Posts Tagged vegetable

Queens Botanical Garden Welcomes Fall With Harvest Fest and Pumpkin Patch Sunday, October 16, 2011, Flushing, NY

Flushing, NY – Queens Botanical Garden will usher in the autumn months with the Harvest Fest & Pumpkin Patch celebration on Sunday, October 16, 2011. The family-friendly event will celebrate the season with food, live bluegrass music, storytelling, poetry readings, garden workshops and tours, children’s activities, as well as craft vendors.

Event schedule:

12 noon – 1pm: Garden Tour with Bird Walk, led by Susan Lacerte, Executive Director, and Shari Romar

12:30 – 1:15pm: Poetry Readings by the Fresh Meadows Poets

1:15-2:30pm: Bluegrass music – The Birdhive Boys (www.birdhiveboys.com)

2:45-3:15pm: Storyteller Bobby Gonzalez, highlighting tales from Native American and Latino cultures

3:15-4:30pm: Bluegrass music – Lonesome Moonlight String Band (www.lonesomemoonlight.com)

QBG’s popular Pumpkin Patch will offer children the opportunity to select and decorate a pumpkin while also participating in other activities including seed plantings, paper folding, face painting and a burlap maze.  The National Children’s Study (www.nationalchildrensstudy.gov) will also offer activities like vegetable printmaking and hula-hoop contests.

Queens Botanical Garden is located at 43-50 Main Street in Flushing, Queens. Activities (except Pumpkin Patch) are free with admission ($4 adults, $3 seniors, $2 children).  On-site parking is available for $5 per car.  QBG is accessible from the Q44 and Q22 buses and the 7 train (Main Street/Flushing stop).

For more information about Queens Botanical Garden’s Harvest Fest & Pumpkin Patch visit http://queensbotanical.org/programs/harvestfest or call (718)886-3800, extension 330.

Queens Botanical Garden is an urban oasis where people, plants and cultures are celebrated through inspiring gardens, innovative educational programs and demonstrations of environmental stewardship. Located at 43-50 Main Street in Flushing, Queens Botanical Garden is easily accessible by car, train, or bus.  Parking is available in the Garden’s lot on Crommelin Street.  For travel directions and more information visit www.queensbotanical.org or call (718) 886-3800. Queens Botanical Garden is located on property owned by the City of New York, and its operation is made possible in part by public funds provided through the New York City Department of Cultural Affairs.

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Celebrating A Nutrition Revolution In The South Bronx

“On Tuesday, May 24th, 2011, Family Life Academy Charter School (FLACS), celebrated one year of a major change in the way their food is prepared and how students are fed.

This little school of just approximately 368 students, situated within the poorest congressional district in the USA, took it upon itself to do something special for its students. Ms. Marilyn Calo, the principal of FLACS, led the nutrition revolution in a school where 90% of the children get free or subsidized lunch and breakfast because they fall below the poverty improving the food they eat. Chef Bennet Fins, a professional chef, was hired to cook nutritious, portion-controlled meals daily.

The results after the first year have been rewarding. Parents and teachers note differences in how the children have been affected by this change and how this shift has permeated the entire school. Children plant and cultivate flowers, herbs and vegetables. There is an after school cooking club and the after school program teaches relaxation through meditation and yoga as a means of helping students cope with their environment. Health and nutrition now form part of the curriculum.”

Celebrating A Nutrition Revolution In The South Bronx via Noemi Santana – Food Revolution

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Grow Local and Eat Local, City Council Says

“In an effort to ramp up support for the consumption and production of local food, the City Council passed a package of bills on Thursday to facilitate the building of rooftop greenhouses and free up land for urban gardens.

Under the legislation, a building’s rooftop greenhouse would not be considered an additional story by the Department of Buildings, and would be exempt from height limits, if it occupies less than one-third of the rooftop. The city would also begin compiling a database of property that it owns or leases so that it can better identify unused spaces to be turned into urban gardens.”

Grow Local and Eat Local, City Council Says via Sydney Ember – New York Times

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In Cuba, Yes, but Only With a Purpose

“A hot June sun glared over the Arroyo Arenas organic vegetable garden at the edge of Havana where Ms. Slezak, a 68-year-old retired social worker from Long Island, and 16 other Americans were visiting as part of a “food sovereignty” program organized by Global Exchange, a human rights organization, and Food First, a policy institute.”

In Cuba, Yes, but Only With a Purpose via Victoria Burnett – NY Times

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Best to Know Before You Go – Seattle Green Festival

“The Seattle Green Festival is almost here, and here are some things to know before you go:

You can purchase your tickets online at www.greenfestivals.org and get a discounted admission. Or you can purchase your tickets at the door of theQwest Field Event Center on the day of the event. When you purchase your tickets, you’ll receive GF Bucks for either dining or shopping at over 300 exhibits. Online tickets are $10 for one day/$15 for two, and you’ll receive $5 back in GF Bucks. Tickets at the door are $15 for one day/$25 for two, and you’ll also receive $5 in GF Bucks in return.

Children under 18 get into the festival free. Discounts are available for students, seniors, cyclists or public transit riders. Government employees who show their ID also get in free. Cyclists can use the complimentary Green Festival Bike Valet Service on Occidental.

Speakers will have their books available for purchase at the Green Festivals Official Bookstore (sponsored by University Bookstore). Authors signing at the bookstore will include: Amy Goodman, David Korten, and John Perkins.”

Best to Know Before You Go – Seattle Green Festival via CBS Seattle

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Out on the Farm 'The Fabulous Beekman Boys' may be gay gentlemen farmers, but they're also farmers with a purpose

“It started simply, as these things go.

Manhattanites Josh Kilmer-Purcell and Brent Ridge felt the lure of a weekend place in the country, a place to relax from their hectic careers in the big city. When they bought Beekman Mansion in upstate New York, they planned some simple weekend farming: a few chickens, a few vegetables.

It didn’t stay simple.”

Out on the Farm ‘The Fabulous Beekman Boys’ may be gay gentlemen farmers, but they’re also farmers with a purpose via Sean Bugg - Metro Weekly

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