Published by City Farmer, Canada's Office of Urban Agriculture

City Farmer's

Net Bulletin Board

Coming Rooftop Events:

• International Conference and Exhibition on Soilless Culture September 5 to 8.
• World Congress on Green Roofs in Basle, Switzerland, Septemebr 14 to 17 2006.
• Green Roof Seminars in Australia in February 2006.
• UrbanAg-2006 in September 2006.

Singapore conferences on urban agriculture aquaponics and food from the roof

Two conferences are being held in Singapore's on urban agriculture, hydroponics aquaponics, food from the roof and associated technology.

The first is the International Conference and Exhibition on Soilless Culture, from September 5 to 8. It will cover hydroponics, aquaponics and urban agriculture. Contact the organiser Dr Mallick Fazalur Rahman M, Managing Director of Hydoponics & Plant Care Pte Ltd., Phone +65 6291 8153; Fax: +65 6298 7978. Mobile: +65 9678 5297, Email: hpc@singaporehydroponics.com.

The second is "UrbanAg 2006", in late September, 2006. It will cover the urban agriculture and urban greenery of Singapore (some of the most advanced in the world), and producing food from the roofs of commercial buildings and private homes. Contact the organiser: Geoff Wilson, President of the Urban Agriculture Network-Western Pacific, Phone: +61 7 3411 4524; Mobile: +61 o412 622 779. Email: Geoff@nettworx.info

Training Course on Urban Agriculture in the Middle East-North Africa Region, to be held in September 2005 in Beirut and Amman

"Food production inside and around urban areas is an ancient activity in the Middle East and North Africa (MENA) region. While these traditions have suffered from various negative pressures on them, crop cultivation and animal husbandry remain common throughout the region's cities. Urban agriculture (UA) in the MENA countries is hence at present a highly varied and widespread activity, yet it endures for the most part without recognition by planners, agriculturists, policy-makers, researchers." Posted July 5, 2005

American Community Gardening Association Conference Aug 11-14, 2005

"The 2005 conference is being held at the West Bank of the University of Minnesota. Over 3 and a half days, there will be over 50 hands-on workshops, 22 tours to Twin Cities diverse community gardens and other green sites, a reception at the Weisman Art Museum, keynote speakers, a film festival, banquet, silent auction, and special program for children aged 7 to 12. " Posted June 20, 2005

Economic aspects on the use of Biotechnologies and Bioengineering in Urban Agriculture by African Households

E-symposium June 1-14, 2005. 7 papers on-line including: 'The Economic Impact of Urban Agriculture on homegardeners in Ouagadougou'; 'Role of local authorities and urban planners in Kampala in facilitating the practice of urban agriculture for households and the landless'; 'How to use a Dry-creek bed technique to achieve waterharvesting of urban agriculture plot' Posted May 19, 2005

The Periurban Vegetable Project of Xavier University College of Agriculture in cooperation with the South East Asia Rural Social Leadership Institute (SEARSOLIN) is offering a new one-month training course entitled "Socioeconomic - Environmental Issues and Interventions Addressing Urbanization in Developing Countries" this coming November 2005. This module is part of six-and-a half month social leadership course addressing particularly city and municipal officers, urban environmental planners as well as other stakeholders of urban development issues. It is composed of the following five parts:

1. Introduction to Urban and Periurban Development Issues 2. Participatory Urban Environmental Planning and Management Tools 3. Urban Ecological Sanitation 4. Linking Integrated Solid Waste Management and Urban Agriculture 5. Planning and Evaluation

The module was conceptualized based on our successful collaboration with the city government of Cagayan de Oro in terms of urban environmental planning, health and food security which was bestowed with the "Globally Linked - Locally Active" Award of the German Government in 2004.

The cost for the one-month module is 1000.00 US $ per participant. This includes course fees, lecture materials, field trips, board and lodging. The costs for travel to Cagayan de Oro have to be shouldered by the participant. Philippine participants may request for a subsidized rate.

More information about SEARSOLIN and the course module can be found at www.xu.edu.ph/searsolin and www.xu.edu.ph/searsolin/module9.htm.Ê

The International Conference & Exhibition on Soilless Culture, 5-8 September 2005 in Singapore

Urban Micro Farming and New Developments in Urban Farming. "It is high time for people around the world to take hydroponics & organics (organic farming) 'seriously' by having at least one unit as an integral part of their homes like TVs, refrigerators and washing machines. This is apart from commercial farms." Posted March 4, 2005

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The Food Project Urban Agriculture Conference

April 15th and 16th, 2005

The Food Project's 3rd Annual Urban Agriculture Conference at Roxbury Community College- Boston, MA

Building Healthier Communities through Urban Agriculture and Policy

Friday, April 15th, 2005, 1:00 PM-5:00 PM: Two tours will be conducted at the same time. Hop in a van and see kitchen enterprise sites, an island farm, and much more! Spaces for this day are limited.

Saturday, April 16th, 2005, 8:30 AM-4:30 PM: Conference Day! Hear keynote speakers talk about their organizations, what they do, and their experiences. Attend workshops on Urban Soil Remediation, G.I.S. Mapping, making Good Food Choices in the City and much more. A light breakfast and a lunch will be provided.

Pre-registration is required. Pre-registration fee: Both days is $80; Friday is $30; Saturday is $60. Registration materials and further information is available on our website- www.thefoodproject.org

Contact Dominique Powell at dpowell@thefoodproject.org or 617-442-1322 ext. 12 for more information. Scholarships are available.

The Food Project. 555 Dudley Street. Dorchester, MA 02125. 617.442.1322 www.thefoodproject.org

Vancouver Permaculture Workshops 2005
Edible Garden Species workshop ¥ Farm the City! workshop ¥ Planning your Organic Garden ¥ Natural Pest Management workshop ¥ Movie and Permaculture "Salon" Night

Declaration of Intention

'Economic Impacts of Micro-biotechnologies for Urban Agriculture at the Household Level' (tentative title) is a proposed session of the Internet Conference on Biotechnology and Bioengineering in Africa (2005)

This e-Session will be conducted in a Webforum and exchange of email messages for 3 weeks. The e-discussion will focus at economic impacts of case studies in Africa and includes the scope related to bioconversion technologies that can be managed by an African household for production of e.g. fuel, fertiliser, fodder and food and fiber; and that offers an economic gain to the family. Special attention will be given to the integrated use of biosystems for the generation of value-added products and income.

This e-mail declares that preparations for such an E-session is on-going and seeks : (a) assistance from volunteers to join the organizing committee (b) papers/reports/webpages on case studies on such bioconversion technologies, e.g. composting, vermiculture, insect larvae cultivation, biogas, innovative use of under-utilised biowaste or resources as fodder, biofiber production, integrated biosystems, etc.

Contact person:
Jacky Foo
foo@stockholm.bostream.se

Please join us for a free session of sharing and learning through The Food Project's teleconference call focused on urban agriculture.

What is it: Best Practices Teleconference Series

An opportunity to learn, exchange useful ideas, and find inspiration from youth and adults from around the country via telephone conferencing. Every 6-8 weeks, a teleconference call will feature a topic expert from The Food Project or from a partner organization speaking for 20 minutes on a relevant topic followed by an hour of dialog, and Q&A from participants. Topics include: Youth Development Today, Motivation and Accountability, Successful Fundraising, and engaging youth topics. Please click here for a calendar listing of upcoming teleconference calls and other BLAST events. For more info contact: Liz Luc Clowes at elucclowes@thefoodproject.org .

Feb 17, 2005: Best Practices Teleconference : Urban Agriculture Learn how to balance youth program work with production farm activities. Discuss methods for running a harvest for 20 youth, selecting enterprise activities like farmers' markets, and building relationships in the community.

SPEAKERS: Danielle Andrews, Urban Grower for The Food Project in Boston, MA. Rich Pederson, Urban Grower at Southside Community Land Trust. Karine Jaouich, Urban Grower with Foodshare in Toronto.

To sign up, please email eluclowes@thefoodproject.org

AGROPOLIS is an awards program that supports innovative masters, doctoral, and post-doctoral research. It aims to add to the body of knowledge of urban and peri-urban agriculture, and thereby to support interventions that address critical areas in the "industry". The program supports graduate-level field research that is designed and implemented in collaboration with non-academic partners. As the end-users of the research, these international, national, or local partners will be actively engaged in sectors of development in which urban agriculture can make a contribution. These partners could include, for example, community-based organizations, NGOs, city councils and departments, national governments, bilateral and multilateral development agencies, and so on.

AGROPOLIS offers students the opportunity to have their graduate research make a meaningful impact on development. Non-academic actors involved in international development can benefit from the program by gaining new information pertinent to their work from well trained and supervised researchers.

THEMES FOR 2005 for Masters, Ph.D., and Post-doctoral research proposals:

* Youth and UA * Training Methods and Materials for Capacity-Building in UA * The Role of Organizations of the Urban Poor in UA * Ecological Production Systems for UA * Green Urbanization (sustainable, ecological, and equitable urbanization in the public, private, and community sectors) * The Contribution of UA to Post-Conflict/Post-Crisis Reconstruction

While we strongly encourage the submission of proposals related to one of the themes above, you may also select a topic from our "permanent" list. For more information on the AGROPOLIS awards program and/or to obtain an application form, please consult our website at: http://web.idrc.ca/en/ev-4714-201-1-DO_TOPIC.html

The application deadline is JANUARY 31, 2005.

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