Archive for February, 2011
BASIL Seed Swap, 3/4/11
Join the Ecology Center for the Bay Area Seed Interchange Library (BASIL)’s 12th annual seed swap. Potluck supper, hoe down music, home-grown garden seeds, and the company of fantastic local gardeners! Click here to learn how to participate.
Apply to become a FoodCorps Service Member!
FoodCorps, a new national service program designed to reverse childhood obesity while cultivating a new generation of farmers and public health leaders, is now accepting applications from potential Service Members. FoodCorps Service Members will spend a year of paid public service building and tending school gardens, developing Farm to School programs and conducting hands-on nutrition [...]
“Urban Homesteading” gets trademarked
The term “urban homesteading,” which pertains to the practice of organic gardening, food foraging, and hand-crafting (among other cost-effective and energy-saving efforts) in urban areas, is no longer in the public domain. Since the term was trademarked by the Dervaes family in Pasadena a few years ago, groups that are engaged in grassroots efforts under [...]
Learn how to keep your home lead-free for free, 2/26
The City of Berkeley and Alameda County Lead Poisoning Prevention Program bring together this class that will teach you how to better protect yourself and your children from lead poisoning. The first hour will focus on the dangers of lead and simple steps to reduce or eliminate your child or grandchild’s exposure to lead. The [...]
Berkeley Transition Town Introduction: Presentation, Panel, & Interactive Discussion 2/23
The Transition Town Movement is an international grassroots effort to harness the collective genius of ordinary people to find solutions to the serious challenges of climate change, peak oil and economic instability. Berkeley will be launching its own Transition Initiative; you are invited to participate in a lively discussion to learn more about Transition Towns, [...]
Sign up for the EcoHouse Tour with Compost Clinic, 2/20
Come get inspired and learn new skills at the EcoHouse with a tour of the site and gardens, followed by a clinic on home composting. Begin at 10am with a tour of the Ecology Center’s EcoHouse demonstration site and learn about simple improvements that can be made to green an urban home. The tour includes: [...]
Can hexane-extracted soy protein isolate be considered organic?
Next time you’re buying veggie burgers or energy bars containing soy protein isolate, think twice. “Hexane is commonly used in the processing of non-organic veggie burgers, meat alternatives, and nutrition bars,” an East Bay Express article reports. “To produce soy protein isolate, manufacturers immerse whole soybeans in a bath of the synthetic, petroleum-based solvent. A [...]
Environmental Justice Groups Challenge Global Warming Solutions Act, AB 32
Just as California’s Climate Change legislation AB 32 is getting ready to be implemented, some Bay Area environmental justice groups have filed a motion against the Air Resource Board, concerned that the legislation might make situations worse for low-income and minority communities: “AB 32 requires 360 businesses representing more than 600 facilities to limit greenhouse [...]
The Lunch Love Community Documentary Project, 2/13
The Lunch Love Community Documentary Project tracks the work of a group of Berkeley parents who, challenging Berkeley school districts to serve healthier foods on their menus, formed the Berkeley School Lunch Initiative. Filmmakers Helen De Michiel and Sophie Constantinou present their film and invite special guests Bonnie Christensen (Executive Chef, Berkeley School Lunch Initiative), [...]
Students Launch Nationwide Campus Food Co-op Project
Two years ago, the Ecology Center highlighted the fledgling efforts of this group at the Sustainability Summit. In two years, it has taken off to be something much, much bigger. Read on to see how students nationwide are joining the movement to change campus food.
EcoFarm Attendees’ Response to USDA Decision to Allow GMO Alfalfa
Every year, the Ecology Center’s Berkeley Farmers’ Market staff attends the EcoFarm Conference, the largest organic farming conference on the West Coast. The following press release was drafted during this year’s conference, when news of the USDA’s approval of GMO alfalfa was announced.
ALBA Success Story: Catalán Farm
Farming is no easy occupation to get into. And for many minority, low-income people, the challenges are heightened. The Agriculture and Land-Based Training Association (ALBA), is an EPA and USDA-funded program that enables people to become independent organic farmers. The majority of people who enroll are low-income, but participants who stick with the six month [...]
