Drew Locketz
Kenzie Robertson
Eva Lowell
Ethnography
Urban Agriculture's Viability Within the Denver Area.
Introduction:
Agriculture has always been a vital part of society so it shouldn’t be a surprise that
throughout our human existence many different forms of agriculture have been
introduced. These different forms can range from gardening in one's backyard to largescale industrial farming, which we see as the dominant form in western culture. However,
in recent years, the industrial agricultural system has been criticized for its methods and
impact on smaller communities. As a result, many alternative farming methods have
become increasingly popular.
Lack of nutritious food has led to an abundance of “food deserts”, which are defined
by the Environmental Protection Agency as “Low-income communities [That] have limited
access to supermarkets and fresh foods needed to maintain a healthy diet” (1). As a result,
obesity and health issues have become prevalent within low-income urban communities. To
combat this, a recent trend towards producing food within urban centers, commonly
referred to as “Urban agriculture,” has been seen throughout the world.
To better understand the viability of urban agriculture within a more affluent,
denver community, interviews and data have been collected from multiple different
sources. These sources provided information on the governing of urban gardens, challenges
of farming within an urban area, and gave possible examples of successful systems
implemented in the denver area.
Body paragraphs ~ Background knowledge
Permaculture
The term ‘permaculture’ is derived from the two words ‘permanent’ and
‘culture’. Permaculture is a specific set of techniques used to create an alternative
gardening method that benefits smaller communities through greater food security and a
deeper interaction with nature. In his journal article, “Feeding and Healing the World:
Through Regenerative Agriculture and Permaculture,” Christopher Rhodes, broadly defines
permaculture, “[A]s a branch of ecological design and ecological engineering which aims to
develop sustainable human settlements and self-maintained agricultural systems modeled
from natural ecosystems” (365). In other words, permaculture is an agricultural system that
tries to replicate the natural patterns in which plants grow in order to create a sustainable
farming mechanism that will benefit smaller communities of people.
Urban Gardens
Doctor’s Whittinghull and D. Bradley Rowe at Michigan State University’s
department of horticulture, define urban agriculture as “horticultural, agricultural or
farming activities carried out on small plots of land in and around urban centers” (315).
Urban agriculture, or farming within a city setting, is method of supplementing food costs
and providing healthy alternatives. As recently as 1996 a United Nation’s report stated that
“approximately 800 million people around the world were engaging in agricultural activities
in urban areas” (Tinsley, 298). This shows the immense scale with which urban agriculture
has been implemented. The concept and implementation of urban agriculture is not limited
to just growing fruits and vegetables. The Environmental protection agency discusses the
different types of urban agriculture when they say “Urban agriculture projects range from
small public and private community gardens to larger-scale urban farms and orchards. In
addition to growing fresh produce, urban agricultural projects are producing herbs, spices,
honey, and livestock”(1). Through implementing these different forms of agriculture, food
costs decrease, quality of life increases, and food insecurity will no longer exist.
Aquaponic Systems
Aquaponics is a form of soilless gardening that is just starting to make its debut. It is
the process of combining aquaculture with hydroponics for a mutual benefit between
aquaculture and plant life. The process has three components, the fish, the plants, and the
nitrifying bacteria. The fish, which are naturally producing organic fertilizers, produce waste
in their tank and that waste dissolves into the water and is distributed along the plants root
zone. The plants take in the fertilizer and act as a biological filter, returning the water back
into the fish tank cleaner than it was before it came in. The nitrifying bacteria lives among
the surfaces within the system and are constantly working to convert the highly toxic
ammonia, which was created by the fish waste, into Nitrates that plants can absorb
(Colorado Aquaponics). The most popular type of aquaponic systems is the “flood and
drain” system, which the name basically describes how it works. The plants sit on rocks that
are on top of the water, and at certain times the water from the fish tank floods the bed of
the plants and nourishes them before returning to the fish tank with clean water.
Research
Urban Gardens:
~An example of a local community garden: The Bridge Community Garden on the DU
Campus where students are planting the crops that are specific to the Colorado food culture.
~
To better understand the local community gardens and how they function, I
interviewed Lauren Christensen, director of outreach and volunteer coordinator. Denver
Urban Gardens, or DUG, is a non-profit organization dedicated to improving communities
through building and supporting gardens within the Denver area. While doing the interview
I discovered that there is more than one type of community garden. According to Ms.
Christensen, DUG’s runs four different types of gardens, “Communal gardens, School based
Gardens, Specialty gardens, and Traditional Gardens.” Each of the different gardens is
governed in specific ways tailored to the needs and abilities of community members.
Although Denver Urban Gardens is often instrumental in the creation of community
gardens, they want the community members to be instrumental to its
operation.
To act as a pseudo-government for the gardens, DUG’s suggests the implementation
of a steering committee. According to Ms. Christensen describes the steering committee as
a “three-person committee is responsible for conducting the business of the community
garden and ensuring a positive, rewarding experience for all gardeners.” The steering
committee deals with issues within the garden and with the surrounding community.
According to Ms. Christensen the major issues faced by the community gardens are “Theft,
conflict, vandalism, noise, and general ascetics.” Another topic the committee covers is
what should be
planted.
Community gardens are intended to celebrate the cultural differences through
farming practices and plants that are specific to individual cultures. According to
Christiansen, “As far as types of plants grown in our community gardens, gardeners may
grow whatever will benefit them, ranging from vegetables, herbs and fruits, but are not
allowed to grow marijuana.” This versatility of urban gardens allows them to be tailored to
the communities they’re intended for. One of the major differences seen are methods of
farming and gardening. There are lots of different philosophies and concepts vital to the
production of produce.
Permaculture:
In order to better understand the benefits and ideas behind permaculture gardens,
specifically on the DU Campus, an interview was conducted with the student manager for
the garden network through the Center for Sustainability, Chelsea Warren. As mentioned
earlier, permaculture gardens try to replicate patterns seen between crops in nature in
order to create a more sustainable model of agriculture.
~Work day in the Bridge Community Garden where the DU community comes
together to plant some seasonal crops~
When Chelsea Warren was asked what gardens, specifically permaculture gardens,
meant to her, she responded saying that they “Are a community-builder, a place where
people from different walks to lives can come together and do manual, outdoor labor
together. I think this bonds and connects people in a way that breaks down barriers and
gets us out of our bubble.” This really highlights how gardens bring people together in a
different way than other community activities. While gardening, there is no social
hierarchy, instead everyone is equally responsible for the health and success of the
crops. Everyone is co-dependent of each other and they all are working together to create a
more sustainable life for themselves. Chelsea Warren followed her answer up by adding
that, “They are a focal point for larger problems of food security and the importance of
growing our own food and knowing what it looks like that.” Not only do urban gardens, for
example permaculture gardens, help communities to become more interactive but they also
address a much larger national issues of food security and the industrial agriculture system.
Chelsea was then asked how the permaculture garden as well as the community
garden bring about social interaction here on the DU campus. She stated that she has,
“Started to see the beginning of students interacting with the garden spaces and with one
another.” Furthermore she gives an example that “Students for Sustainable Food have been
very involved with the gardening and on our Uproot Day we had over 30 students come
together and transplant the lower plants in our permaculture garden.” This demonstrates
that growing ones own food and emphasizing the locality of it is of concern to the DU
students. It seems as though the gardens on campus are beginning to gain more attention
and interest of the students because of the rising awareness of food security and issues that
are prevalent today in society. A result of this interview is that Chelsea only reaffirmed the
positive influence that the permaculture and community gardens have on the DU
community.
Aquaponics:
To get a better understanding the uncertain future of aquaponics, I conducted an
interview with Holly White, a worker at Colorado Aquaponics. Colorado Aquaponics is
partners with the GrowHaus, an indoor farming facility located in a food desert
neighborhood in Denver that grows and distributes fresh produce. Colorado Aquaponics
delivers fresh food to their customers who are up to 5 miles away from the production site,
with the food being delivered about 2 hours after it is fully grown. Holly started
volunteering at Colorado Aquaponics 2 years ago and saw it as an opportunity to trade time
and labor for knowledge, which ended up benefiting her by giving her a job and knowledge.
Aquaponic systems is an efficient way to grow fresh produce in all types of weather,
which why they are so ideal for food desert areas. When I asked Holly what were some of
the benefits of aquaponic systems in food deserts, she responded: “Local and healthy food
grown from aquaponics benefits everybody but can start to target the needs of people living
in food deserts most of all”. If they are so beneficial, I asked Holly why aquaponics haven’t
become a lot more popular in the last couple years and why aren’t more people using
them? Holly says that it’s because people who are located in food desert areas, where
aquaponic systems are needed the most, “lack food education”. Most people in these
communities have relied heavily on cheap processed food, “so it make take some time and
trust to start to be a key part of the solution to the food desert communities.” There is also
one issue with aquaponic systems that Holly mentions, and it’s that they are tricky to
handle. It is a system where you have to manage the needs of many different organisms,
which is difficult. We can only hope for more aquaponic system communities to arise in the
future, but according to Holly, “even if there were 100 more Flourish Farm sized aquaponics
systems around Denver, we wouldn't make a dent in the local food needs!”
Aquaponic systems can help people become more healthy, which is a huge problem
in America today. Holly mentions many ways that aquaponic systems can be beneficial,
starting with the most obvious, health, but then talks about how they can also help the
economy. According to Holly, if aquaponic systems become bigger, they will offer a learning
experience for people and also open more jobs up to people who are willing to work, which
is helpful for people who have suffered from the state of the economy.
Conclusion:
Although urban gardens are encouraged to help build strong interdependent
communities who practice sustainable agriculture methods, they do face some
challenges. Perhaps the challenge that is faced most frequently is communication. However
Chelsea Warren, student manager of the garden network on the DU campus, offered her
solution to this problem by “Just sharing information that [one] learn[s] with everyone
because eventually the right party is there with the needed resource.” Even though there
are some barriers to with urban gardens, they can be easily overcome by a collaborative
effort to keep everyone updated on the status and progress of the garden. Overall, seen
through the data collected from various interviews, gardens can be a successfully
implemented system that not only offer local self-grown food but also offer solutions to
food insecurity, obesity in lower income families, and many other important social issues.
Works Cited
Colorado Aquaponics. Colorado Aquaponics. 2014. Web. 21 Apr. 2014.
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Perspective of Organizational Development and Permaculture Gardening." Journal
of Leadership & Organizational Studies 19.3 (2012): 355-68.
"Permaculture." Berkshire Encyclopedia of Sustainability: Ecosystem Management and
Sustainability.
Vol. 5. N.p.: Berkshire Group, 2011.
Rhodes, Christopher J. "Feeding and Healing the World: Through Regenerative Agriculture
and
Permaculture." Science Progress 95.4 (2012): 345-446.
Tinsley, Janet. “Urban Agriculture and Sustainable Livelihoods”. Journal of Social Justice.
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(2010) 259-299. Print.
UMassPermaculture. “UMass Permaculture Documentary Series Part 1,2,3.” Youtube, 20112012.
Web. Apr. 2014.
United States. Environmental Protection Agency. Office of Solid Waste and Emergency
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Whittighill, Leigh , and Bradly Rowe. “The Role of Green Roof Technology in Urban
Agriculture”.
East Lansing; Renewable agriculture and Food Systems. 2011. Print