Well, it's not the city that has it so much as one of the city's restaurants, a place called Uncommon Ground that is known for menus that feature fresh, local ingredients.
To create the 2,500-square foot organic rooftop farm, restaurant owners Helen and Michael Cameron invested $150,000 to reinforce the building with new posts and beams so that it could support the six tons of organic soil that were hauled up to the roof and placed in dozens of cedar planter boxes. The planters, which sit atop recycled decking material, grow a variety of organic vegetables and herbs that are used in the restaurant below. In addition, two beehives produce 40-50 pounds of honey for the restaurant, and the bees help to pollinate the plants grown on the rooftop farm.
The planter boxes are equipped with digitally programmed irrigation systems for water efficiency, and the restaurant has plans to build a catch basin to collect and reuse rainwater. The rooftop farm design also includes five large solar thermal panels (4x10 feet each) that can heat up to 70 percent of water used in the restaurant. The farm is also designed to create a zero carbon footprint.
The Camerons see their restaurant as the hub for a growing sustainable community in their Chicago neighborhood. They take part in a weekly farmer's market, and every month Uncommon Ground sponsors an eco-mixer hosted by green organizations intent on developing a network of like-minded people who want to help create a more sustainable urban landscape. The Camerons donate their restaurant's used vegetable oil to a bio-diesel class at nearby Loyola University and they are using the rooftop farm as an outdoor classroom, teaching urban agriculture to 3rd graders from the local Waldorf school.
“Our mission is to stand as a working model for other restaurants, businesses and homeowners,” Helen Cameron said in a statement, “to show what is possible within an urban environment.”
For more information about Uncommon Ground and its organic rooftop farm, see the Uncommon Ground Green Fact Sheet.
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Comments
As Artie Johnson used to say on Laugh In: “Interesting, but dumb.” For $150,000 they could have bought 40 acres of good farm land an hour’s drive from their location, instead of messing with just 2500 sq ft.
-roof top gardens in an urban setting can provide cooling and a green refuge amid the concrete jungle.
-”organic” (isn’t everything based on carbon organic?) farming actually is harder on the environment than using modern fertilizers & hormones, etc because they can increase production, saving land. (The natural estrogen in a serving of potatoes is greater than the residual estrogen given to speed meat production in a serving of beef.)
Guido: The point is that there is not enough land available for farming, urban sprawl and natural vegetation and habitat for wildlife. Using the space that is otherwise wasted on the roofs of buildings is a great idea. Not to mention the reduction in environmental damage due to reduced runoff and less land clearing in other areas.
Also, yes Organic means carbon-based. Are pesticides and herbicides and chemical fertilizers carbon-based? no…. So organic farming means without the use of chemicals.
AND you are wrong again. Organic farming is much better for the environment. The latest research suggests that Organic farming can produce higher yields than conventional farming due to better soil quality. Conventional farming creates a LOT of pollution through run-off and pollutes waterways. Also, monocultures are very limiting to natural biodiversity. Biodiversity is also important to the health of the planet.
Not to mention, pesticides and other toxic chemicals pollute the body. Whilst in small amounts, they buildup over many years and can increase risk of disease and cancer. And people wonder why cancer rates have sky-rocketed in the last 50-70 years? Hello!! Our society and lifestyles expose us to 1000s times more chemicals than we used to be. We should go back to natural methods of production. There a plenty of affordable, natural, and chemical-free products and produce on the market that can be MORE productive and efficient and better for the environment, as well as your health.
Let’s be diplomatic and just say you’ve been misled. Almost every statement you just made is not true.
The problem with “industrial” agriculture is that it’s not sustainable. It relies too much on fossil fuel.
=Soil is not degraded by use of chemical fertilizers. It’s the ammonium ion that is internalized by the plant, regardless if its source is industrial ammonia or organic decay material. The land doesn’t know the difference.
=”Run Off” is a problem, but has nothing to do with the source of the fertilizer.It’s been proven that more run-off of pesticides comes from suburbanites’ lawns than from farms.
=Herbicides are, in fact, organic compounds.
=All crops are “monoculture.”
=And “organic” methods can come nowhere near the productivity of “industrial” methods.Repeating the falsehood to the contrary does not make it true.
=There is absolutley no evidence that hormones, antibiotics, fertilizers or herbicides either collect in the human body or cause disease.
=You also missed my point about 40 acres vs 2500 sq ft: it’s a shame our population growth has pushed us to the point of scrounging for productive land. Small urban plots won’t support the population.We need to stop urban sprawl.
=I also agreed that roof gardens have their value in cooling and as recreational areas for urbanites deprived of the joy of natural green spaces. Like most TreeHuggers, you apparently used your heart instead of your brain to interpret my post.