Posts Tagged ‘networks’
Local Food Systems: Not Only Farmers
Posted in Opinion by Kate Archdeacon on January 13th, 2010
Source: Grist
Image: metro centric via flickr CC
From “It takes a community to sustain a small farm” by Steph Larsen
These days it seems the most popular person to be in the food system is the “local farmer.” Farmers markets are popping up everywhere, and their size and popularity grow all the time. Local food is trendy—even the First Family is in on it. But as anyone who has ever raised grain or livestock can tell you, the farmer is not the only person in the chain of players from her farm to your fork. In addition to producers, your food chain includes processors, distributors or transporters, and retailers. In other words, to have a truly local food system, we also need local butchers, bakers and millers, local truck drivers, local grocers, and a community that supports them in all their efforts.
In the world of farm and food policy, we’ve paid a lot of attention to production end of the food system… …But most products aren’t made to eat directly out of the field. Even salad greens or apples, things we typically eat raw and straight from the field, must be washed and sorted before your local farmer will sell them.
As Tom Philpott pointed out in early November, the infrastructure for small-scale processing is woefully inadequate, having suffered decades of atrophy and consolidation—to the point where an otherwise profitable farmer can be driven out of business because she has no where to take her pigs for slaughter, her grain to be milled, or her tomatoes to be “sauced.”
Tags: behaviour change, community, networks, urban agriculture
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Farming Futures – A new green Revolution?
Posted in Movements by Kate Archdeacon on December 29th, 2009
Source: Cleanfood, the Future Climate newsletter
Report Source: Forum for the Future
It’s been a big year for agriculture and climate change, and the Forum’s Farming Futures project has been at the heart of the action.
The Low Carbon Transition Plan, launched by the UK Government in June, recognised that nitrous oxide and methane are the main greenhouse gas culprits in the sector, and challenged the agricultural industry with the first ever reduction target: an 11% cut in emissions by 2020.
Meanwhile, the new UK Climate Impacts Programme (UKCIP) data (UKCP09) showed farmers that hotter, drier summers, longer growing seasons, and new crops, pests and diseases are likely to be on their way; the Renewable Energy Strategy is demanding greater clean energy production; and a set of reports about food security are challenging us to think about how we can produce more food whilst simultaneously reducing our impact on the environment. The industry is responding with a Voluntary Action Plan to reduce emissions, and has put Farming Futures – the key communications project in the sector – at the heart of it. In its third year of delivery, Farming Futures is getting the message across to farmers that a low-carbon agricultural sector can be profitable and lower risk.
Evidence that it’s making a difference include a growing number of farmers signing up for on-farm events, on subjects from beef and sheep to renewable energy and irrigation; rising web hits on the dedicated site www.farmingfutures.org.uk; and rising profile for the project in farming media.
With an independent survey showing that 41% of farmers are now familiar with the project brand, we are now exploring new partnership opportunities for a fourth phase, and are keen to hear from anyone in the Forum’s networks who’d like to find out more or get involved
Tags: behaviour change, farmers, networks, report
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New models of conservation: “Win The Best Holiday In The World”
Posted in Models by Kate Archdeacon on November 16th, 2009
Source: EcoVoice
From: “Help Save The Cassowary And You Could Win A Holiday To Tropical North Qld”, by Mia Lucy
The Best Holiday in the World competition has been set up by the Australian Rainforest Foundation (ARF) to provide funds to purchase a 250km stretch of rainforest Cassowary habitat in far North Queensland to allow safe passage and breeding for the Cassowary. Saving the big bird is a massive undertaking. The ARF’s response to this challenge is Operation Big Bird, launched globally in August 2009. The campaign brings together all levels of government, community groups and individuals, scientists, traditional owners, land managers and the corporate sector to work collaboratively towards a common goal.
“The Cassowary is the gardener of the Australian rainforest and its survival is vital for the health of the habitat,” says Warren Entsch, ARF Chairman. We refer to it as a keystone species because its existence is critical for the survival, food and shelter of many other plants and animals. These magnificent birds disperse the seeds of more than 200 rainforest plants through their droppings. If the Cassowary disappears, rainforests like the magnificent Daintree will irreversibly changed. Also, keep in mind this bird is of immense cultural significance to the local Indigenous population,” he says. The goal is an ambitious Cassowary corridor, linking critical areas of habitat between Cooktown and Cardwell, a distance of more than 400km covering a wide variety of vegetation.
“This will be the largest wildlife corridor ever established in Australia and will be a world-first pilot project demonstrating how an industrialised nation can sustain an endangered wildlife population in its midst.” Read the rest of this entry »
Tags: behaviour change, environment, local action, networks
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TapIt water bottle refill network
Posted in Movements by Kate Archdeacon on August 25th, 2009
Source: Springwise
New York’s water-toting crowd has a convenient new way to be sustainable while staying hydrated, as a tap water refilling service officially launches in the city. TapIt is a community program that enables people to refill their water bottles at participating cafés, completely free of charge.
TapIt aims to help people stay healthy and hydrated without relying on single-use plastic bottles. Any restaurant or café with a soda dispenser or tap that gives clean drinking water can sign up as a partner. Thirsty consumers can find taps online or via TapIt’s iPhone app, and are provided with information on the type of water that’s available, telling discerning customers whether the water’s filtered or non-filtered, room temperature or chilled.
But the TapIt network is not just about going bottle-less; less bottles, less recycling, less water privatization and extraction, it’s about understanding why those things are a problem and finding new and sustainable 21st century solutions.
Think your city is ready to start a local water movement?
Tags: networks, new systems/services, waste, Water
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Bridging the Gap: Collaborative Conservation from the Ground Up
Posted in Events by Kate Archdeacon on August 5th, 2009
Source: Eanth-L - a list for the field of ecological/environmental anthropology.
In many places across the American West and around the world, community-based collaborative initiatives are seeking ways to bridge the gap between conservation and livelihood goals.
One of the persistent challenges is sustaining these efforts over time – keeping partners at the table, working through bureaucratic inertia, adapting to changing government policies, or securing resources.
This conference will bring together people with experience working collaboratively to achieve both conservation and livelihood goals in tribal nations, rangelands, forests, watersheds, agricultural lands, and urban areas, to develop strategies to sustain these efforts.
September 8-11, 2009
Tags: behaviour shift, colorado, conference, networks
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Launch of new Environment, Health and Development research network
Posted in Research by fedwards on March 23rd, 2009
A new Environment, Health and Development research network has been launched in 2009, funded by the UK Economic and Social Research Council. Please see the website: http://www.uea.ac.uk/dev/ehdnet.
There will be an inaugural conference in June 2009. This will comprise an electronic conference and a symposium, where we will particularly explore the role of social science perspectives on themes linking environment, health and development, discuss different analytical approaches, and discuss ways forward for the network. The website gives details of how to join the network and how to apply for the symposium.
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Tags: development, environment, Health, networks, Research
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Invitation to the Sustainable Cities Round Table – Sustainable Sharing
Posted in Events by fedwards on February 9th, 2009
When: 6-8pm Thursday 26 February 2009
Where: Shed 4 Dock 4 North Wharf Road, Docklands VIC 3006 AUSTRALIA. Map: 2E 7D
RSVP essential to: rsvp@ sustainablemelbourne.com by 20 Febuary 2009
What: It may seem strange that we’ve highlighted sharing as a sustainability issue. Yet as the West has become more industrialised we’ve also grown more individualised producing more products per person. At this Sustainable Cities Round Table we explore how we can learn to share again. Topics include shared spaces, such as composts and co-houses; shared products and materials, such as the renewed retro world of no longer daggy hand-me-downs, and shared services, such as permablitzes and group purchasing power.
Speakers include:
Kate Pears, My Sisters Wardrobe
Adam Grubb, Permablitz
Read the rest of this entry »
Tags: Events, networks, sharing, Sustainable Cities Round Table, urban sustainability
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Welcome to the Sustainable Cities Network 2009!
Posted in Movements by fedwards on January 12th, 2009
The Sustainable Cities Network has now re-awakened for 2009 and we’re keen to foster sustainable action and solid achievements for the year to come! Posts will now be updated a few days each week and we extend our welcome for people to place news of their own urban-based sustainability initiatives, events, research and requests online. A selection of the Sustainable Cities Network material will also be collated into our email newsletter (based on the Sustainable Melbourne website) which reaches over 1,600 interested others in Melbourne and beyond! To find out how to post your content on the Sustainable Cities Network visit the ‘How to use this site‘ link.
Tags: networks, sustainability resource
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Making Cities Work Better With DIYcity
Posted in Movements by johngeraci on November 20th, 2008
DIYcity is a newly-launched site that invites users to collaboratively figure out ways to make their cities more efficient, effective and livable with the use of web technologies.
The site is attracting urban planners, web programmers, city agency employees and more, all of whom collectively discuss issues confronting the cities they live in and devise ways to address them with open technologies common to the web.
DIYcity has local groups sprouting up in New York City, Portland, Oregon, Sao Paulo Brazil, Copenhagen, and many more. The organization plans to host meetups simultaneously in many of these cities in December, to build and launch free web applications for use by residents.
Please check out the site and get involved. Everyone interested is welcome to join and participate in the conversation getting under way there.
http://diycity.org
Tags: Movements, networks, sustainable cities, web tools
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A more usable SustainableCitiesNet.com!
Posted in Movements by fedwards on November 12th, 2008
SustainableCitiesNet.com has a new appearance with much thanks to our fantastic web support! The site is now easier to use – be it searching for local sustainability events, models, movements, research or policy – or for uploading your own sustainability initiatives online!
New features include:
- a better appearance – our banner has no distortion, we have more pictures of beautiful sustainable cities and the posts are easier to read and comment on;
- more succinct categories and pages – less tags with more clarity of topic, each category now comes with an explanation of what they mean; and
- added “register” and “log in” links at the top of the screen to allow you to register or sign in more quickly to post your environmental initiatives online!
SustainableCitiesNet strongly encourages people and organisations in cities around the world to post their urban sustainable initiatives directly online. In spirit with our goal “to deliver information, to connect people and projects, to accelerate the city’s sustainable transformation” please post your sustainable initiatives today!
Tags: green cities, networks, sustainability, sustainable cities movement, urban sustainability
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