Gardens on BUSES, TRAINS and BOATS!--Oh MY!

Gardens EVERYWHERE! Gardens on BOATS,  BUSES (in NYC), Gardens on TRAINS (in Chicago). That is my motto! And I have to say, the folks over in New York City are spot on when it comes to finding locations to garden! The NYC Metro buses have got GARDENS on top! And over in Chicago they put in a native plant railway car that is attached to the subway!



Garden on BOATS!  Check out Boatanic! (As in Boat-anical!) According to the Botanica website all you have to do is .....take a tourist boat (of which we have many here in Seattle......all of which are taller than my apartment) and add seeds..........

What a great idea! Think of all the extra space out there in the ocean, lake, or river (full sun!).

Generate Electricty by Walking and Playing on the Merry-Go-Round!

Now this is something that I think should really be  in all cities and towns around the world.  We can create electricity by doing something that we do EVERYDAY.  Something we HAVE to do!  WE have TO WALK!

Check out how they are doing it in Tokyo: "Let's Generate Electricity by Walking"  By harnessing energy we already have within us we can provide the energy we need to light our homes, heat our water, and of course run the Internet!

Or how about a knee brace that stores electricity to run a cellphone or an I-pod?  That would be fun to take hiking---no more worrying about the battery dying.  I just have to jog around awhile and "Whalla!" I can call home.

I like to say that kids are "Energizer Bunnies"  (those of you old enough to remember the commericals (which you can see here) will remember........... "They keep going and going and going." 

Well, Brigham Young University recently put together a merry-go-round that produces electricity for a school in Ghana!  And major 'players' are getting in on the fun!  Playworld Systems (playground equipment company in Pennsylvania) has joined forces with Empower Playgrounds Inc.  to create amazing play equipment that generates electricity! 

WOW!  Imagine that! 

Now if we can harness our own energy from walking, hiking, cycling, and driving cars, buses, and trains............and combine THAT with electric vehicles............The future's so bright, I gotta wear shades! (Oh dear, there is another 80s reference.....)
Until next time!

Chick Chick CHICKENS!

Ok. So lets talk urban FARMING. In the city of Seattle you can raise chickens and goats.
Pretty darn cool! Also occurs in DENVER and other cool cities.

City Chicks 101---Seattle Tilth has gaggle of classes going on!  Check out their March line up!
Check out these websites:
City Chickens-Seattle
The Goat Justice League- Seattle
City Chickens-Denver
Denver Backyard Farms

google...........city chickens and your city for more info. Or, go to your local city hall and ask about raising city chicks!

Go NATIVE! /Seattle City Forest

Ok. So we need to protect the trees! WE NEED TO KEEP TREES IN THE CITY!! THEY CLEAN THE AIR and COOL US DOWN IN THE SUMMER!

Go Native!  My apartment building here in the center of Seattle has decided to Go NATIVE!    This means they have decided to plant all native plants on the property.  This means that they need very little care.  They have evolved to love the soil, the abundance of water in the winter and lack of it in summer.  NATIVE PLANTS are perfect!  Check out the Native Plant Society to find a source for native plants near you! 

For info on what you can do to make it a greener city check out the City of Seattle Forest Project!
Seattle reLeaf! 

Want more info on what you can do visit Plant Amnesty!

BACK TO THE FUTURE IS HERE!

Ok. For a few years now we have known about grease being turned into bio diesel but how about ELECTRICITY? Check it out!

Click here for the full article. GO PURDUE! Indiana has the first (at least the first one I've heard about) grease/food waste -electricity plant in the USA. OK UW-Seattle we have some competition.

Lets get in the Deloran everyone. It is time to turn our food waste into reusable fuel!!

Remember way back when........in the 80's, we thought the scientist was a bit 'crazy'......food into fuel.....'come on, Man.

But here we go...........we are living the future!

ROCK ON!!

Rethink! Shoe Caddy/Old Jeans = Garden Wall

Ok. I LOVE THIS IDEA. I have a wall that I need to do something with -garden wise- and a pair of pants and shoe caddy that have seen better days. WOW. Ok. I'm going to make some vertical gardens!

Check out the instructibles: Gardening in an old pair of jeans

and the over the door shoe planter caddy--often times these are already lined.......perfect for the small garden and an easy/inexpensive way to set up an indoor garden wall of houseplants! 

PLANT A GARDEN EVERYWHERE!

Photo:  Greenupgrader website

Sky Farms! We can eat the walls!

Ok....so as you probably already know I'm a big sci-fi fan..........this all started with the Jetsons, and then later Star Wars and of course Star Trek........ Well when I found something today on SKY FARMS I just was floored. Check it out ...........entire skyscrapers covered in lush, beautiful, at times edible! green growth! This isn't the ivy variety, it is a vertically landscaped paradise.

Check out the Environmental Grafftti website here for a long slideshow of vertical gardens around the world.

In Toronto, our friends to the north, they have several designs for urban skyscraper farms.....talk about eating LOCAL in the city! check out the skyfarms website here.

Here is to putting a garden everywhere there is free space.........the sides of walls........everywhere!
Photo from Environmentalgraffiti.com

WORMS eat my GARBAGE........

Yep. WORMS get my garbage. I remember facilitating a worm bin making workshop at Forest Park Nature Center back when I was a naturalist. (I'm still a naturalist just not a paid one right now LOL ). Anyway, worm bins are FUN and a great way to get the best soil around. The Whatcom County (Washington State) website tells exactly how to build one for under $15.00.

HERE IS TO WORMS!
One of the largest worms known to science is the Giant Palouse earthworm aka Washington Giant Earthworm (Driloleirus americanus), found right here in Washington State! They are thought to reach 3 feet in length. CHECK IT OUT -Click HERE-.

Heck yeah! I want earthworms that big in my garden YOU BETCHA! Can you imagine the amount of compost they would make?

Photo:  ESA blog