Fanny Ballantine-Himberg - OnEarth Magazine, from NRDC

A Greener College Campus

As a prospective college student, I made the required trek last week to visit as many colleges as I could in five days. And as I took these requisite campus tours, sat through information sessions and classes and spoke to students, I started noticing how concerned these colleges were with making their campuses more environmentally friendly. Some like Wesleyan, Brown and Bard were focusing on relatively small projects like using less water in the dining halls by abolishing trays and allowing students to volunteer in community gardens and learn about sustainable agriculture in farms nearby. They all had larger plans in store as well, but one campus in particular surprised me with its dedication to incorporating sustainability in all of their plans for ...read full post

Comments (0) | January 13, 2009
Community Garden Ready to be Picked!

On 26th Street and Wilshire in Santa Monica there is a beautiful vegetable garden that is ready to be eaten yet it goes unnoticed. If it is noticed, people don't realize that the plants are edible and even if they do, they are skeptical about eating food on the street.
I do realize that I am one of few people who is able to say that I harvested a zucchini on Santa Monica Boulevard this summer. Many would find this risky and unsafe. However, the zucchini was delicious. I sauteed it and ate it with penne.
In any case, if anyone is brave enough to do so, the lettuce and swiss chard in this garden on 26th and Wilshire is ready and longing to be picked and eaten. Snow peas will be ready in about a month. It is way too much for me to eat ...read full post

Comments (1) | December 10, 2008
Bikers Benefit in Bailout!

I'm not one to talk in terms of big picture politics, but I feel this information needs to be shared. Tucked away into the recent bailout bill is the Bicycle Commuter Act. This allows benefits to those who bike to work.
Sec. 211. Transportation fringe benefit to bicycle commuters
Allows employers to provide a benefit to employees for costs associated with bicycle commuting, including purchase and repair of a bicycle, bicycle improvements, and bicycle storage. This provision was proposed in 2007 in the Senate by Sen. Ron Wyden (D-OR) and in the House by Rep. Earl Blumenauer (D-OR). This provision is estimated to cost $10 million.
I believe the company has to provide the bicycle commuter with a benefit or an incentive for riding to work. Then the company can get a tax benefit for doing so. The standard bicycle commuter can get about $20 a month in tax breaks.
So, this new incentive for biking to work ...read full post

Comments (0) | November 26, 2008
Guerrilla Fruit Tree Grafting

Guerrilla Fruit Tree Grafting from Fanny Rose on Vimeo.
Grafting, in this case specifically fruit tree grafting, is a method of fruit tree propagation where the fruit of one tree is encouraged to grow on the tissue of another tree.
I first ...read full post

Comments (0) | November 6, 2008
In Defense of Guerilla Gardening

[Ed note: Read Molly Webster's take on Guerilla Gardening here.]
Perhaps I'm biased in this argument as I cannot see any disadvantage to it, no matter how hard I try.
Gardening is a recent, but very strong passion of mine. One of the ways that I've found to express that passion is through gardening in more public places.
I choose wisely. There are many places through Los Angeles, full of fabulous, earthy-wormy soil, that get watered daily, but have no plants. Also, the best pacles for gardens is one where they will be admired and appreciated by people. I won't garen in a place that doesn't meet all of these criteria.
I garden under the cover of the late night, seeing as it is an "illegal" activity. I've never gotten into trouble doing it, but I do imagine what a great story it would be to be arrested for gardening. It just goes to show that people who genuinely want to ...read full post

Comments (0) | October 29, 2008