Urban farming is an ancient tradition in Bamberg, and the gardeners’ district is an integral part of the World Heritage City, growing food, promoting sustainability and fighting climate change.
Lead levels in backyard hen eggs are often much higher than in eggs bought in the shops. A new study of soil lead, chickens and eggs locates the high-risk areas in our biggest cities.
Trouble in paradise: Disappointments in school and community gardens point to the need for systemic changes in how our society organizes land, labour and resources.
(Mitchell McLarnon)
Gardens require huge labour, and outcomes like health, well-being or food security are affected by systemic barriers people face in cities and schools.
Community vegetable gardens, such as this one in Pickering, Ont., support health and should be seen as part of the city’s food system.
THE CANADIAN PRESS/Frank Gunn
Publicly accessible gardens are an essential part of our food system. It’s important for policymakers to understand that growing food in city gardens is central to health, food security and culture.
Up to 85% of the nectar available to pollinating insects in a city comes from gardens. What we plant – whether in an allotment or a window box – can make a huge difference.
A house martin visits an urban nest.
Savo Ilic/Shutterstock
Clean bird feeders and grow insect-friendly plants.
Plants are more than background foliage in our busy lives. Our relationship with plants supports human health and well-being in many ways.
(Sarah Elton)
Plants support human health not only in terms of providing food, oxygen and shade. Our relationships with plants facilitate political decisions and actions that support health in the city.
In 2014, scientists studying the soil in Central Park were surprised at the vibrancy of the microbial life they discovered.
Roberto Nickson on Unsplash
Two planters added to bare front gardens had as much benefit as eight weekly mindfulness sessions.
Compost awaiting distribution at the Las Virgenes Municipal Water District’s Rancho Las Virgenes compost facility, Calabasas, Calif.
Brian Vander Brug/Los Angeles Times via Getty Images
Turning food scraps and yard trimmings into compost improves soil, making it easier for people to grow their own food. City composting programs spread those benefits more widely.
City gardeners are dependant on wild insects to make their gardens thrive.
(Shutterstock)
The sight of empty shelves has led some Australians to look for alternative ways to feed themselves and their families. This is what history can teach us.
At the peak of a summer heatwave in Adelaide, an aerial survey of land surface temperatures reveals just how much cooler neighbourhoods with good tree and vegetation cover can be.
Affluent neighborhoods have very different microbes from those in poor ones.
Zentangle/Shutterstock.com
You probably know about the collection of microorganisms that live in, on and around us. But did you know that not everyone in society has equal access to them? That needs to change.
Even the standard grassed nature strip has value for local wildlife.
Michelle/Flickr
When so much of the green space in our cities is in the form of nature strips, current restrictions on plantings are denying us the many social and environmental benefits of more diverse greenery.