Portable Rooftop Farm Education Centre
Sprouting Good is working on our first Portable Rooftop Education Centre. The Model will be used to educate the community on rooftop farming by traveling to schools & council areas to showcase the sustainability of Rooftop Farming. The Model will be launched in November.
Our Portable Rooftop Education Model
The first model will employ 6 homeless youth for a 12 week life and work skills program. During which time they will learn skills around Horticulture and Aquaponics. They will also take part in our life skills program to help return hope to their lives.
How It Works?
The system uses an aquaponics setup with 2 large fish tanks located in the shipping container section which provides vital nutrients to the growing plants in the greenhouse.
To learn more and support the program you can head to our Campaign here
The design from our friends ECF in Berlin
Urban Rooftop Farming is Changing the World
With over seven billion mouths to feed, the world is turning to what would have otherwise been termed to as bizarre methods of producing foodstuffs to make ends meet. Since all these people also need somewhere to leave, the trend has been sacrificing farming land for the sake of residential and office space construction and trying to outsource foodstuffs for the densely populated cities from the countryside where people can afford some land to plant crops. This trend is changing with the rapid adoption of urban rooftop farming.
In the past, architects believed in crowning buildings with fancy and adorable roof tops. In the recent past, however, designers are adopting the idea of constructing strong foundations and crowning them with a flat rooftop that contain soil and act as a garden. Evan though the idea began as a pass time to rich company owners, it is turning to a lucrative business.
For instance, in Brooklyn and Queens alone, the British have over two acres of rooftop under cultivation and boasts of having sold over 40,000 lbs of vegetables to restaurants and residents. By adopting this idea, we can extend on the economical viability of our buildings and even get some means of generating extra income to make ends meet.
Apart from being a source of livelihood to people who adopt this new form of urban farming, roof top farms will supply the cities with a constant supply of fresh vegetables. This will not only cut down on the amount of money you have to pay for your broccoli or cucumbers but also ensure that you eat fresh and more nutritious vegetables.
In addition to merely planting vegetables, other farmers have gone forth and started rearing poultry and small herbivores on their rooftop farms. This will reduce on the need to import animal products hence channeling such money to other economical activities.
With most cities struggling with stuff atmospheres, the injection of air purifiers into the setting will give rise to a better ecosystem. Plants are known to be natural purifiers of the air. Their existence in the cities will reduce on the need to invest in sophisticated air conditioning systems. It would be like bringing the forests and farms into the city.</P
As more people venture into this new business, different people are embracing new ways of making money and helping our cities. This new approach to farming means that farmers can now move into the cities, wear neat tweed suits and share lifts with office managers on the way to their roof top farms. The need to set aside land for agriculture could be something of the past.
Even though urban rooftop farming sounds like the next big thing after the invention of knives and spoons, we still have a long way to go before the idea can be fully embraced. We still have to change our building architectures, source the right soils to fill our roof top gardens and come up with the right plant genome that is well adapted to thriving in the contaminated city atmosphere.
The Positive Effects of Urban Rooftop Farms in the Community
With increasing global population and reduced good quality farming land, innovation and creativity must be the way to go forward. This creativity and innovation is what has seen many people in urban areas start a project known as Urban Rooftop Farming. In the city getting surface land to farm is practically impossible due to urbanisation but people still need fresh farm products for their health. Rooftop Agriculture has many pros to the community and especially the wider urban community that has low income and finds it hard to buy food from the local groceries and markets. Amongst some of the benefits are
1. Food accessibility
Rooftop Farming is the ultimate bridge to the diverse social economic classes of urbanity. It allows access to food to those low income earners in the urban areas, who find it hard to buy fresh and nutritious farm products, simply because they do not have the money or they cannot access the market. A research by the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) reveals that at least 11m American urban dwellers has no access to fresh farm produce. What this means is that food accessibility is limited to a few who can access the market.
Most of the researches done on urban settlement reveals that a large percentage of urban dwellers are either the low income earners or the middle income earners. This means that they have a low purchasing power and accessing some of the fresh produce from the groceries is quite hard for them. This is because the prices of this commodity are quite high and unaffordable. The use of Rooftop Farms has been a good substitute since with this these communities can have access to the same fresh produces that they are unable to buy from the shops.
2. Health effect
Rooftop food is grown using organic or as well chemical free method. This makes the produce to have extrinsic nutritional value to the body without adding some other toxic substance. The food on the Rooftop is always taken while being fresh which makes it a bit different from the food from shops which can be up to 11 months old before reaching plate. This is because the nutritional value of food degrades with time after harvesting. This food therefore provides more nutritious heath components into the body, and as such making the society healthy and productive. Not only that, but the Rooftop Farm provides a clean and fresh environment and at the same time providing exercise which leaves the body healthy and physically fit
3. Social health
There is even a bigger advantage to body health that the community gains through Rooftop Farming. It brings about cohesion and unity among the community members. This happens through activities like harvesting produces together, tilting together or even at a time holding celebrations to celebrate their produce. Furthermore, the community members can decide to have unions to safeguard their rooftop farms which makes the community more intact and united.
4. Economic effects
It is clear that farming land in town is something you can never find. But if urban dwellers shift to this innovative Rooftop Farming, then there is a greater chance of economic prosperity from agriculture. The farms can provide job opportunities to the rather idle people who have little or no skills. At the same time this can be a great source of income to the community, for some of these produce can be sold and fetch some good cash.
In a nutshell, the urban centers can turn from being consumers of farm produce from upcountry and actually become provider of their own foods. There is no reason to why young men should remain jobless in the urban centers yet they can explore this opportunity and make a good gain for both themselves and the community.
Urban Rooftop Farming Is Making the World a Greener & Cleaner
There is a developing culture of Urban Rooftop Farming in New York which is still a relatively new concept to the rest of the world. Before looking at the impact of urban rooftop farming on the world, you first have to understand what exactly this kind of Urban Rooftop Farming is and how it works to make the world greener & cleaner
This is a kind of urban farming primarily undertaken in big cities where cultivation for food is done on the roof of a building. The popularity of rooftop farming is spreading far beyond New York to all around the world as more and more people begin to see the benefits of this kind of farming, and more importantly, the impact that it is having on the world.
Urban Rooftop Farming is not necessarily a new idea. Since ancient Mesopotamia, people have been growing plants of roofs, although not in the exact same way that it is done today. In the past, extensive roof farming was not possible because of structural reasons. Today however, roof tops can handle large amounts of weight without any risk, making it possible to now literally cultivate on the roofs.
The great thing about cultivating on roof tops is that virtually any plant can be grown on the roof. Popular choices include heirloom vegetables, gourmet greens and culinary herbs which tend to be smarter, more economical and efficient choices for roof farms.
The Impact of Urban Rooftop Farming on the World
When looking at the impact of urban rooftop farming on the world, we basically have to look at the benefits of this kind of urban farming and the positive impact that comes with it. One of the obvious advantages here is that people get to enjoy the freshest produce quickly & locally. Since food is now sourced locally, there is no need to travel far to get fresh foods which helps to reduce fossil fuels that have an impact on the environment. This also ensures that we can always find and enjoy what is in season each time.
Because of what is known as the heat island effect which is brought about by the lack of vegetation, urban dwellers often have to spend corpus amounts of energy to keep buildings cool in the summer and warm in the winter. Rooftop vegetation offers insulation which in turn means that less energy is used. In addition to this, storm water runs off asphalt and cement surfaces that make up the majority of cities which then finds its way into sewers which ends up in overflowing. With Urban Rooftop Farms rain water is captured & absorbed by the plants and will never find its way into the sewers reducing the impact that overflow has on infrastructure.
There is also the aesthetic side of things as far as roof top farming is concerned. Rooftops filled with vegetation can be a great place to relax as well as being a tourist attraction. This opens up new opportunities for making money, and this kind of farming can easily offer employment to people. Despite the apparent advantages of green roofs it is clear that this kind of agriculture is still in its infancy. There is still a lot of planning and development needed in the coming years to reach a scenario where big cities can produce most if not all of their vegetable needs through Urban Rooftop Farms.
Positive Environmental Changes To Buildings Through The Use Of Urban Rooftop Farms
Roof gardening is an urban agricultural activity that can be traced back to the Ziggurats of the 600 B.C. Mesopotamia. Roof gardens such as those of the Villa of the Mysteries were established by the Roman Empire as a show of architectural prowess as Fusta, a medieval Egyptian city, had rooftop gardens as a show of economic might. The idea of having a garden instead of tiles, polycarbonate or iron sheets, is on the rise given the positive environmental changes to buildings with urban rooftop farms, as noted by bodies such as the Environmental Protection Agency or EPA.
Reduce Emissions and Greenhouse Gases
Rooftop plants lower CO2 levels around the buildings on which they are planted, reducing the risk of cardiovascular and respiratory infections which are associated with greenhouse gas emissions. The plants achieve these through carbon storage, dry disposition and sequestration processes. As a result of these, you will be in a position to cut down on the buildings power consumption cost by up to 15 percent as most buildings with rooftop gardens rarely require air conditioners to operate at full capacity.
Improve Storm Water Management and Water Quality
Urban Rooftop Farms absorb rainwater and reduce the amount of surface runoff water which may carry dust particles and rubble that can cramp together and block drainage pipes. This can make streets flood, giving rise to water born diseases and rob the environment off its aesthetic look, should the floods cover lawns and make them develop brown spots. The gardens also act as sieves that prevent surface runoff water from ferrying pollutants such as heavy metals that may lower the quality of underground water.
Prolongs Your Building’s Lifespan
Positive environmental changes to buildings with Urban Rooftop Farms also include absorption of direct sunlight which can cause expansion and contraction of concrete. Consequently, you will avoid cracks that may make your building weak or in need of constant and expensive repairs.
Dust Reduction
Streets that host buildings with rooftop farms are less dusty in comparison to those that are made of conventional roofing materials. This is because rooftop vegetation creates thermal draft which pulls the dust from the streets by creating a difference in rooftop and ground level temperatures. This explains why the environs of a building crowned by of a rooftop garden is in most cases less stuffy and irritating to people who are allergic to dust.
Improves the Value of Your Building
The farms can be significant in food production as they can also be manicured and shaped into special business and conference spaces that can be rented out for top dollar. This can make your building worth a lot more should you decide to sell it.
Benefits of Involving Experts in Rooftop Building Constructions
Rooftop garden architectural designs, construction and installation procedures ought to be handled by a professional to help you get a rooftop garden that benefits your ecological and other requirements. Intensive roof gardens are for instance meant to be accessible and complementary to your building’s architectural design. Extensive roof gardens on the other hand are light in weight and are more suitable in cases where you building not able to hold too much weight owing to geographical and architectural reasons.
Urban Rooftop Farming The Future In Sydney
Urban rooftop Farming is an idea whose time has come for Sydney. In these times of global warming and concerns about the food supply as per an a report from The National Climate Change Adaption Research Facility, it is in the interest of everyone to start growing their own. Especially as population increases, more and more open space is converted for urban use. While governments state that food shortages are not immediate, a little independent research may prove otherwise. The guys at Green Gotham understand this & are leading the world in Urban Rooftop Farming
Add to this most of the population is in urban areas, where nutritious food can be expensive and sometimes unavailable, due to transport issues. Natural disasters such as drought can cut off food supply lines, leaving the urban dweller wanting fresh produce. The rooftop farm can solve these problems, making urban food systems more resilient and secure. Urban Farmers are on top of the world in Montreal showing the world how nutritious food can be grown regardless of climate
Initial set up of the Urban Rooftop Farm can be considered expensive compared to conventional land farming, but operation costs are substancially lower. It does require set up of a greenhouse, for growing year-round, but, with rainwater collection, circulating in a closed-loop system, so no irrigation runoff is created. Within the greenhouse, micro climates can be made for various types of vegetables.
To know what is in the food, how it was grown, where it comes from, and, depending on yield, some can be sold locally, producing income for the farmer, and reducing or eliminating transport costs.
There are many more advantages to Urban Rooftop Farming not related to food, however. Making a place to relax, to get in touch with the earth and recharge, increasing shade on the property and in the urban areas. It offers an opportunity to learn the difference between organic produce versus traditionally grown produce. Urban Rooftop Farming can help spruce up the lower income, under served areas by making them more pleasant with the shade and greenery and creating jobs. A good case in point is New York’s Highline Park, where other businesses also opened near this rooftop farm. That can lead to more tourism.
The sustainability by itself makes this an important avenue to explore. Australia has quite a way to go before Urban Rooftop Farming is common practice. Urban planners in Sydney may not be interested or do not understand the benefits of Urban Rooftop Farming, but councils have visions of vertical gardens producing what the city needs just a short walk from home. With the right combination of supporters, technology, and the economic possibilities, Urban Rooftop Farming can be the answer to the high cost of Fresh Produce, and have the populace enjoying more organic produce versus traditionally grown produce. These are sure ways to interest the planners and city councils.
Urban Rooftop Farming is the wave of the future. With all the advantages, both food-related and not, this is an idea whose time has come. If you would like to share your story of Urban Rooftop Farming please connect with us here
Lufa Farms 2nd Rooftop Greenhouse Bigger & Better, NYC Announces Urban Rooftop Farm. When is it Sydney’s Time For An Urban Rooftop Farm?
Lufa Farms in Montreal has showcased its 2nd Urban Rooftop Greenhouse located west of Labelle Boulevard near highway 440. The Greenhouse is a substantial 3995m2 with their first standing at 2973m2 & producing 165 tonnes of produce a year. With an increase in size of almost 50 percent they will be able to have a predominant effect on the fresh produce supply in Montreal.
“The additional greenhouse allows us to offer a wider range of fresh, premium vegetables, all grown responsibly and delivered daily to local consumers,” said Lauren Rathmell, founding member and greenhouse director. “Now we have space to grow more than 20 specialty tomatoes, including pink cherries, Striped German, and legendary Cherokee Purples – just some of the delicious and unique vegetables we grow that are not available from grocery stores.”For More Please visit Digital Journal
New York City Looking Forward To A Sustainable Future
New York City on recently announced plans for a residential, commercial and cultural complex on a large parcel of undeveloped land on Manhattan’s Lower East Side. Long known as the Seward Park Renewal Area project, the new Essex Crossing complex will be built on nine city-owned lots over a span of many years. It will include parks, a school, a community center providing early childhood and senior services, a rooftop urban farm, an Andy Warhol Museum, and 250,000-square-feet of office and retail space. It also will have 1,000 rental units and condos, half offered at below market value. The Essex Street Market, an indoor market of about two dozen vendors selling produce, food and other items, will be expanded and projected to open in 2018. Other amenities include a bowling alley and movie theater. For more please visit Poststar.com
When Is It Sydney’s Time For An Urban Rooftop Farm?
With Urban Rooftop Farms popping up all around the world as a sign of Sustainability & Technological advancements in Food Supply Sydney & Australia who lead the Global way in Traditional Farming methods is largely still sitting on the sidelines. Our International counterparts have found that due to Urbanisation of cities their Farm lands are reducing in size whilst population increases & simply this puts a strain on fresh produce supply. They have been forced to look at other alternatives & hence the sprouting of Urban Rooftop Farming around the Globe. Australia is not immune to the reduction of suitable farming land as we too are growing our cities at a rapid rate & our fresh produce currently on average can travel 2500km before reaching our plates.
Although there are small Urban Rooftop Farms sprouting on rooftops all over Australia they are generally run by restaurants or cafes like the one at Wayside Chapel at Potts Point who want to supply their customers with the freshest & healthiest produce but with only limited numbers having the opportunity to taste the quality of the produce. Sprouting Good is working on changing this in Sydney & around Australia by implementing commercial grade Rooftop Farms to supply the local population with fresh high quality produce whilst reducing carbon footprint by minimising fossil fuels produced by transport vehicles. Our Rooftop Farms will also produce a cleaner air quality within the area. We have a great opportunity to educate schools, Universities & the community on the benefits of eating fresh quality produce whilst teaching the benefits of Urban Rooftop Farming.
Do You Know Of A Rooftop That Could Do With A Makeover? Please Free to Connect With Sprouting Good Here
Benefits Of Urban Rooftop Farming
All the building owners can utilize the free spaces in their rooftop to produce locally made chemical free vegetable as well as fruits and herbs which are safer for our health. In an urban rooftop farming system the products are produced in hydroponic, soil-free trays.
Urban Rooftop Farming can provide many ecological benefits. Consumers can purchase fresh organic products with longer shelf-life due to the short span in delivery period; products are free from greenhouse gas and receive sufficient sun light and air.
Besides, Rooftop Farming results in minimizing energy consumption and heat stress as it absorbs overall heat of the entire building.
Urban Rooftop Farming can contribute to the huge saving in fuel, impurity and time related to the food industry transportation.
Even in the winter seasons, when local supply from rural farms is reduced significantly, Urban Rooftop Farms can keep the supply intact by providing locally produced vegetables and herbs.
Flooding and Droughts are problems in agricultural farming as they can create a huge loss and cause devastation to the farmers. But in rooftop Farming the farmers can take proper precautions to cope with the heavy rainfall or harsh lack of.
Food prices and the cost of farmland become very expensive with the enormous growth in the population. But Rooftop Farming is considered as the most cost effective method for urban farming as it reduces the financial and environmental costs of transporting the food products in long distances.
In an urban rooftop farming system the food value of the products are totally preserved as the products do not require any packaging system. So consumers can receive nutritious food.
There are several rooftop farms in the world but out of them five are mostly recognized farms over the last few years. These are Hong Kong based HK farm, Newyork city based Brooklyn Grange, Rotterdam based Dakakker, Tokoyo based City farm and last of all Montreal based Lufa farms.
In order to widespread this concept all over the world, the initiatives should be taken to educate developing countries how to set up an urban farm to battle with the ongoing food crisis
Pick Up The Traditional Farm & Place It On A Roof You Then Have Urban Rooftop Farms Yes?
All around the world with Tsunami force Urban Rooftop farming has become popular with an increasing number of people living in densely crowded cities. Even though many may have heard of Urban Rooftop Farming there are plenty of people who do not actually know what it is or how it actually differs from Traditional Farming. The following is to provide a quick insight into the Urban Rooftop Farming phenomenon that is sweeping the globe for those who are not too familiar with the differences between Urban Rooftop Farming & Traditional Farming Methods.
Urban Rooftop Farming Naked
The idea to start Urban Rooftop Farming was born in densely crowded cities where there is a serious shortage of suitable farming land. There are many different methods of rooftop farming suitable for nearly any rooftop no matter the size, amount of sunlight, access to water, etc. Vegetables for rooftop farming may be planted directly into soil, into pots or they even can be grown hydroponically which greatly expands the possibilities. Growing hydroponically eliminates the need for soil and its extreme weight, ideal for people who cannot put a large amount of weight on their roof. For those who live in small apartments, “square foot gardening” or “vertical gardening” can be utilized to grow a surprising amount of produce in an area that only takes up a square foot or less.
Urban Rooftop Farms Showing Traditional Farms the Green Way
The biggest difference between Urban Rooftop Farming and Traditional Farming is the amount of land, or space, required. Traditional farms use acres and acres of land to grow crops in rows whereas Urban Urban Rooftop Farms only require roughly one third to one tenth the amount of space as Traditional Farms. Urban Rooftop Farms typically do not require the use of pesticides which can contaminate soils & waterways due to the fact that there are fewer crop destroying pests in an Urban Rooftop setting, unlike Traditional Farms which have to deal with ground dwelling pests. Another notable difference between the two is that Urban Rooftop Farming is very easy and accessible to nearly anyone, which differs from Traditional Farming that is very difficult to get started and not possible for people living in a city due to a lack of suitable land.
Love The Earth With The Differences Urban Rooftop Farming Brings The World
There are a number of great benefits offered by Urban Rooftop Farming. Most notably it is an ideal alternative to traditional food production for every major city on the planet to feed its people. Becoming green is a priority these days and studies show that Urban Rooftop Farms and Gardens would reduce city temperatures enough to save over a million dollars on air conditioning costs if they covered 50% or more of city rooftops. On a personal level Urban Rooftop Farming helps people eat healthier and become less dependent on others for food. In fact, people living in the heart of many major cities would not have access to any fresh vegetables without Urban Rooftop Farms and Gardens.
Organic Urban Rooftop Farm For Thought
Starting your own Urban Rooftop Garden/Farm is relatively easy and does not require much of an investment, all that is required is some access to water and sunlight even if it is just a window sill. It has gained so much popularity worldwide because it is a fantastic way to improve one’s own quality of life as well as improve the health of our cities. Please ensure you check with local authorities on legislative requirements & Structural Engineers for load bearing reports. We recommend reading Eat Up by Lauren Mandel
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What Can Pop Idols One Direction and Justin Bieber Teach Us About Urban RoofTop Farming?
With a crazy community of raving fans chasing Boy Band One Direction, others idolising Justin Bieber, what are they teaching the community of raving Urban Rooftop Farming fans?
First we saw the Beatles, generations later The Backstreet Boys… and now One Direction has taken the teenage world by storm, with millions of teenagers walls plastered with posters of the group.
Smart marketing, talent and looks play major parts in keeping this craze alive.
Justin Bieber came from nowhere, singing to his webcam… Almost overnight he became a Superstar. A marketing commodity fast-tracked to stardom, working hard to develop his image translating to millions of dollars.
As his rapid fame started to rebound with media backlash, he found himself back infront of the webcam singing naked with a guitar to his grandmother…Is his next move to shave his head like Britney Spears?
How Do Such Talented Superstars Relate To Urban Rooftop Farming?
In the world of Urban Rooftop Farming, there’s Superstars like Mohamed Hage, Lufa Farms, Ben Flanner, Brooklyn Grange and Annie Novak Eagle Street…
Are they for real, these crazy pioneers of Urban Rooftop Farming?… Or, like Albert Einstein and Steve Jobs before them, now considered geniuses by the larger population!!
Are they considered to be crazy because they are currently going against the flow of what is considered to be normal???
Why do we need Urban Rooftop Farming when our current agriculture is healthy and cheaper to sustain?
“Traditional agriculture” consumes a lot of resources such as land, water, electricity. All these factors have a massive impact on the land. Pesticides can run off in to water supplies and soaks in to soil leading to contamination.
(A report by the EPA in NSW explores the contamination of land by pesticide used in Traditional Agriculture in NSW.)
Some Advantages Of Urban Rooftop Farming
Once you understand Urban Rooftop Farming you’ll quickly see why it’s the obvious choice for the Sustainable Production Of Fresh Produce.
- Urban Rooftop Farming on pre existing buildings eliminates soil contamination.
- Pesticides aren’t needed as pests and insects found at a higher altitude can be managed through natural methods such as bee keeping.
- We can still be in touch with mother nature and her love for all living things, by using light weight versions of the same growth materials used in “Traditional Agriculture”
- Positioning your farm on the top of a building allows greater access to the sun. Sunlight not only helps plants grow, it enables solar technology to power the farm
- Your Urban Rooftop Farm captures storm water run off by recycling water that currently goes down the drain.
- Higher establishment costs of Urban Rooftop Farming compared to traditional farming are quickly offset once the farm is in operation. You’ll quickly see a large reduction to running costs such as pesticides, water, electricity and land to name a few.
- Urban Rooftop Farms positioned in densely populated areas reduces transport costs
- Eliminates need to snap freeze produce and reduces carbon monoxide produced during transport.
- Urban Rooftop Farms located near Schools encourages educational programs (an additional income source) giving children a “hands on” approach to understanding where food comes from.
So Is Urban Rooftop Farming a Craze or just Crazy?
Urban Rooftop Farms have a positive impact in areas of Sustainability, Environmental and Socially.
It may seem like a craze that has swept the world but we see it as a call to offer traditional farming an additional source lifting the pressures off our current food supply chains which is a sustainable way to deliver.
Crazy?
Well maybe the pioneers are the crazy ones but their motives to inflict positive change on the world and provide a sustainable fresh produce food supply comes from a place deep within that challenges what is considered the Norm for many of us
So like those considered crazy before them they will continue on the journey to implement Urban Rooftop Farms all over the highly urbanised cities to change what we believe is the Norm & we stand by them with all our love & support.
Sprouting Good Urban Farming Sydney 