Podcast appearances and mentions of Brooklyn Grange

If we want regenerative farms and food businesses to thrive, we have to talk about money. How do we help them grow without forcing them to sell out their values?That's exactly what Claude Arpels - and Slow Money NYC - is working to solve. Claude has spent years rethinking investment strategies to support regenerative food systems. After a first career in luxury fashion, he pivoted to impact investing, helping farms and food businesses secure the land and capital they need—without compromising their mission.In this episode, Claude breaks down: Why traditional venture capital and private equity push businesses toward environmental and labor exploitation. How Slow Money NYC was created as a response to these challenges. The creative funding tools—like revenue notes—that align investment with long-term sustainability. The role of local investment in building resilient food systems. And much more…More about Claude and Slow Money:After a first career in the fashion and luxury biz, Claude chose to dedicate himself to his interests in food, the environment, social enterprise, and the arts. He has become an impact angel investor, with a focus on local economies and businesses that have a sustainable/regenerative food and agriculture mission. His portfolio of investments includes Brooklyn Grange, Matriark Foods, Raven & Boar, and Edenesque. Claude is the Co-Chair of Slow Money NYC and a founding member of Foodshed Investors New York, which is now part of Investors Circle, whose advisory board he sits on. An important part of Slow Money's work is helping small farms find access to land and capital. As part of this mission, Claude was one of the founding investors in Local Farms Fund and has led several investments in local farm projects.Claude is the Board President of International Contemporary Ensemble, the nation's pre-eminent contemporary music ensemble. Championing the works of emerging and under-represented composers, ICE has developed and performed over 1000 world premieres since its founding in 2001.Agrarian Futures is produced by Alexandre Miller, who also wrote our theme song. This episode was edited by Drew O'Doherty.

Melissa and Wythe sit down at the Heritage Radio Network studio in Roberta's to chat with Ben Flanner, co-founder and CEO of Brooklyn Grange, to talk about the history and future of rooftop farming.Ben walks us through the decade-long history of Brooklyn Grange, which has led the field in turning rooftops into farms in NYC. We talk about the challenges that face rooftop farmers, the innovations that have led their business model to work, the different kinds of crops grown across the many Grange rooftops, and what the future holds. We also brainstorm about edible meadows, urban food forests, and the general eater's shifting awareness about food and agriculture's links to climate. It's a special conversation, and we hope you'll give it a listen!Heritage Radio Network is a listener supported nonprofit podcast network. Support Fields by becoming a member!Fields is Powered by Simplecast.

Claire Ratinon is a food-grower, speaker and writer. In 2022, she released Unearthed, a powerful memoir about understanding what it is to become a custodian of the earth as a Black woman, and how the process of doing so helped her gain a sense of belonging in a post-colonial country. In 2012 Claire was working as a documentary producer in New York when she stumbled upon Brooklyn Grange, a rooftop farm in the middle of the city. Having always felt alienated from nature, she embarked upon a journey with growing food that changed her life. Since then, Claire has worked on organic growing sites in London and the English countryside, growing produce to sell to the city's restaurants. Today we visit her garden in East Sussex, where she grows things including the food of her Mauritian heritage. This podcast is inspired by my book, Why Women Grow: Stories of Soil, Sisterhood and Survival, which is out on March 2nd and available to pre-order now. The Why Women Grow podcast is produced by Holly Fisher, and theme music is by Maria Chiara Argiro. Thank you to our partners at Seedlip. We've also been photographing our guests and their gardens and you can see the beautiful images captured by Siobhan Watts on my instagram account @noughticulture.

This episode, Sustainable Futures is joined by Ben Flanner to discuss the business of urban agriculture, how the Brooklyn Grange weathered the pandemic, and how a rooftop urban food revolution can help improve our communities and the people who live there.

What can a nascent fruit tree tell us about camaraderie? How can increasing investments alert us to the challenges of capitalism? Meat and Three explores what HRN's shows are saying about growth. We'll nurture curiosity in the garden, weigh the pros and cons of the fake meat industry, and consider the role of restaurants in gentrifying neighborhoods. Further Reading and Listening:Learn more about starting your garden journey on Feast Yr Ears episode 202: Garden Now!Enjoy our episode about peaches on our podcast for kids: Time for Lunch episode 7: Peaches!Dive deeper into ideas about combating gentrification through intentional hospitality on Tech Bites episode 250: Put the Giving Into Thanksgiving With the Neighborhood's Table. Find The Neighborhood's Table Community Survey Results here.Listen to the full episode of Tech Bites episode 248: The Age of Unprecedented Investment in Food Tech with Rachel Konrad to hear more on investment in food tech. You can read more of Alicia Kennedy's writing on her blog, “From the Desk of Alicia Kennedy.” HRN is home to transformative exchanges about food. Our 35+ member-supported food podcasts empower eaters to cultivate a radically better world. This month, we're asking you to join us. Become a monthly sustaining member at heritageradionetwork.org/donate.Meat and Three is powered by Simplecast.

Anastasia Cole Plakias, co-founder of the Brooklyn Grange, talks about the role of urban agriculture, the business model, community engagement, and more.Heritage Radio Network is a listener supported nonprofit podcast network. Support What Doesn't Kill You by becoming a member!What Doesn't Kill You is Powered by Simplecast.

Anastasia Cole Plakias, co-founder of the Brooklyn Grange, talks about the role of urban agriculture, the business model, community engagement, and more.Heritage Radio Network is a listener supported nonprofit podcast network. Support What Doesn't Kill You by becoming a member!What Doesn't Kill You is Powered by Simplecast.

What kind of farming opportunities exist in The Big Apple? Joining me today is Liz Dowd, Director of Farming Operations at Brooklyn Grange, located in NYC. Founded in 2010, Brooklyn Grange is the leading rooftop farming and intensive green roofing business in the US. Brooklyn Grange operates the world's largest rooftop soil farms, located on three roofs in New York City. They work to make the city more sustainable by designing, building and maintaining urban green spaces for private residences, organizations, and businesses. They also host about 7,000 people on our farms every season through events and educational programming. Liz grew up in Vermont, passionately enjoying work with her homesteader parents. She studied biodynamics at the Pfieffer Center and urban permaculture at NY Open Center. Liz continues to be passionate about working with–and for–the community, creating an engaging space where neighbors can find nourishment, relaxation, and a connection to food, farming, and nature. Join us on the rooftops of NYC today!   You'll hear: The background of Brooklyn Grange 1:38 The range of crops that they grow 8:52 How Brooklyn Grange moves their products 9:57 How they manage the bed systems 14:57 How they've refined their hiring process 18:14 How they manage their finances 23:20 The systems Brooklyn Grange has in place to keep things moving efficiently 28:03 What Liz sees for the future of Brooklyn Grange 29:12 What Liz would change about her farming journey given the opportunity to start again 34:46 What Liz thinks is the biggest mistake newer farmers tend to make 36:45 Liz's heroes/mentors throughout her farming journey 43:08 About the hardest thing Liz has ever had to do as a farmer 47:16   About the Guest:Liz Dowd was born in Vermont and grew up working alongside their parents; stacking wood, sifting compost, and tending their vegetable and cut flower gardens. Upon moving to New York City to study photography, they found that they loved the culture but missed the dirt, and their yearning for soil and seeds led them to the Pfieffer Center, where they studied biodynamics, and NY Open Center, where they dove into urban permaculture. After completing their Adult Urban Farm Training Program, Liz was offered a co-manager position at The Youth Farm, where they found themself energized and inspired by teaching and learning from their cohort, and the challenging discussions about food justice that regularly took place. Liz is passionate about working with–and for–their community, creating an engaging space where their neighbors can find nourishment, relaxation, and a connection to food, farming, and nature. Liz has worked hard with their team to establish the Equitable Food Distribution Program at Brooklyn Grange which has enabled 30% of all produce to go to New Yorkers at no cost.    Resources:Website - https://www.brooklyngrangefarm.com/ Facebook - https://www.facebook.com/BrooklynGrange Instagram - https://www.instagram.com/brooklyngrange/

Lindsay K. Campbell, author of City of Forests, City of Farms: Sustainability Planning for New York City's Nature, on the Brooklyn Grange rooftop farm at the Navy Yard

Comment réintroduire la biodiversité dans le milieu urbain ? Comment transformer la perception des urbains de la nature et faire des potagers un outil au service du lien social?  Et vous si vous souhaitez faire installer un potager sur le toit de votre immeuble comment vous y prendre ?  Frédéric Madre, chercheur au Museum d'histoire naturelle et cofondateur de Topager répond à toutes ces questions et nous parle en plus d'un concept passionnant l'extinction de connaissance des urbains.  Ressources :  - L'exemple de la Brooklyn Grange à New York  Les livres cités:  - Potager Urbain  - Biodiversité et urbanisme et bien sûr le site de Topager :  - Topager

“What’s it like, farming on a roof next to a jail in Brooklyn during a pandemic? How have urban farms responded to the pandemic?” Melissa and Wythe catch up with their friend Maya Kutz, greenhouse manager at the Brooklyn Grange’s newest rooftop farm in Sunset Park. Maya is an experienced grower and food justice activist. We talk about both her work growing greens—how she became a manager of a greenhouse on a roof in NYC—and her work to provide food aid to people during the pandemic. Maya walks us through different types of controlled environment agriculture (CEA), or indoor growing, including hydroponics. We talk about how she came to work for the Grange, and why she’s involved in aid work. Give us a listen, plant a seed, and subscribe to Fields! Heritage Radio Network is a listener supported nonprofit podcast network. Support Fields by becoming a member!Fields is Powered by Simplecast.

Brooklyn Grange Rooftop Farm's second location, installed in 2012, is located atop Building no. 3 at the historic Brooklyn Navy Yard. A massive 65,000 sq ft roof towering twelve stories over the East River, the farm overlooks sweeping views of the dock, downtown Manhattan, and the Williamsburg Bridge. Brooklyn Grange launched their business to connect and engage the community with food, agriculture, and nature, and improve the local urban ecosystem. Their green roof farms reduce the heating and cooling use of the underlying building's upper floors, alleviate urban heat island effect, and mitigate combined sewage overflow by managing almost 2 million gallons of stormwater per year. The farm hosts events, yoga classes, tours, and children's groups via their educational non-profit sister organization, City Growers; designs, builds, and maintains green spaces for clients all over the five boroughs, and consults on urban agriculture projects worldwide. Brooklyn Grange believes that social enterprise is a powerful driver of positive change, and that businesses should be a nourishing part of their community.

Spread across three roofs in Brooklyn and Queens, New York, is the world's largest soil rooftop farm. It's called Brooklyn Grange, and is run by Gwen Schantz, Anastasia Cole Plakias, and Ben Flanner, who learned how to turn a passion for farming into a profit. This episode is sponsored by Wine Access. Get 25 dollars off each of your first two Wine Club shipments. Just visit www.wineaccess.com/passion . This episode is also sponsored by Indeed. Try Indeed out with a free 75 dollar credit to boost your job post at www.Indeed.com/economy . The Passion Economy has a newsletter! Go to passioneconomy.com to sign up - for free! Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Samantha Blatteis Special Programs Manager WWOOF-USA® (http://www.wwoofusa.org/) www.wwoofusa.org (http://www.wwoofusa.org/) I'm not even sure we're gonna find someone this summer... because it would have to be someone camping in Montana? My listeners are bigger gardeners. I do have a lot of new listeners after being on the Melissa Norris Pioneering Show. I would think people might have a lot of questions. I'm the kind of person who goes through the Terms and conditions more then most. I think people will be excited to hear that there is an actual person who calls. We interview all the new hosts. As the host you are the one accepting people into your homes and lives we want to make sure our minimum hosting criteria. Go through your listing point of areas and use a bit of more explanation Confirm that you know what our hosting criteria are and have a plan to meet them. this is a great opportunity to to gives some pointers and tips and best practices that we've learned from hosts after several years of hosting pass it on to the new hosts from the get go  There are some easy things to do to make the (http://www.wwoofusa.org/) so that's the goal of the goal of this callMake sure you aware of what our standards are to make sure you are a good fit for the program. So do you start by asking me questions. "My first question for you is how did you first hear about (https://organicgardenerpodcast.com/podcast-2/59-neke-and-jeremy-wyble-the-wayfaring-wybles-wwoofers-organic-permaculturalists-and-world-travelers/) and they would do 2 days here and 2 weeks there and 2 days there, and traveled all of South America plus learned from a variety of different people. The experience level was exponential by being at all these different farms.  For example I interviewed (https://organicgardenerpodcast.com/podcast-2/272-ellen-polishuk-plant-to-profit/) who had her own farm and now teaches people about working with interns. Our goal is to plant as much as we can this year because there could be giant food shortages this fall and people needing food and we have a lot more space then Mike can care for himself. So if we can grow more this year with some help that would be great. That's what so great about the WWOOF (http://www.wwoofusa.org/) programPeople who want to be gardeners or farmers themselves someday can go get that experience and if they want to try out a bunch of different farms and set ups. One of the great tools WWOOF (http://www.wwoofusa.org/) offers is you can go check out from different set upsstarting out and get experience as that well hosting side your not always leave and travel farmer or gardener tend to your animals or crops You can invite people to come and learn and participate with you own experience and tips and tricks both ways host other farms and your in Montana so you probably have some cold winters. We have lots of hosts that are in colder climates who go WWOOF (http://www.wwoofusa.org/) themselves during their cold season, whether that’s out of the country or somewhere warmer.host during their own growing season I have talked to several that went to Hawaii, I talked to people who went to Hawaii and stayed in a tent and those who went to more formal living spaces and I was like what stayed in a tent? The interesting part was they were like 3 hours from the beach, they had to hitchhike to the beach or something but they could see the beach... Past Hawaii (https://organicgardenerpodcast.com/podcast-2/streatery-food-truck/) (https://organicgardenerpodcast.com/podcast-2/replay-109-jenny-jenny-jack-sun-farm/) And (https://organicgardenerpodcast.com/podcast-2/105-anna-peach-squash-and-awe-kamuela-hawaii/) who is in Hawaii, although I'm not sure she WWOOFed it but she did volunteer at the Brooklyn Grange. so that is what this call is about... Support this podcast

Envie de nourrir le monde trois fois par jour? Découvrez les formations de l’Institut de technologie agroalimentaire avec Véronique Bousquet et Annie Marcotte.  |  On n’a peut-être pas besoin d’un diplôme pour devenir agriculteur, mais ça ne fait jamais de mal de bien comprendre la structure et la vie du sol, la physiologie des végétaux, des notions de gestion et d’économie… Et c’est aussi vrai si vous souhaitez travailler en agriculture urbaine! À ses campus de La Pocatière et de St-Hyacinthe, l’ITA forme des horticulteurs et des agriculteurs depuis plus de cinq décennies, dont notre chère Marie-Andrée!     Capsule Découverte : Brooklyn Grange

To complete our conversation on Urban Green Roofs BCR visited the Brooklyn Grange rooftop form in the Navy Yards on top of Building #3. Anastasia Cole Plakias -- a co-founder and Chief Operating Office of the Grange -- gave us a tour of the farm atop of the quite large warehouse building with magnificent views of the Manhattan skyline. It is an inspiring story of a possible future of our city as a concrete jungle that becomes vibrantly green.And be sure to catch the conversation on BCR #70 with City Council member Rafael Espinal and two experts on Urban Green Roofs See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

NYC roofs are dark and dirty, heat absorbing no-man's lands, but thanks to a new act by the City Council, tops of new buildings will become expansive urban gardens and farms – supplying fresh vegetables to our inner city and beyond. City roof-tops will be covered with great swaths of green that will purify our air – cool buildings in the summer and keep us warm in the winter. Green roofs have been the dream of Brooklyn City Council person Rafael Espinal -- and for this BCR episode we had a conversation with Rafael about his recently passed bill -- and with Inger Yancy of Brooklyn Greenroof and Dustin Partridge, director of Green Roof Researchers Alliance / NYC Audobon. We also took a walk around the Brooklyn Grange farm on the roof of Building 3 in the Navy Yards with Grange co-founder Anastasia Cole Plakias.This episode was recorded on the Porch at Gebhards Beer Culture Bar. If you are getting some benefit from BCR programming, be sure to "like" us on social media and email us with your suggestions for future programming at barcrawlradio@gmail.com See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

Visit agreatbigcity.com/support to learn how to support New York City local news and allow us to keep bringing you this podcast. If you are a New York-based business and would be interested in sponsoring our podcasts, visit agreatbigcity.com/advertising to learn more. We've been following the 14th Street busway since it was first proposed, and after being blocked twice by legal complaints, the street has been swept free of cars and the buses have been roaming free for two weeks now. In a press release from the MTA, preliminary data shows that ridership is up and buses are moving faster along 14th Street. A cross-town trip from Third Avenue to Eighth Avenue will now take 10.6 minutes, compared to a 15 minute trip from last year. While collecting data on the Select Bus Service plan implemented along the M14 route, the MTA saw a jump in ridership, with 15% more people choosing to take the prioritized buses, and in the short time the 14th Street busway has been operating, the ridership has jumped again, topping 31,000 daily riders on an average weekday. The busway, which limits traffic on 14th Street from 6am to 10pm, is planned to last 18 months, after which the DOT will assess the impact it has had on bus transit and traffic in the surrounding area. — Also this week, independent data analysis firm INRIX evaluated traffic data from the streets surrounding the 14th Street busway and found that there was no change in traffic speeds, and zero impact on traffic to the immediate north or south of 14th. The initial objections raise by local community groups claimed the busway would negatively impact nearby streets by pushing 14th Street's traffic into their neighborhoods, but the speed increase for 31,000 daily bus riders came at no expense to traffic, with differences in average speeds on surrounding streets never slowing more than a half a mile per hour. Here's how INRIX described the results: "The impact, or lack-there-of, may seem surprising but similar projects around the world have had similar results. The reallocation of space from vehicles to buses represents a far more efficient use of a limited public resource. Whereas one urban lane in congestion can move roughly 1,000 people an hour, a transit way can hit 25,000. As a result of this project, more people are getting where they need to be faster and more reliably." 53 years ago on October 17, 1966 — 12 members of the FDNY are killed when a burning building collapses, becoming the largest single loss of life in FDNY history until the 9/11 attacks 18 years ago on October 24, 2001 — A 14-story construction scaffolding and brick building façade collapses, killing five workers and seriously injuring 10 others in a courtyard at 215 Park Ave South near Union Square 54 years ago on October 18, 1965 — Closing day of the NY World's Fair at Flushing Meadows Park — Bowery Boys podcast 24 years ago on October 23, 1995 — A Greenpeace activist piloting a "gas-powered parachute" flies a banner outside the UN building 88 years ago on October 24, 1931 — The upper level of the George Washington Bridge is opened in a dedication ceremony, and opens to traffic the next day — United States Marine Band conducted by Leonard Slatkin playing William Schuman's 1950 composition "George Washington Bridge" 60 years ago on October 21, 1959 — The Guggenheim Museum Opens on the Upper East Side 136 years ago to October 22, 1883 — The original Metropolitan Opera House opens Beginning October 18th through the 20th, you'll have the once-a-year opportunity to explore the city like never before when Open House New York brings you exclusive tours of the city's architectural masterpieces that are sometimes hidden from public view or pass by unnoticed the rest of the year. Visit ohny.org for the full schedule of events, some of which require advance registration, but most of which are open all day to the public. The choices range from brand-new developments like 277 Mott Street to historic homes like the Alice Austen House, built on Staten Island in the 1690s. Going beyond architecture, you can also tour special projects like a solar rooftop in Harlem and an urban farm run by Brooklyn Grange in Long Island City. Each site sets its own visitation hours, so visit ohny.org to plan out your weekend! And, if you're planning on marching in the Village Halloween Parade, you better be finishing up your costume soon! Halloween is less than two weeks away, and the city's biggest party will be stepping off Thursday, October 31st at 7pm at Sixth Avenue and Canal. The parade is unique because it lets anyone participate! If you wear a costume centered around this years theme of "Wild Thing", you'll be allowed to march is a special section of the parade, but anyone who shows up in a costume will become part of the parade, and usually more than 50,000 people show up! Visit halloween-nyc.com for full info, and if you haven't decided on a costume yet, visit the AGBC costume ideas generator at agreatbigcity.com/halloween-costumes where you can get funny New York-themed costume ideas like dressing up as a vintage traffic jam now that the 14th Street busway is open or strike fear in the heart of anyone who has walked the city streets by becoming the Starbucks Bathroom of Doom! A Great Big City has been running a 24-hour newsfeed since 2010, but the AGBC News podcast is just getting started, and we need your support. A Great Big City is built on a dedication to explaining what is happening and how it fits into the larger history of New York, which means thoroughly researching every topic and avoiding clickbait headlines to provide a straightforward, honest, and factual explanation of the news. Individuals can make a monthly or one-time contribution at agreatbigcity.com/support and local businesses can have a lasting impact by supporting local news while promoting products or services directly to interested customers listening to this podcast. Visit agreatbigcity.com/advertising to learn more. AGBC is more than just a news website: Every evening, just before sundown, A Great Big City checks the Empire State Building's lighting schedule and sends out a notification if the tower's lighting will be lit in special colors for a holiday or celebration. Follow @agreatbigcity on social media to receive the alerts. Park of the day Crotona Park Parks Events 10th Annual Harvest Festival in Brooklyn Bridge Park — Saturday, October 19, 2019 11:00 a.m. – 2:00 p.m. Concert Calendar This is the AGBC Concert Calendar for the upcoming week: The Misfits with Rancid and The Damned are playing Madison Square Garden in Midtown West / Chelsea / Hudson Yards on Saturday, October 19th at 7pm. Mana is playing Barclays Center in Boerum Hill on Saturday, October 19th at 8pm. Steely Dan is playing Beacon Theatre on the Upper West Side on Saturday, October 19th at 8pm. Benin International Musical is playing Carnegie Hall - Stern Auditorium in Hell's Kitchen / Midtown on Saturday, October 19th at 9pm. 85 South is playing Apollo Theater in Central Harlem on Sunday, October 20th at 5pm. 85 South is playing Apollo Theater in Central Harlem on Sunday, October 20th at 9pm. Tidal X with Alicia Keys is playing Barclays Center in Boerum Hill on Monday, October 21st at 8pm. Steely Dan is playing Beacon Theatre on the Upper West Side on Monday, October 21st at 8pm. Charli XCX is playing Terminal 5 in Hell's Kitchen / Midtown on Monday, October 21st at 8pm. Charli XCX with Allie X is playing Terminal 5 in Hell's Kitchen / Midtown on Tuesday, October 22nd at 8pm. Steely Dan is playing Beacon Theatre on the Upper West Side on Tuesday, October 22nd at 8pm. Dermot Kennedy with Talos is playing Kings Theatre in Ditmas Park / Flatbush on Tuesday, October 22nd at 8pm. Jessie Reyez is playing Brooklyn Steel in Greenpoint on Wednesday, October 23rd at 8pm. Fantasia with Robin Thicke is playing The Hulu Theater at Madison Square Garden in Midtown West / Chelsea / Hudson Yards on Friday, October 25th at 7pm. Billy Joel is playing Madison Square Garden in Midtown West / Chelsea / Hudson Yards on Friday, October 25th at 8pm. Alec Benjamin is playing Terminal 5 in Hell's Kitchen / Midtown on Friday, October 25th at 8pm. Find more fun things to do at agreatbigcity.com/events. Today's fact about New York Here's something you may not have known about New York: In 2016, the MTA had 5,710 buses in its citywide fleet Weather The extreme highs and lows for this week in weather history: Record High: 88°F on October 22, 1979 Record Low: 30°F on October 19, 1940 Weather for the week ahead: Light rain on Sunday through Wednesday, with high temperatures rising to 67°F next Friday. AGBC Weather Weather.gov forecast Thanks for listening to A Great Big City. Follow along 24 hours a day on social media @agreatbigcity or email contact@agreatbigcity.com with any news, feedback, or topic suggestions. Subscribe to AGBC News wherever you listen to podcasts: iTunes, Google Play, or Pocket Casts, Spotify, Player FM, or listen to each episode on the podcast pages at agreatbigcity.com/podcast. If you enjoy the show, subscribe and leave a review wherever you're listening and visit our podcast site to see show notes and extra links for each episode. Intro and outro music: 'Start the Day' by Lee Rosevere — Concert Calendar music from Jukedeck.com

Lindsay K. Campbell, author of City of Forests, City of Farms: Sustainability Planning for New York City’s Nature, on the Brooklyn Grange rooftop farm at the Navy Yard

On this episode of Locally Grown In, join Henry Gordon-Smith and guests – Briana Zagami, Rob Laing, Anastasia Plakias, and Raymond Figueroa – as they explore the local food system in New York City.Developing urban agriculture in New York City has the opportunity to reduce food transportation costs and the associated environmental impacts, provide economic opportunities, and improve public health. In this episode, we meet with two entrepreneurs who are utilizing unused space to grow food in New York City and are sharing their narratives with the public by hosting tours at their farms. Anastasia Plakias Co-Founder and COO of Brooklyn Grange, and Rob Laing CEO of Farm One, are helping to change the local food landscape in NYC. We also interview Raymond Figueroa, who has been involved in countless efforts to increase access to fresh food in New York, especially in the South Bronx. He talks to us about the importance of community gardens and their co-benefits specifically to New York’s urban environment. He also tells us about how community gardens are empowering New York City’s youth. Want to learn more about urban agriculture in New York City? Attend NYC AgTech Week (Sept 21-26), the only AgTech conference on the East coast run by the leaders of the industry themselves. The six day conference features exclusive farm tours, panels, workshops and presentations focused on the fast growing and innovative AgTech sector in NYC and the Eastern Seaboard, along with unprecedented access to industry Founders, Investors, CEO's, Startups and Thought Leaders through curated networking events and opportunities. Attend Nyc agtech week Have you listened to Episode 6 - Locally Grown In: Brussels? If not, check it out first!

Our Moderator Emily gives hard-hitting stories of food in the news to our panelists and they discuss their attitudes and opinions in our Weekly Baste Segment. This week we discuss oysters, rooftop farming, bees, rose, local delivery struggles and more! Our guests for The Weekly Grill are Ben Flanner of Brooklyn Grange based in Brooklyn and Meg Dowe and Drew Nemetz of Yennicott Oysters out on the North Fork of Long Island. It's HRN's annual summer fund drive, this is when we turn to our listeners and ask that you make a donation to help ensure a bright future for food radio. Help us keep broadcasting the most thought provoking, entertaining, and educational conversations happening in the world of food and beverage. Become a member today! To celebrate our 10th anniversary, we have brand new member gifts available. So snag your favorite new pizza - themed tee shirt or enamel pin today and show the world how much you love HRN, just go to heritageradionetwork.org/donate The Main Course O.G. is powered by Simplecast.

After working for the Social Responsibility Department at Converse and changing to a vegan diet, Florencia Gallino started dreaming of how she could make a bigger impact on the planet. What started as an idea to start a vegan restaurant became a rooftop farming initiative that is now in Mexico City and Argentina. This became Sitopia, an urban farming initiative for educating people about sustainable urban farm systems. PRIVATE TOUR OF BROOKLYN GRANGE NEXT WEEK ON JULY 11TH If you're interested in seeing the working Brooklyn Grange farm complete with sustainable drinks and bites by Proud Pour, Nomad Trading Co., Food For All and The Wally Shop, join us for a rooftop farm tour specially for Trash Talking listeners. Tickets are limited. Check out Sitopia on Facebook and Instagram. --- Links from the show: TedTalk on Food Systems Hombres de Maíz, Guanajuato Las Cañadas, Veracruz -- If the content we make here at Trash Talking inspires you, become a sponsor! Go to anchor.fm/trashtalking and click on the link to Support This Podcast. For as little as $2.99 a month, you can help support the stories we cultivate and help us continue to spur more eco-warriors to action. Join the conversation on Facebook and follow us on Instagram. Don't forget to subscribe, review, and share this podcast with other eco-warriors. We read all of your reviews and your positive ratings help us spread the word and spur more eco-warriors to action. --- This episode is sponsored by · Anchor: The easiest way to make a podcast. https://anchor.fm/app Support this podcast: https://anchor.fm/trashtalking/support

Imagine going to work everyday on a 1.2 acre farm in the heart of New York City, with beautiful views and fresh produce daily. For Michele Kaufman and her colleagues, this is their every day routine at Brooklyn Grange, an urban farm with 3 locations, Brooklyn Navy Yard, Long Island City and Sunset Park. Michele explains how awe-inspiring it is to get your hands dirty at Brooklyn Grange and all of the amazing green rooftops around NYC that have been created by this group. WE'RE HAVING A TRASH TALKING MEETUP @ BROOKLYN GRANGE If you're interested in seeing the working Brooklyn Grange farm complete with sustainable drinks and bites, join us for a private tour just for listeners of Trash Talking. Tickets are limited and on sale now. -- If the content we make here at Trash Talking inspires you, become a sponsor! Go to anchor.fm/trashtalking and click on the link to Support This Podcast. For as little as $2.99 a month, you can help support the stories we cultivate and help us continue to spur more eco-warriors to action. Join the conversation on Facebook and follow us on Instagram. Don't forget to subscribe, review, and share this podcast with other eco-warriors. We read all of your reviews and your positive ratings help us spread the word and spur more eco-warriors to action. --- This episode is sponsored by · Anchor: The easiest way to make a podcast. https://anchor.fm/app Support this podcast: https://anchor.fm/trashtalking/support

It’s been almost a decade since New York City legalized beekeeping, and the city is now buzzing with activity. There are hives at rooftop farms, community gardens, and schools in all five boroughs. In this episode, host Lisa Held talks to Brooklyn Grange Farm’s head beekeeper Geraldine Simonis and City Growers beekeeper and educator Renel Saint Jour about what beekeeping in an urban environment looks like, how city bees benefit urban farms and other green spaces, and whether cities can contribute to reversing the worldwide decline of pollinators. Photo Courtesy of Brooklyn Grange The Farm Report is powered by Simplecast.

I know you are a going to love this interview I did with RockStar Millennial  Nick Lubecki as much as I did because I listened to it today as I drove to work. So the shownotes are  completely raw from the day we actually spoke. I didn’t have time to fix them but they are great! I have 20 episodes in the bank I can’t wait to share. In an ideal world, I would share them all right away! But in reality it’s all I can usually do to produce one a week. I will try though to get them caught up so they are current! In the meantime I hope you enjoy as much as I do. I’ve been having some sound problems too it seems in Andony’s podcast last week I thought I was too loud, this one I feel like I am can’t always hear everything I say? I’m as frustrated as you are that way, as I just copy and save everything, the settings don’t really change? I feel like ever since January 2018 I’ve been struggling with my sound? But I think you will love the content as much as I enjoyed recording it! Happy Spring Everyone! Tuesday February 5th, 2019 Today we have a rockstar millennial Nick Lubecki from Grow Pittsburgh (https://www.growpittsburgh.org/)  who is giving a presentation on Learning Circle: Weed Management in Intensive Veggie Production. (https://www.growpittsburgh.org/) Tell us a little about yourself. Right now I am the Farm Manager which is a project of Grow Pittsburgh (https://www.growpittsburgh.org/) (https://www.growpittsburgh.org/) urban nonprofit help people start community gardens around the county we have 2 urban farms Currently I manage the Braddock farm about an acre or so borough of Braddock town just outside  Pittsburgh last remaining steel mill in the next door It reminds me of the Brooklyn Grange on your website with the urban mill and the farm together. Yeah! It’s a great photo shot for sure! Tell me about your first gardening experience? my first memory visiting grandparents in northern PA They had a huge garden fruit trees sunflowers all that sort of thing as a kid I was really excited about that! at our home, my grandmother helped put together our first big garden, Imust have been 5-6 years old.  Do you have brothers and sisters? Yeah, we were all involved at first, eventually became me and my brother and we’re still growing together today! we are about an hour about north of the city! I’ve been gardening for a while! Tell us about that. How does a millennial come to be growing as an adult. grow subsistence crops corn I had that as a background as a child the thing I liked to do with my free time was hangout out in the garden and in the backyard When I moved to Pittsburgh to go to school I missed it. As soon as I could I got gardening again gardens a couple of years then got a couple of urban community gardens growing At some point, I remember working at a grocery store not being very satisfied with my life.  I’ve always been into homesteading and wanted to grow all your own food and preserve it decided to try to work on a farm so I quit my job and got a job on a farm in central PA been doing that every sense big step from gardening to working on a 6 acre vegetable farm what I wanted to do love watching the plants grow and being able to take it back and cook with it worked on farms start my first farm in 2012 had an urban farm with a couple of friends in the city and did that for a year some one had an urban farm hadn’t been used in a bit. They weren’t using Got a start out there after that season I was sold on it. Later started a bigger farm equipment great way to get a taste of doing our own thing after that season sold did that for a couple of years I know my listeners are wondering, our goal is to grow enough food for... Support this podcast

What does it take to farm in the middle of New York City? Ben Flanner co-founded Brooklyn Grange with the idea that farming could still happen in major urban centers. So they set out to solve this problem and bring agriculture into the city. They found a few warehouses in Brooklyn and Queens and started farms on their rooftops. This journey was one without a roadmap. No one else could show them the way, but they decided to press forward and pioneer a new way to farm. Their farms are impacting the local community in many ways including reducing rain water runoff, brining organic foods right to the doorsteps of local restaurants and farmers markets, and creating community around innovative solutions. In today's episode we also bring in questions from our listeners. Thanks Rebecca, Jackson, and Phoebe for joining the conversation! Topics we discuss in the interview include: sustainable farming, urban farming, solving complex problems, and much more.Check out Brooklyn Grange at their Website, InstagramToday's episode is sponsored by Mighty Travels, Flocksy, and OpportunityInChina.com.More about Ben and Brooklyn GrangeBen Flanner is a co-founder and CEO of Brooklyn Grange, based in New York City. A pioneering urban farm operation, the business farms rooftops, designs and builds green spaces, and promotes sustainable living and local ecology through food, education, and events. The business includes over 3 acres of intensive green roofs, and sells its produce via restaurants, farmer’s markets, and CSAs. Brooklyn Grange is widely recognized as a world leader in urban agriculture, with an unwavering drive to develop the concept with an exceptional green and community minded business. Ben’s experience gardening began at a young age, alongside his mother in their Wisconsin backyard. After earning his BS in Industrial Engineering from the University of Wisconsin, Ben moved to New York City, where he began a short career in management consulting, and then financial marketing, notably at E*Trade Financial. But his desire to engage more with community than numbers–and more parts of his body than his brain–drew him to the world of food and farming. Ben has presented to audiences including NYU Stern Business School; Central European University; American Farmland Trust, US Department of Agriculture (USDA), Northeast Organic Farming Association (NOFA); Slow Money; Barcelona’s Smart City World Expo; MAHA Agriculture Conference in Malaysia; The American Farm School in Thesaloniki, Greece; numerous Northeastern Horticultural Societies, and has been a guest expert on dozens of panels and university classes. He was included in 2016 by the New York City Food Policy Center’s 40 under 40 working to transform New York City’s Food Policies. Ben is a juror on the International Architizer A+ Awards, and he has taught urban agriculture courses in multiple cities in North America, and a course in the Environmental Studies department at New York University (NYU).When he’s not meeting with soil scientists to develop a better growing mix or tinkering with a fussy irrigation pump, Ben can be found whipping up a batch of his homemade bitters, or lacto-fermenting whatever is in season at his Crown Heights, Brooklyn apartment.

In this live audience broadcast from the Brooklyn Podcast Festival's Smart Cities series, host Lisa Held talks to two urban agriculture pioneers: Brooklyn Grange co-founder Anastasia Cole Plakias and Gotham Greens co-founder Viraj Puri. They discuss how urban agriculture has changed and expanded over the past ten years, the environmental and community benefits of growing food in cities, and how cities can support and incentive urban farming. The Farm Report is powered by Simplecast.

This week we welcomed Anastasia Plakias as our Tent Talk guest! Anastasia is Co-Founder and Vice President of Brooklyn Grange Rooftop Farm; Co-Founder of City Growers; and author of The Farm on the Roof: What Brooklyn Grange Taught Us about Entrepreneurship, Community, and Growing a Sustainable Business. As a native New Yorker she is dedicated to making the city that raised her a greener and more sustainable place to live. In this episode Anastasia gives us the lowdown on how Brooklyn Grange came to be, fills us in on the what it’s like to grow food in an urban environment, and explains the importance of collecting data and understanding return on investment.

New York City is comprised of a lot of concrete and steel, but throughout this great metropolis is a whole lot of green. On this week's Cityscape, we're visiting two draw-dropping green spaces – The Lotus Garden on Manhattan's Upper West Side and Brooklyn Grange. The Lotus Garden is located 20 feet above West 97th Street, on the roof of a parking garage. The New York Times has called it “one of the most lush and tranquil spots in New York.” Brooklyn Grange is a sprawling urban farm atop a former warehouse in the Brooklyn Navy Yard.

New York City is comprised of a lot of concrete and steel, but throughout this great metropolis is a whole lot of green. On this week’s Cityscape, we’re visiting two draw-dropping green spaces – The Lotus Garden on Manhattan’s Upper West Side and Brooklyn Grange. The Lotus Garden is located 20 feet above West 97th Street, on the roof of a parking garage. The New York Times has called it “one of the most lush and tranquil spots in New York.” Brooklyn Grange is a sprawling urban farm atop a former warehouse in the Brooklyn Navy Yard.

LH 131: Farming The Rooftops of New York City This podcast focuses a lot on working with the space you have to grow your garden. Whether that's a backyard, a farmstead, or simply container gardening - where there is a will there is a way to a farm fresh lifestyle. This episode is about a very creative and inspiring use of space - right in the middle of New York City (and it's not Central Park). Host Theresa Loe invited Anastasia Plakias to talk about an actual farm that is acres large on top of buildings in New York City. She shares how this project is changing the way city folk think about agriculture and organic farming in a way that no one was expecting. You will learn:      Why build a farm on top of NYC Buildings      How this farm produces over 50K pounds of veggies/year      The challenges of building a 2 acre farm over the city      The motivations behind the mission      What turned out to be their biggest win in all this      How they added rooftop chickens and bees to the project      What they hope the community gains from their efforts As always, you can find more links and info at www.LivingHomegrown.com/131 including a full transcript of the show.

The Future of Green Infrastructure, AgTech X, 12.11.17, NYC Panel: Gwen Shantz, Brooklyn Grange Marni Majorelle, Founder, AliveStructures Alan Burchell, Founder, UrbanStrong Sponsors: Dreamit UrbanTech (http://www.dreamit.com/urbantech)founded in partnership with SPP (http://spprealestate.com/) AgTech X (https://www.agtech-x.com/) This is the Impact Innovation Podcast by Rebel Method. Bringing you events and panels on different topics to keep you on the edge of innovation and accelerating impact founders from zero to impact. What your event covered? Or have comments or suggestions? Message Sergio on LinkedIn here: www.linkedin.com/in/sergiomarrero Music credit: Starlight by NUBY https://soundcloud.com/nubymusik/starlight

Brooklyn Grange (http://www.brooklyngrangefarm.com)  is the leading rooftop farming and intensive green roofing business in the US. They operate the world’s largest rooftop soil farms, located on two roofs in New York City, and grow over 50,000 lbs of organically-cultivated produce per year. In addition to growing and distributing fresh local vegetables and herbs, Brooklyn Grange also provides urban farming and green roof consulting and installation services to clients worldwide, and they partner with numerous non-profit organizations throughout New York to promote healthy and strong local communities. Today ANASTASIA COLE PLAKIAS author of  The Farm on the Roof: What Brooklyn Grange Taught Us about Entrepreneurship, Community, and Growing a Sustainable Business! (http://amzn.to/1TeLUb1)  shares her journey with us! Anna Peach from  Brooklyn Grange (http://www.brooklyngrangefarm.com) . Tell us a little bit about yourself. I love the context! It’s exciting to hear when folks have some connection to Brooklyn and NYC, because you have an idea of the space constraints we deal with as urban farmers. We really don’t have a lot of space. That’s really where the cofounders of this project were starting up a commercial scale rooftop farm. We were all practicing urban agriculture as a hobby in small spaces. I had a friend who had a restaurant called  Heritage Radio Network (http://heritageradionetwork.org) , so there’s some connection there on the internet airwaves… so we’er growing just a little bit of herbs, mostly garnishing things and when we did the math on how much time we spent to build them and cultivate and there’s not that much output. We realized this might not make that much sense we needed to Scale Up! Of course that’s so difficult to do in cities. My partner Ben had opened a small farm, 6000 square feet in Brooklyn,  Eagle Street (http://rooftopfarms.org)  by comparison is a bit smaller, at the time we thought look at all that space! 6,000 feet for all of you ground level farms.We’re talking a fraction of an acre. An acre is 42000- or 43000 sq feet. (43,560) So size is truly in the eye of the beholder. At the scale we were producing was much more of a hobby. We wanted to prove that urban agriculture could be practiced as a business and is worthy of investment and could be replicated all over rooftops, all over cities, all over the world! Tell me about your first gardening experience? So, this is a funny one, I grew up in the west village in Manhattan. I obviously wasn’t exposed to much to gardening in my urban childhood. The limit of my experience of having my hands in the soil, where we grew lima beans in elementary my school and burying the family hamsters and parakeets in the tree pits outside our apartment building. That was pretty much how often I got my hands in the dirt. But I was fortunate to have a mother who took the time and had the luxury between her part time schedule to shop and cook with my sister and myself. She would take us to the farmer’s market for our vegetables, and to the butchers’s shop for our meat. She took us to the fish monger for our fish. So I really did have a very different experience with food when I was growing up then so many americans who do that one-stop shopping at the supermarket. And aren’t as connected because of that to the source of our products. Even so, if you were to ask me where did our food come from? Our fish came from Sandra, Sandra came from Montauk, that was pretty much the extent of it. Where did our produce come from? Our produce came from Gary and Gary came from the Hudson Valley, butI didn’t have an concept what that meant. It wasn’t til I went to school in Poughkeepsie in the Hudson Valley  Union Square Green Market  (http://www.grownyc.org/greenmarket/manhattan-union-square-m) in September, a bounty of fresh ripe Heirloom tomatoes, and crisp greens and the... Support this podcast

In the concrete jungle of New York City agriculture is sparse but Brooklyn Grange have developed the worlds largest rooftop soil farms which produce over 50,000 lbs of organically cultivated produce per year. Ben Flanner, President and Director of Agriculture, joins me on the show today as we discuss his circuitous route to farming, how two rooftop farms can supply some of New York City's finest restaurants including, The Spotted Pig, Gramercy Tavern, and Roberta's, and how his early years in consulting and financial management have impacted his farming practices.

Fertilizer from Food Waste   Tinia Pina is making fertilizer from food waste. How cool is that? During our interview, we learn that Tinia was volunteering in an inner city school located in what we call a food desert - an area where access to fresh food is either non existing or not affordable to the population.   She was helping students study for an examination and noticed that most had donuts for breakfast. While they started out the day with lots of energy, after a few hours, the students were unable to concentrate while she, fueled with a healthy breakfast, had no problem to keep going.   She also noticed that New York was producing huge amounts of food waste which had to be transported far to be disposed of. These were some of the experiences which gave Tina the idea to produce fertilizer from food waste and ideally help to grow fresh produce right in the areas where none was available.   Tinia Pina's Bio:   Tinia received her B.S. in Business Information Technology from Virginia Tech and has six years of experience in the financial services industry and five years as a business development professional in the sustainability industry.  Her experiences related to advocacy and community building through food waste management, food systems and sustainability have fueled her passion to increase our communities' resilience, prosperity, and knowledge to help us live more conscious lives. Tinia's pioneering business model has earned her a Huffington Post Millennial Impact Grant, the American Express Emerging Innovator award and a MillerCoors Urban Entrepreneur grant, among other honors.   Our interview   1:00  Introducing Tinia Pina and Re-Nuble 3:00  What is Hydroponics? 6:12 Different Hydroponic systems   NFT  short for Nutrient Film Technique Deep Water Pool Technique   7:00 Re-Nuble gives the same results as mineral fertilizers which is difficult if not impossible to achieve with other organic fertilizers. The best part, Re-Nuble is made from organic food waste.   7:30 Even Ikea sells hydroponic system most common crops; basil and other herbs, lettuce, tomatoes can be grown indoors or in a protected outdoor area   8:30 Why Tinia started the company Work in the financial service industry Volunteer work with New York Cares Awareness of food waste on one side and bad nutrition for the students on the other Consciences and spiritual person   12:50 New York City Ag Collective  Bringing food to underserved areas Teaching skills to High school students New York Sunworks is doing a great job already 17:25  Vertical Farming and repurposing of empty warehouse spaces 19:25  Rooftop Farms             Gotham Greens http://gothamgreens.com/our-farms/             Brooklyn Grange http://www.brooklyngrangefarm.com/ 19:52  Aquaponics            Edenworks http://edenworks.com/ 21:00 Ways to follow Re-Nuble and Tinia             Website and social media links: (1.) Company website: www.re-nuble.com (2.) Twitter: https://twitter.com/re_nuble (3.) Google +: https://plus.google.com/+Re-nuble (4.) Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/ReNuble/ (5.) Instagram: instagram.com/re_nuble (6.) Pinterest: https://uk.pinterest.com/renuble/   22:00  Sourcing locally and what is organic.         Sourcing from a 200 mi radius         Organic vegetable waste         Omri certified input  http://www.omri.org/   23:40 The Re-Nuble products https://www.re-nuble.com/collections/all 27:26 Biomimicry 29:56 How to obtain the Re-Nuble fertilizers 31:00 A fertilizer has to be permitted in each State, who knew?           Did Tinia's background in the financial sector make it easy breezy to start         this business? Tina shares her experience and lots of resources for anybody who is thinking about starting their own business.            Score www.score.org/            Work full time for the first three years and around the clock on the  company and invested all her money into the project             Received some grants for research and development             Project seed money             Gust https://gust.com/             F6S https://www.f6s.com/             Setting a deadline to evaluate if it is time to go back to a full time job             Getting product into thought influencers hands to evaluate and give feedback              Future plans: Be able to serve the industrial customer             Explore interest in the process expressed by countries like Tanzania and                     Pakistan where there is an abundance of food waste, but not so much water. 39:00 Tinia turns the tables and starts interviewing me            Urban Permaculture            Toby Hemenway who sadly passed away recently             His book: Gaia's Garden                  Links to places and organizations near and dear to Tinia:   (1.) NYC Agriculture Collective (2.) NY Sunworks (3.) Sprout By Design (4.) Skyponics       If you enjoyed this episode, kindly hop on over to iTunes and give us a rating and subscribe     How to reach the The Sustainable Living Podcast: Click here to subscribe via iTunes   Click her to subscribe via RSS Feed   Click here to subscribe via Stitcher   Website: www.sustainablelivingpodcast.com   Facebook: Sustainable Living Podcast Page https://www.facebook.com/sustainablelivingpodcast/ Sustainable Living Tips, Tools & Tactics Group https://www.facebook.com/groups/1557990901138562/   Twitter: Jenise&Marianne https://twitter.com/sustlivingpod   Instagram: The Sustainable Living Podcast https://www.instagram.com/sustainablelivingpodcast/   U-Tube LinkedIn: The Sustainable Living Podcast   We are proud to be a member of the Better World Podcast Collective. You find a collection of podcasts in the field of business, ecology, environment and more with the common denominator to strive for a more sustainable life.     

This week on The Farm Report, host Erin Fairbanks is joined in the studio by Anastasia Cole Plakias, co-founder and Vice President of Brooklyn Grange Rooftop Farm. As a managing partner of Brooklyn Grange, she has run the business’ sales department, created its events program, and manages the farm’s communications and external affairs. Anastasia also channels her love of food into weekly CSA newsletters, chock full of fun vegetable trivia and cooking tips, which were spun off to the Heritage Radio Network series, Anastasia’s Fridge. Her new book is titled The Farm on the Roof: What Brooklyn Grange Taught Us About Entrepreneurship, Community, and Growing a Sustainable Business.

Ben Flanner raises over two acres of vegetables on two rooftop farms in New York. His Brooklyn Grange provides over 50,000 pounds of produce every year to restaurants, stores, farmers markets, and a 70-member CSA. We talk about the nuts and bolts of establishing a rooftop farming operation, the unique challenges of farming above the eleventh story, tools, distribution strategies, and how Brooklyn Grange has incorporated events hosting and outreach into its operation. The Farmer to Farmer Podcast is generously supported by Vermont Compost Company.

This week on The Farm Report, host Erin Fairbanks welcomes Courtney Epton, Director of Education at City Growers to the program. City Growers connects urban communities with agriculture, food and environment through farm education and advocacy in order to foster a culture of health and sustainability. The organization highlights its programs for children and teens at Brooklyn Grange, the world’s largest soil rooftop farms. With a background as a veteran NYC public school teacher, Courtney shares that she cannot imagine a better place for kids to learn than up on the Brooklyn Grange’s two rooftop farms and loves to see students teaching themselves through observation, and teaching each other through investigation and inquiry. Passionate about advancing City Growers’ mission of fostering a sense of ecological understanding and stewardship among NYC’s students, she sits down with Erin discussing City Grower’s reaches and wishes for the year including students’ farm knowledge being used at home, inspiring kids to think about the intersection between the farm and what they eat, plus how details on their Honeybee Workshop where students to use their five senses to explore the intricate world of a bee colony. At the tail of the episode, tune in as Erin speaks with Abby Paloma, founder of Farm to Yoga via our friends at EscapeMaker.com. This program was brought to you by EscapeMaker.com. “The food doesn’t come from the grocery store, it comes from a place similar to this but different in lots of ways. We also want to promote healthy eating habits and pro-environmental experiences for the kids.” [15:20] “Kids don’t always make the jump to can urban farming feed the world but they are thinking about: Why is this here? Why is this important? Are they organic here? Are they using pesticides? Why do large farms use pesticides? Why is a that a decision people make?” [28:20] —Courtney Epton on The Farm Report

On this episode of People of Purpose, Johanna speaks to Chase Emmons about Brooklyn Grange, a New York based farm currently covering two roofs, totalling 2.5 acres and producing over 50,000 pounds (23,000 kilos) of organically-grown vegetables each year. Chase manages the 30 plus honey bee hives for the farm and has over a decade of bee keeping experience.

CLASSES & RESOURCES IN NYC GrowNYC’s Farm Beginnings — a comprehensive agricultural training program developed for new farmers by the people who run the Greenmarket. Designed for a people looking to start farm enterprises, including urban farmers looking to scale-up and second career farm entrepreneurs.   Brooklyn Grange hosts a whole range of workshops and classes for rooftop farmers. If a full roof installation process is more than you want to take on, their Design and Installation arm will build you your very own backyard or terrace garden, rooftop farm, or green wall.  Just Food’s Farm School NYC  — urban agriculture training through a certificate program and a wide range of individual courses from social justice to urban farming to grassroots community organizing. Mission: to build self-reliant communities and inspire positive local action around food access and social, economic, and racial justice issues.  Green Roofs for Healthy Cities  — training towards certification in green roof and wall installation. Eagle Street Farm — Greenpoint. This rooftop farm welcomes visitors from second graders to graduate students to learn about sky-high agriculture.  Cornell Cooperative Extension  — free gardening and farming support run by NYS with offices in every single county – including Manhattan. Offering everything from soil testing to 20c processing licenses.  HUDSON VALLEY INTERNSHIPS AND INCUBATORS Stone Barns’ Growing Farmers Initiative  — Westchester. Comprehensive program to help beginning farmers get the training, resources and guidance to create economically and ecologically resilient farm enterprises. Offers apprenticeships, a virtual grange, workshops on everything from beekeeping to seed saving, and an annual Young Farmers Conference which draws hundreds of beginning farmers from across the country and beyond.  Glynwood’s Farm Incubator  — Cold Spring. Provides the tools and resources aspiring agricultural entrepreneurs need to develop and manage viable farm enterprises in the Hudson Valley. Provides access to land, housing, shared equipment, infrastructure, low-interest capital, business mentoring and training in sustainable farming practices. RESOURCES & NON-PROFITS SUPPORTING NEW FARMERS Cornell’s Beginning Farmers Program  — a comprehensive clearing house of resources, internships, job postings and land opportunities. Northeast Organic Farming Association  — This seven-state non-profit teaches, certifies and supports organic farms. Their semi-annual conferences offer sessions on everything from raw milk to fermentation to homesteading, complete with contra dancing and camping.  The Greenhorns  — A unique resource helping young people make the transition into a career of farming. Provides information about everything from where to find an apprenticeship to how to repair a tractor. Complete with mentor matchmaker.   National Young Farmers Coalition  — represents, mobilizes, and engages young farmers. Supports practices and policies to sustain young, independent and prosperous farmers now and in the future. Co-founded by an ex-Manhattanite who now grows organic vegetables in the Hudson.  Richard Wiswall’s The Organic Farmer’s Business Handbook  — widely-prized bible on the business end of running a farm. Expert advice on how to make your vegetable production more efficient and how to better manage your employees and finances. The USDA’s (great) new website for new farmers  — Yes, even the USDA is focusing on new farmers. This site offers in-depth information on how to increase access to land and capital, build new market opportunities, participate in conservation opportunities, select and use risk management tools, and access USDA education and technical-support  American Farmland Trust: Transitioning Farmland to a New Generation  — This longtime, stalwart non-profit is bringing its forces to bear for new farmers, offering everything from training to land links as well as targeted offerings for women landowners and conservation.

This week we welcomed Jerry Caldari into the studio. Jerry is one of the architects behind Brooklyn Grange, an urban farm located on the rooftop of a 6-story industrial building. Jerry tells us about how large a scale this rooftop farming project was from an architectural standpoint, and expresses his optimism about the future of urban farming. This program has been sponsored by Fairway Market. Today’s music provided by Takstar. “Brooklyn Grange wasn’t a science project, it was a business plan with a business model.” [4:00] “I’m excited that you can grow things to eat in the city.” [21:45] –Jerry Caldari on The Farm Report

This week on The Farm Report, Erin Fairbanks gets hyper-local with Ben Flanner of the Brooklyn Grange! The Brooklyn Grange hosts two rooftop farms in Queens and Brooklyn and produces vegetables for local markets. Tune in to hear Ben discuss what he learned from his third growing season at the Grange. How do the physical constraints of rooftop farms dictate how and what urban growers can produce? Later, hear Erin and Ben talk about the future of urban agriculture, and how Bill de Blasio’s election could change the food landscape. What does Ben hope the new administration will offer to the food movement? Tune into this episode of The Farm Report to find out! Thanks to our sponsor, White Oak Pastures. Music has been provided by Sleepies. “Land is always our constraint… Our constant challenge is to grow a super high quality product within the space of a roof.” [10:00] “I think there’s a lack of a community hub in our area and time… we’re hoping to fill a little bit of that void.” [21:15] — Ben Flanner on The Farm Report

For those of us unaccustomed to cooking with tomatillos, they can be a bit of a mystery. The obvious facts are these: They kind of look like tomatoes, but are not, and they’re a key ingredient in salsa verde. Riverpark chef Sisha Ortúzar grew up in Santiago, Chile, and admits that he only had passing familiarity with tomatillos until farmer Zach Pickens starting growing them for the restaurant. Pickens chose to plant purple tomatillos from seeds he’d saved with his farmer friends at Brooklyn Grange. “I don’t see them too much elsewhere at the market," he said. “You’ll see maybe a couple people at Union Square that will have them, but they’re pretty rare and they’re hard to find, so that’s why we were growing them at the farm.” Ortúzar explained that the purple tomatillos also have an advantage over the more common green variety. “[Purple tomatillos] are kind of sweet,” he said. “It reminds me a lot of a plum, so something between a tomato and a plum. And because the acidity level is a lot lower, you can eat them raw and they work really well.” Purple tomatillos taste a little more like sweet and nutty ground cherries, which are small, yellow, similarly husked relatives. “They’re actually in the same genus and species so I guess you could call them cousins,” Pickens explained. “Both grow the same way: You get the husk first and the fruit will fill it out as it matures. Ground cherries just happen to grow faster and, like, more abundantly.” (Photo: Zach Pickens and Sisha Ortúzar/Courtesy Becca PR) Both purple tomatillos and ground cherries are sweet enough to be eaten raw. Ortúzar even pairs the two in seasonal twist on the classic tomato, basil and mozzarella combo. The recipe for his version, Purple Tomatillos and Ground Cherries with Burrata, is below. He added that tomatillos do have a tendency to get a little slimy when subject to heat, but that quality also makes them ideal for salsa verde. “They’re really good for that application because of the really high pectin content,” Ortúzar explained. “So when you cook them and you make a salsa, it kind of thickens itself a little bit.” Tomatillos, tomatoes, and ground cherries are all considered nightshade plants. And while Ortúzar said he has served cooked tomato leaves, it bears warning: they might be poisonous raw or in great quantities. Public service warning aside, tomatillo plants are fairly hardy, and the pair said that Riverpark’s tomatillos fared even better than their tomatoes. “I think that [purple tomatillos] are rare just because people don’t know [about] them, and there’s not that demand for them,” Ortúzar mused. “They’re not any harder to grow than anything else. Actually, I think they grow really well.” Purple Tomatillos and Ground Cherries with Burrataby Riverpark  Towards the end of summer, after the peak of the heat and humidity, we start harvesting purple tomatillos. Unlike the green ones (which are delicious, but tart when raw) purple ones are sweet, so we use them raw, along with ground cherries and lemon verbena that are still in season. This dish is a unique and delicious alternative to tomatoes and burrata—and just as simple to prepare. Serves 4 as an appetizer ¼ cup grapeseed oil ¼ cup lemon verbena (loosely packed), thinly sliced into a chiffonade 1 teaspoon finely diced shallot 1 tablespoon lemon juice Lemon and lime zest 9 small-medium purple tomatillos (about 15 oz), removed from their husks and cleaned 1 pint ground cherries (about 5 oz), removed from their husks and cleaned 2 burrata (about 8 oz) Kosher salt Coarsely ground black pepper  At least 15 minutes before serving, make the vinaigrette by combining the oil, lemon verbena, shallot, lemon juice, and citrus zests and kosher salt to taste. Slice the tomatillos into quarters, and arrange the pieces onto a serving platter. Slice the ground cherries in half and scatter them onto the same platter. Slice the burrata into quarters and place the cheese on top. Spoon over the vinaigrette, and finish with coarsely ground black pepper.  

Spring is coming sooner than you think; time to start planting! This week on The Farm Report, Erin Fairbanks is talking with President and farmer at the Brooklyn Grange, Ben Flanner. Tune in to hear Ben talk about innovations in farm technology, and how these virtually simple tools can increase productivity for small farmers. Hear about the Grange’s expansion to the Brooklyn Navy Yards, and the need for a long-term lease in urban farm security. Hear about Ben’s educational retreat to Mexico, and find out what Ben looks for when scouring a seed catalog! How was the Grange affected by Hurricane Sandy? Find out on this week’s episode of The Farm Report! This episode has been brought to you by Whole Foods. “One of the challenges of urban farming is that you need some sort of long-term stake on some property.” [10:40] “In terms of inputs, everything we need is right here in the city- think about all of the organic waste in New York City!” [15:00] — Ben Flanner on The Farm Report

Megan Paska grew up gardening with her mother and grandmother in Maryland, and spent her summers on her family’s 450-acre farmstead in rural Virginia. When she moved to Brooklyn, NY in 2006, she found that her landlords were enthusiastic about her putting up a raised bed vegetable garden in the backyard. Soon after came bees and honey, then the chickens and fresh eggs. She created the Brooklyn Homesteader blog to chronicle her backyard and rooftop adventures in agriculture, as well as her experiences with urban farming organizations like BK Farmyards, Eagle Street Rooftop Farm, and Brooklyn Grange, with whom she coordinates educational Beekeeping workshops. Megan also hosts workshops and classesfrequently from her backyard garden and in local businesses as well as private classes on subjects like gardening, mushroom growing, food preservation and beekeeping. She is currently in the planning process of starting a farm, The Homestead at Seven Arrows, on 20 acres of leased land just outside the city. This program has been sponsored by The Heritage Meat Shop. “I love beekeeping…you never stop learning, and that’s a humbling feeling.” “That’s why we started Hayseed’s. We were having a hard time finding good quality things like chicken feed, soil, and soil amendments for a reasonable price.” — Megan Paska on Greenhorn Radio

On this episode of Greenhorn Radio, Severine interviews Michael Meier from the Brooklyn Grange Farm in Long Island City, Queens. Michael is a south Florida citrus country native who was introduced to farming as a youngster spending summers at his grandparents’ farmstead in the North Carolina Smokies. He moved to New York City in 2005 and quickly became a part of the local food scene there. He spent a few years working in the ad industry and honing urban homesteading techniques to grow food on the side, before taking an apprenticeship position in 2011 at Brooklyn Grange, a one-acre rooftop farm in NYC. As farm manager with Brooklyn Grange this season, Michael is learning what it takes to run a quickly expanding farm business and is working towards a lifetime career in agriculture, whether on city rooftops or in the country like normal folks. Tune in to hear Michael talk about the Grange’s role in the urban farming landscape, and how it serves as a model for a for-profit farm that can help feed the city. Hear about some of the factors that make Brooklyn Grange different from a traditional rural agricultural farm. This episode was brought to you by Hearst Ranch. “The point of our farm isn’t to try to provide every last vegetable or leafy green people need in the city, but to help create a business model for a sustainable urban agriculture that works and can generate jobs and revenue… Looking at the environmental benefits and the educational and social impact that we have, it’s a constellation of things, but we are a farm and our main priority is producing food… We’re hoping that by constantly testing, working, and spurring innovation in this space that we’ll help grow an industry.” —Michael Meier on Greenhorn Radio

This week on Let’s Eat In, our hostess Cathy Erway talks with Chase Emmons of Brooklyn Grange and Tim O’Neal of Borough Bees. Our guests have teamed up to start a 30 hive apiary at the new Brooklyn Grange rooftop farm in the Brooklyn Navy Yards. Tune in to hear how Chase and Tim got their starts in beekeeping, the surprising demand for NYC honey, and the plans for Brooklyn Grange’s apiary this season. Learn about bee genetics, and how Chase and Tim plan to breed bees that are adaptable to New York City’s weather and conditions. In other words- local New York bees! Thanks to this episode’s sponsor, Whole Foods. “When I started keeping bees, I joined the local beekeeping organization and I was the youngest member by 60 years.” — Tim O’Neal on Let’s Eat In “You want cold winters so bees can make it through the winters. They’ll go more dormant, so to speak. If they don’t go dormant and they stay a little too active, they go through all their emergency food supplies, which is stored honey.” — Chase Emmons on Let’s Eat In

This week on Snacky Tunes, Darin Bresnitz is joined in the studio by guest co-host Travis Hayden of OurLabel International and urban farmer, Gwen Schantz. Tune in to hear Gwen talk about Brooklyn Grange’s acre of urban farm, and their expansion to the Brooklyn Navy Yard. Also, get some more information about Hayseed’s Big City Farm Supply, a pop-up shop in Greenpoint with all of your urban farming needs! Hayseed’s has everything from chicken feed to garden supplies, so check it out during this year’s summer months. Later, Darin and Hayden discuss OurLabel International’s new releases and all of the upcoming summer music festivals. This episode is brought to you by Hearst Ranch. “Urban farming offers a lot, both in terms of food and nutritional benefits, but also environmental benefits. It’s a good way for New Yorkers to reconnect with nature, and do something good for the local environment.” — Gwen Schantz on Snacky Tunes

The New York State primaries, fighting bribery in Kenya and around the world with the power of the web, Twitter used to prosecute Occupy Wall Street protesters, and rooftop farming with Brooklyn Grange.

This week on Straight, No Chaser, Katy Keiffer chats with Ben Flanner, Anastasia Cole Plakias, Chase Emmons & Michael Meier of Brooklyn Grange, a community oriented commercial organic farm located on New York City rooftops. Hear what the crew has been up to and what plans they have in store for the new rooftop farm at the Brooklyn Navy Yard. Learn more about storm water management, beekeeping, seed saving and the educational components of the farm. This program was sponsored by Fairway Market. Photo by Cyrus Dowlatshahi “We’re living in a city who’s sewer system was built well before a period of rapid development. With all these non-porous surfaces that have been added, there’s a lot more water entering the sewer system. Now people are looking for creative ways to manage storm water, such as green roofs, and a farm like ours can store much more storm water than a normal green roof.” –Anastasia Cole Plakias of Brooklyn Grange “In the new farm at the Navy Yard we will have between 20-30 beehives. Part of that project is genetic-oriented. In three years or so we hope to end up with New York City genetics, bees that are adapted to their environment. We want people to purchase bees from us, not just honey.” –Chase Emmons of Brooklyn Grange on Straight, No Chaser

This week on Straight, No Chaser, Katy Keiffer chats with Ben Flanner, Anastasia Cole Plakias, Chase Emmons & Michael Meier of Brooklyn Grange, a community oriented commercial organic farm located on New York City rooftops. Hear what the crew has been up to and what plans they have in store for the new rooftop farm at the Brooklyn Navy Yard. Learn more about storm water management, beekeeping, seed saving and the educational components of the farm. This program was sponsored by Fairway Market. Photo by Cyrus Dowlatshahi “We’re living in a city who’s sewer system was built well before a period of rapid development. With all these non-porous surfaces that have been added, there’s a lot more water entering the sewer system. Now people are looking for creative ways to manage storm water, such as green roofs, and a farm like ours can store much more storm water than a normal green roof.” –Anastasia Cole Plakias of Brooklyn Grange “In the new farm at the Navy Yard we will have between 20-30 beehives. Part of that project is genetic-oriented. In three years or so we hope to end up with New York City genetics, bees that are adapted to their environment. We want people to purchase bees from us, not just honey.” –Chase Emmons of Brooklyn Grange on Straight, No Chaser

This week on Straight, No Chaser, Katy Keiffer is joined by one of the founders of The Brooklyn Grange, a one-acre rooftop farm in Long Island City. Tune in to hear how the farm was started and how vertical and rooftop farming can play a huge role in the future of agriculture in urban areas. Find out what the guys at The Brooklyn Grange are up to right now, and make sure to vote for them in the BBC’s World Challenge. Vote here!This episode was sponsored by Whole Foods Market.

This week on Straight, No Chaser, Katy Keiffer is joined by one of the founders of The Brooklyn Grange, a one-acre rooftop farm in Long Island City. Tune in to hear how the farm was started and how vertical and rooftop farming can play a huge role in the future of agriculture in urban areas. Find out what the guys at The Brooklyn Grange are up to right now, and make sure to vote for them in the BBC’s World Challenge. Vote here!This episode was sponsored by Whole Foods Market.

This week on Let’s Eat In, Cathy Erway welcomes in the new year with a great panel of friends and colleagues. She’s joined by Ben Flanner of Brooklyn Grange, Laena McCarthy and Emma Krautheim of Anarchy in a Jar & Patrick Connolly of Bobo. The group discusses the many challenges that face loyal locavores in winter, the branding of Brooklyn & favorite date meal recipes. Tune in and start 2011 off on the right foot! This episode was sponsored by Whole Foods Market. For more information visit www.wholefoodsmarket.com. Kale, one of the more abundant local winter crops

This week on The Farm Report, Heather & Erin are joined by friend of the station and rooftop farming extraordinaire, Ben Flanner. They discuss the progress of the Brooklyn Grange rooftop farm, and touch upon many of the important elements that help bring fresh and delicious produce from a roof to your mouth. This episode was kindly sponsored by the folks at Cain Five Vineyard & Winery.

Ben Flanner from Brooklyn Grange (www.brooklyngrangefarm.com) talks to Heather about their brand new rooftop farm in Long Island City, their fundraiser this Saturday at Roberta’s, and their Kickstarter.com campaign.

Heather talks with Gwen Schantz of Brooklyn Grange and the guys from Au Pied de Cochon.