‘Environment’ Archives
Procrastination Saves Lives!
overgrown bench/ ben heath By MARY ELLEN KALUZA Early in my gardening career (some 4+ decades ago) I cleaned up the garden each fall, pulling everything out, cutting down plants and stems so that everything was ready to go in the spring. That didn’t last many years. By first frost I was soon ready to be done with gardening and looked forward to just shoveling snow for a few months. Clean out was left till spring. I soon noticed birds feeding on the dried seed heads left standing during the winter. So, I now had an excellent reason to not clean away the dead plants: feeding the birds. Also, in spring I found last year’s vegetable plants munched down to nubs with abundant rabbit turds left behind, presumably in thanks for getting the bunnies through the winter. Rabbit poop is an excellent fertilizer with four times more nutrients than cow or horse manure, and is twice as nutritious as chicken manure. It is not a “hot” manure like horse, cow, or chicken poop - it [...]
Minneapolis Edible Boulevards is Looking for Participants!
By MICHELLE SHAW So much to share this month! First, a huge shout out to our youth coordinators who have been working with us since December through a Minneapolis Green Zones grant: Janicea Comey, Timya Jones and Julius Rennie. They’ve done a lot of work connecting community members with fresh produce through community garden mapping. They’ve also created a directory to promote plant-based businesses that are BIPOC and woman-owned. If you live in one of the Southside Green Zone zip codes of 55454, 55404, 55406 or 55407 (or your business is there), have a plant-based business or offer vegan options, and would like to be included in the directory, please contact minneapolisedibleboulevards@gmail.com. Have you ever thought about growing food for your home (or business, community space, place of worship, what have you) and also creating a space where community members can share what you grow? Then Minneapolis Edible Boulevards is for you! If you’ve never planted a garden [...]
New Council Brings New Hope for Environmental Justice in East Phillips
By STEVE SANDBERG East Phillips Cultural Center gymnasium gathering, where community members gathered on Saturday, December 18th to lift up their ongoing work to bring community-led development to the Roof Depot site. As Minneapolis residents waited to see what change would result from the November 2021 election, 75 to 100 community members gathered on Saturday, December 18th at the East Phillips Cultural Center gymnasium to lift up their ongoing work to bring community led development to the 7.6 acre Roof Depot site in the East Phillips neighborhood. Led by EPNI staffer Joe Vital, the meeting highlighted EPNI’s work to save the 230,000 square foot Roof Depot building for aquaponic farming, affordable housing, solar development, and a youth-led coffee shop, event center, and bicycle repair and assembly facility. Local BIPOC businesses displaced in the aftermath of the murder of George Floyd are also supporting this community led effort. The meeting featured appearances of [...]
