over 50 land deals in several African nations over the last four years by the Oakland Institute revealed that land and agriculture investments, touted as development opportunities for host nations, actually come with high costs to local communities. Some of what our research uncovered includes the displacement of hundreds of thousands of small farmers, the diversion of water without environmental impact studies, the use of unsustainable farm practices, the failure to meet job creation and other promises, and special tax and other financial incentives so that the financial returns can be met.
A key driver behind this land rush is the yearly rental for prime farm land in Africa: often less than a cup of coffee per hectare! In fact the cost of admission to the GAI conference could get one control of over 1,000 hectares of prime farm land.
As awareness around the impacts of such investments grows, people are taking action. Occupy Harvard and other student groups have called for Harvard to divest from Emergent. Vanderbilt’s Fair Food Coalition is asking for the same. Iowa State University has buckled under media and student campaigns after the revelation of its involvement in a land deal in Tanzania which would displace over 160,000 people. These efforts gain momentum as they connect to resistance on the ground. In South Sudan the President halted a land deal when the local community protested that their lands had been secretly leased to a U.S. investor. In Sierra Leone, civil society groups have launched a national land transparency initiative.
It is not disputed that the people and resources of Africa have centuries of history of exploitation. It is, therefore, incumbent on us to be vigilant regarding claims that any particular foreign profit driven investment in Africa will benefit the African people.
Agriculture does need investment. Such investment must be fully transparent and mechanisms to hold investors accountable must be firmly in place. The high economic returns that are promised at these conferences come at a cost to the poor. Africa has given more than enough.
If you are in New York, please plan on joining the mobilization at 10:30 am on April 24, 2012 at Waldorf-Astoria, 301 Park Ave.
###
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Empowered Food Systems: Lessons from Vermont (Mon. 4-23-12, 1pm, Cornell University, Ithaca, NY)
Apologies for cross-postings. Just a quick reminder that New England neighbors Chris Koliba and Erica Campbell will be in Ithaca tomorrow to talk about some of the innovative work they are doing to support vibrant and participatory food systems in Vermont. Erica is an instructor for the Breakthrough Leaders Program for Sustainable Food Systems being held as part of this summers University of Vermont Food Systems Summit.
You can find more info here: http://bit.ly/collab-food. Hope to see you there!
Cheers, Jeff
Compost Fair! April 29, 11am-4pm
–
Learn the Secrets of turning Garbage into Black Gold at the Compost Fair!
WHAT: Compost Fair [in conjunction with the 4-H Duck Race]
WHEN: Sunday, April 29, 11 am – 4 pm
WHERE: Tompkins County Cooperative Extension Education Center, 615 Willow Avenue, Ithaca
Not all of the fun is on Cascadilla Creek during the 4-H Duck Race in Ithaca’s Northside neighborhood; there’s plenty going on at the Compost Fair, too! Beat the ducks downstream to enjoy a fun-filled day. A microscope and critter tent, live music, games, prizes, animals, face painting and a plant swap make for a great time for the whole family. And the best part is you can learn how to turn your garbage into gold – black gold, that is! Discover ways to compost in any home that you never imagined: bokashi, worm bins, stealth composting and more! Lots of bins and demos on-site with plenty of folks ready to get their hands dirty and answer your questions. Are you making black gold yet?
Check out our website: http://ccetompkins.org/calendar/10/03/04/compost-fair
Let us know you’re coming via Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/events/261120857316065/
COST: FREE and open to the public
PARKING: Available on nearby streets and at the Neighborhood Pride (former P&C) parking lot
CONTACT: Adam Michaelides
PHONE: 607-272-2292
Empowered Food Systems: Lessons from Vermont (Mon. 4-23-12, 1pm, Room 160 Mann Library)
Collaborative Engagement and Empowered Food Systems:
Lessons from Vermont
Mon. April 23, 2012, 1-2:30 pm
Mann Library Seminar Room 160, Cornell University
Free and Open to the Public
Chris Koliba and Erica Campbell will be visiting Ithaca to talk about their work around collaborative engagement in support of healthy food systems in Vermont, empowering and connecting stakeholders from farm to plate. This event is free and open to the public -please join us!
Koliba will describe some innovative "transdisciplinary" approaches being explored at the University of Vermont (UVM). Less concerned with a focus on a particular discipline, transdisciplinarity aims instead for a research approach that is respectful of and actively engaged with the real world and its needs. In May of 2010 a "Food Systems Spire" was chosen as one of UVM’s Transdisciplinary Research Initiatives. He is Co-Director of the Master of Public Administration Degree Program and an Assistant Professor in the Community Development and Applied Economics Department at University of Vermont (UVM).
Campbell, director of the Vermont Farm to Plate Network, will talk about her work with this emerging multi-stakeholder food systems “governance network”. These collaborative networks offer unique opportunities for empowering communities and food systems. Decentralized and responsive to local needs, they can also support innovation, equity and resilience across broad regions.
Sponsored by Mann Library, the Food, Agriculture and Nutrition Group (FANG) and New World Agriculture and Ecology Group (NWAEG). Funding provided by GPSA-FC.
More info: http://bit.ly/collab-food
Like us on Facebook!: http://www.facebook.com/events/221204484652384/
Getting there:
-Cornell interactive map: http://www.cornell.edu/maps/interactive.cfm
-Campus parking map: http://www.transportation.cornell.edu/tms/cms/parking/commuting/walkers/upload/VisitorParkingMap-11.pdf
-Parking meters: http://www.transportation.cornell.edu/tms/cms/parking/campusparking/visitors/metered.cfm
-TCAT Bus Trip Planner: http://tcat.nextinsight.com/
Apologies for cross-posting!
May 1 Event for Gas Free Seneca (Watkins Glen, NY)
| Dear Gas Free Seneca Supporter,
It has beenjust over ayear since Gas Free Seneca was formed, andthe Seneca at a Crossroads forum was held in Watkins Glen. Since then, we have made great strides in the effort to preserve the local sustainable economy, protect our health and safety, and preserve our way of life in this region. Yet there is still great work to be done. Our region faces economic and environmental challenges. The area is being considered for hydrofracking, gas storage and transport, and frack-related industry in the industrial park on Route 14. We need to continue to inform the community, to learn together, and to connect with our local decision-makers. As such, we are planning to host an event on Tuesday, May 1st, 7:00pm,at the Glen Theater. Our goal is to provide an opportunity for the community to learn together about the connection between the health of our bodies and the health of our air, land, and water. We will screen the film Living Downstream, a documentary based on the acclaimed book by ecologist and cancer survivor Sandra Steingraber, Ph.D. Dr. Steingraber has a strong bond with Watkins Glen. Her son, Elijah, was born here, in Seneca Lake water. She has offered to attend the screening, to speak, answer questions, and do a book signing. Here is where you come in: Please attend the screening. Please spread the word, and invite any local decision-makers you know to the event. Please print and post the attached flyer. We remain at a tipping point here on Seneca Lake. Do we need more heavy industry around the lake, or do we have enough? What effect will an increase in heavy industry have on the wine and tourism businesses in the region? How will heavy industry impact our agriculture, our health, our safety, our way of life? We have a lot of work to do, and your help in turning the May 1st event into a well-attended community forum is critical. Please contact us at: gasfreeseneca@gmail.com with any questions or offers to help! Thank you! Yvonne Taylor |
Board Member sought, Ithaca Children’s Garden
Please share the following information with others whom you believe may be interested!
Board Member for the Ithaca Children’s Garden
Seeking a dynamic leader who believes in ICG’s mission and is willing and motivated to give time, skills, and creativity towards advancing ICG in the community. ICG’s Mission is to inspire, promote, and sustain youth and community stewardship of the natural environment through garden-based learning and discovery. Individuals interested in learning more are invited to contact Angela Comprone, Board Vice President, acomprone1, or Erin Marteal, Executive Director, at enm6.
For more information about the Ithaca Children’s Garden and its programs, visit: http://www.ithacachildrensgarden.org/
