Home & Yard Handbook

New food chain specializing in Urban Farming coming to the Rochester Public Market

by Brenna Hartmann

Home&Yard Media Group is proud to sponsor the largest Urban Farming Edible Wall in the world, right here in our hometown Rochester, NY.  Green Living™ Technologies, sponsor of the Urban Farming Food Chain, a nonprofit organization whose mission is to end hunger in our generation, will establish Green Living ‘edible’ walls in Rochester’s downtown Public Market. Cookie Waller, program manager for The Rochester Teen Court, who is funded by the Center for Youth Services is excited that the students will have the opportunity to build and maintain these edible walls. As part of the Urban Farming Food Chain this link will be part of a global food chain, connected to each other by intention and design, and providing a model that is replicated across the country and abroad as a means of growing food in urban neighborhoods. A portion of the food harvest will be donated to local food banks and neighbors in need.

The walls used to grow edible crops vertically are one of a variety of green products produced by Rochester based Green Living™ Technologies. Thanks to the efforts and expertise of Green Living Technologies, the student members of the Rochester Teen Court program will utilize the opportunity to learn about green roof and green wall technologies. Green Living Technologies CEO George Irwin, a certified teacher has developed an educational component, which includes a 10-week unit plan to be implemented in the non-growing season. During the gardening season the Rochester Teen Court participants will be working hands-on, tending to the vertical farm. In the off growing season, the students will be attending classes to learn about green technologies.

According to George Irwin, the program will offer the students a skill set and enough knowledge to be prepared for an interview with many companies now involved in vegetative green technologies.

The Urban Farming Edible Wall pilot program, which has been implemented in the heart of skid row in Los Angeles, California, has provided empowerment, community involvement and education for those residents. The food grown on these walls can include tomatoes, cucumbers, strawberries, peppers, herbs and more.

The Rochester Teen Court Urban Farming Food Chain wall installation at the Public Market will begin with a launch event on Saturday June 27th, 2009.  During the growing season the wall will offer immediate access to fresh healthy produce in a time of great need, while simultaneously creating opportunities for team building, skills training and community involvement.

Engineered by Green Living Technologies these innovative food-producing vertical gardens will beautify the downtown core and help to lower heat index in the fight against global warming while providing Rochester’s Teen Court Program an educational opportunity to learn about green roofs, green walls and vegetative technologies.

For more information on the Urban Farming Food Chain Project, visit urbanfarming.org/foodchain. �

Looking for a home improvement you can really sink your teeth into?  Consider an edible wall! 

by Brenna Hartmann

Imagine having fresh dill for a homemade veggie dip, some chives for your sour cream or even lettuce for a fresh picked spring salad…all year long, right at your fingertips!  Sound delicious?  Trust me, it is.  Fresh, fragrant, organically grown herbs and veggies ripe for the picking from your own kitchen garden.  That’s right, you can have a vertical herb garden right in the heart of your home growing on your wall!  A relatively new concept here on the East coast, it is fast taking hold as people seek greener and healthier lifestyles.

One of my home improvement themes this year is designing a “natural” kitchen.  I began my project by eliminating chemically toxic cleaning products and replacing them with my own home  brewed products consisting of eco-friendly ingredients like baking soda and vinegar.

I have regularly been replacing damaged and scratched non-stick cookware and plastics with more enviro-friendly and reusable products like glass storage containers and stainless steel cookware.

I have upgraded to energy efficient appliances and have installed dimmer switches.  I am using Energy Star-rated light fixtures and bulbs.  So what’s next?  Naturally…the food I am preparing and eating.  But, like many homeowners, I have limited  horizontal space for growing fresh herbs and vegetables and my short outdoor growing season is further limited by the climate here in upstate New York.  Now, thanks to Green Living Technologies, I am  growing fresh herbs and lettuce right on my kitchen wall!  I have installed an edible, vertical garden.  Complete with automatic lighting and irrigation system, this simple modular panel construction allows me to grow my own organic produce year round!

My edible wall is by far my favorite home improvement project to date.  The aroma of the fresh cut herbs is indescribable and for a fraction of the amount of money I would spend growing annually or purchasing costly store bought herbs, I have a beautiful, sustainable and eco-friendly garden wall, right in the heart of my home.

As an added benefit, the plants in my edible wall also serve as air purifiers.  You may be aware that formaldehyde is emitted from many products in our homes such as carpet, plywood, particle board, adhesives and even draperies.  The leaves and the stems of the plants in my edible wall absorb the volatiles during the day and the root zone continues the work at night.  Now that’s a great green bonus!

I am delighted and proud to have a natural kitchen.  Now I just have to learn how to cook!

You can view a video of the installation on my website www.homeandyardradio.com.  Click on the link “Living Greener”. 

Brenna Hartmann is the co-founder of Fixin’Chix Inc., a do-it-yourself enterprise that includes a comprehensive home improvement website; how-to workshops, seminars and publications; and a product line. Brenna is dedicated to empowering women “do-it herselfers” (DIHers) who have the passion and desire to improve their homes. Brenna writes the popular Fixie Chick home improvement column found in Home & Yard Handbook, and is the co-host of “Home & Yard Radio with the Fixie Chick” on 950 ESPN. Brenna lives in Webster with her husband and two children.

Growing up in Churchville we did most of our living on the West Side of Rochester, and everything east of the city was like a foreign country to me.  I remember the first time we ventured to Victor to shop for school clothes.  “There’s another mall?  I had no idea!”  I rode the whole way with great anticipation, and when we crested that last hill and saw the mall spread out before us, it was magical.  Even the name was beautiful.  Eastview. 

Granted, I was only in the fifth grade, and prone to girlish drama, but in all the years since, I’ve never lost the feeling that Eastview Mall is a special place.  Turns out I’m not the only one who feels that way.  I recently had the pleasure of talking with Marie Cornelius, Marketing Director at Eastview Mall, and she clued me into some very exciting things that are going on at Eastview Mall.  

The first is the totally rockin’, bring the whole family, spend the day and have fun, entertaining and educational Green event, formally known as “Be Green & Glamorous”.  “Be Green & Glamorous” is a day-long (10:00 a.m. – 5:00 p.m.), mall-wide event scheduled for Saturday April 25, 2009.  Bring your kids, bring your old computers, bring your used clothing, and make sure you bring your appetite.

What is “Be Green & Glamorous” all about?  “It’s about finding the life left in something you no longer need, and sharing it with someone who does”, said Cornelius.  “It’s about discovering local resources to help you find ways to be greener, every day, long-term, in your home and community.  And it’s going to be great fun!”

Take a look at this partial list of events and vendors for the day, and I’m sure you’ll find several reasons to be at Eastview on April 25th:

•  Computers & Electronics Recycling in the parking lot near the Food Court.  Employees from Regional Computer Recycling & Recovery will be available to recycle your old computers, radios, cell phones and other electronics. (They will not be accepting televisions.)
•  Used Clothing Drive to benefit ABVI-Goodwill
•  Vespa Scooters display by Vespa Rochester at Country Rode Motowerks
•  Victor Student Poster, Essay and Recycling Sculpture Contest presented by the Victor Green Team
•  “Roll Out the Green Carpet” Fashion Show featuring eco-friendly fashions from various Eastview retailers.  You’ll see fashions made from organic cotton, recycled cashmere, even from recycled plastic bottles.
• Donate a non-perishable food item and receive a mini tree (while supplies last).*  Food items will benefit the Victor-Farmington Food Cupboard. 
• Additional sponsorship for the event is provided by The Home Depot, NYSERDA, Home Comfort, and Rehouse Architectural Salvage.

In addition to the special events of the day Eastview Mall offers shopping at more than 180 specialty stores, dining at six sit-down restaurants, movies at the Regal Cinema and even massage or facial pampering at Euphoria Salon/Spa.  Eastview is also home to 5 major department stores: Lord & Taylor, Macy’s, JC Penney, Sears and The Bon-Ton. 

I learned from Cornelius that the “Be Green & Glamorous” event is actually part of a larger initiative by the same name launched at Eastview in 2008.  “The mall wasn’t built green”, she explained.  “We are strongly committed to making it greener, and we have undertaken several initiatives to be greener mall-wide, including store recycling, use of environmentally-friendly cleaning products, and switching to low-wattage light bulbs.”  Shoppers can find reusable shopping bags – large, stylish ones – at two dispensers in the mall and at the customer service center.  

Cornelius says that the mall retailers have been very supportive of the recycling effort – the mall is able to save an estimated 600 trees per year through in-store recycling – and a new initiative is to expand recycling to the community areas of the mall.  “Recycling requires a lot of thought and planning operationally, but when you see the results, it’s exciting, and you want to do more.”  

Even the proposed capitol improvements planned for the mall lean green, with a specific two phase plan to leverage innovation and investment to increase public revenue without expanded development.  Visit www.eastviewsignatureexperience.com for details.

Whether you’re an East-sider or a West-sider, Eastview mall is a great destination that keeps getting better.  My family and I will be at “Be Green & Glamorous”, and I hope to see you there with yours.

THE GREEN TEAM
The Victor Green Team (also known as the Victor Sustainability Advisory Committee) is an approved Town of Victor committee that works to “reduce our impact on the environment by transforming Victor into a ‘Green Community.”  The team has created “a Town Comprehensive Sustainability Plan for reducing our energy consumption, protecting our natural resources and wildlife, and ensuring the health and safety of our residents.”

The Green Team works in partnership with local citizens and businesses to provide supplemental education and resources needed to make their green efforts successful.  

Marie Cornelius, Marketing Director at Eastview, says that the Green Team has been instrumental in a valuable resource for helping make Eastview a greener facility.  “They are an important part of our team, in terms of offering both creative and strategic direction.  We have been able to take some of the Green Team Town initiatives and adapt them for our facility.”

Some of the Green Cost Saving Measures recommended by the Green Team include:

1.  Conduct NYSERDA energy audit.
2.  Set thermostats at 78 degrees in the summer, 68 degrees in the winter.
3.  Replace indoor incandescent lighting with compact fluorescent bulbs.
4.  Review exterior and street lighting to reduce energy used, ensure appropriate lighting intensity.
5.  Shut off computers at night, use sleep mode in between.
6.  Use energy efficient exit signs.
7.  Use energy efficient windows.
8.  Consider geothermal heating, ventilation and air conditioning.
9.  Purchase Energy Star equipment and appliances.
10.  Replace fleet with energy efficient vehicles.
11.  Institute no-idling policy for municipal vehicles.
12.  Institute paper reduction policy.
13.  Reduce waste handling costs with improved recycling.
14.  Eliminate plastic drink bottles and cups, replace with tap water and paper cups.
15.  Use energy efficient lawn mowers, mow less often.
16.  Conduct audit of water use.
17.  Convert to natural lawn care products and methods in place of chemical lawn treatment contracts.

The Victor Green Team sponsored a contest within the Victor school district to run in conjunction with the “Be Green & Glamorous” event.  Students were invited to create a green-themed poster, essay or recycled sculpture.  Winners will be announced at the event on April 25th.  

Learn more about the Victor Green Team here.�