Tonight I am still feeling lifted from my experience this Martin Luther King Jr. memorial morning when I joined over three-hundred people from all walks of life to beautify and restore a section of Richmond California’s Greenway.
Several local groups organized the event or provided volunteers to do a wide variety of tasks in the event’s fifth year.
Check out more photos from the event:
Everywhere I looked were scenes of people of all races, ages, classes, and persuasions cheerfully coming together; helping and learning from one another while doing the environment a …

Originally posted Thanksgiving, November 25th, 2009…Enjoy!

flickr.com/prettywarstl: a nice plate!
Thanksgiving in my family is more than the delicious turkey, pies, and cobblers my sister Delane makes; it is also a celebration of food that preserves the memories and experiences of those who have passed on, symbolized through the remaking of family recipes…Cherrie’s dressing, Ella mae’s Pea Salad…the matriarchs of my family pulled greens from their garden for dinner, they plucked the feathers of fresh foul, and cleaned the fish they caught in local lakes for Friday fish fries.
Our family also has …

Originally Posted on Scientopia
For urban dwellers who would love to garden, but feel as though they don’t have enough, time, skills, or space, a re-popularized and fun solution is the sidewalk garden. These gardens not only invite beauty into the local surroundings, but also create an urban sanctuary for environmental allies such as birds, bees, and butterflies. For pedestrians and passersby, a sidewalk garden also promotes a sense of community pride, and a natural respite from the harsh angles of the urban setting.
Found in urban sidewalks everywhere are overlooked …

Want to learn the best ways to break down grassfed beef into American and Italian cuts AND support urban school garden projects? If so, we invite you to take your love of good food and good deeds to the next level! Join Outdoor Afro at this fundraiser for Slow Food Solano’s school gardens project, the Farmer-Veteran-Coalition and Gleason Ranch, in Northern California.
After a demonstration by skilled butchers, the event will culminate with a drawing to distribute all the cuts to those attending.
The day’s offerings also include a bounteous spread of beautiful, delicious …

In the spirit of this week’s recognition of Black farmers, here is a wonderful video by Max Roach of Mo’ Better Food. He interviews Will Scott, President of the African American Farmers of California, who presides over 20 farmers in the state.
I have had Mr. Scott’s wonderful black-eyed peas from the West Oakland Farmer’s Market that keep amazingly well in the freezer to enjoy in winter months.
Who are the black farmers in your family and community?

Reposted from Save Black Farmers
Did you know?

That only 1 in 100 farms are Black owned farms
The average age of a Black Farmer is 63
1920, 14% of all American ag producers were Black
2010, ONLY 1% of American ag producers are Black
These numbers account for Black Land Loss of over 10 million acres of production and counting…

What Is Black Ag Awareness Week?
Black Agricultural Awareness Week is a week set aside to recognize and celebrate black agriculture, while bringing awareness to the needs and the decline of Black Agricultural Producers; as well as focus attention on the African …

Check out this New Jersey journalist Aaron Morrison, who overcomes his lifelong fear of bees to learn some beekeeping basics! Could you do this too?
 
 

By Danielle Lee, Urban Science Adventures
I’ve spent the last week at the 108th Annual Missouri State Fair in Sedalia, Missouri. It was a lovely week. I was there doing science outreach, participating in the 4 Days of Hands-on Science Fun which included a Street Science Fair, Show Me Robotics Showcase & Competition, and Aerospace Fun Day. Plus, there were the agricultural exhibits and showcases. I loved it all. it really reminded me of my agricultural roots.
When I was younger, I would go to the Mid-South Fair and Libertyland housed on …

Looking for something fun to do with friends for Memorial Day, we finally decided to visit the Tilden Park Botanical Garden in Berkeley, California.
Courtesy of the Friends of the Regional Park
A botanic garden is a terrific place to go for an easy refuge from nearby urban spaces, and a chance to visualize the diversity and importance of plants in a natural environment.
Spanning ten acres, the Tilden Park Botanical Garden was designed in the 1940′s as a preservation area, and showcase of California plants including rare and endangered grasses, shrubs, trees, …

My six-year-old son Billy and I recently had the privilege to lend a hand to “raise” a garden at Kennedy High School in Richmond, California. We arrived mid-morning at a southern exposed site nestled near the school’s track. The work area swarmed with students, school staff, parents, and Urban Tilth, the organizing non-profit who produced the day as part of its project, 2 Farms in 2 Days.
Not too little to help
The intention behind this weekend event aims to produce real, productive farms that, according the organization’s website, “grow food that directly changes the food …