Victory Chicken

There’s been a huge boom in many cities in urban farming and eating local, and one of the next steps here in BK is backyard/rooftop chicken coops. As absurd as it may sound, many folks are doing it right; including a company called Victory Chicken, that has set up a system where you can RENT hens, a coop, and feed on a month to month basis, in case you fail… So for all you fledgling urban farmers out there, it’s springtime, so get on it! How can you resist a name like Victory Chicken?

Seattle’s Food Forest

Amazing but true: Seattle’s plans are underway to build an urban “food forest”, the first of its kind. A seven acre stretch of land 2.5 miles away from downtown Seattle will be planted with walnut and chestnut trees; blueberry and raspberry bushes; fruit trees, including apples and pears; exotics like pineapple, yuzu citrus, guava, persimmons, honeyberries, and lingonberries; all of which are free for the picking. This will be a huge step for urban agriculture and permaculture, and will probably be the coolest public park ever. 

Here’s the Kickstarter video for the LowLine project: a proposal to turn an abandoned subway terminal on the Lower East side into the world’s first underground park; essentially the High Line underground (hence, the LowLine). It would employ a new kind of solar technology, using innovative fiber optics to reflect light underground, saving electricity and reducing carbon emissions, and generating the capacity for plants, trees, and grasses to thrive indoors. I am a huge fan of this project, and you can learn more here.

World’s Largest Rooftop Farm Expands its Territory At 40,000 square feet, the Brooklyn Grange rooftop farm in Long Island City is the largest of its kind. Anywhere. But the folks behind its growing success have decided that such an enormous space still doesn’t stand up under their ambitions.To hold onto their title, the Grange has recently decided to expand to a rooftop in the Brooklyn Navy Yard, adding more than 45,000 square feet to their current holdings. yes.

World’s Largest Rooftop Farm Expands its Territory

At 40,000 square feet, the Brooklyn Grange rooftop farm in Long Island City is the largest of its kind. Anywhere. But the folks behind its growing success have decided that such an enormous space still doesn’t stand up under their ambitions.To hold onto their title, the Grange has recently decided to expand to a rooftop in the Brooklyn Navy Yard, adding more than 45,000 square feet to their current holdings.

yes.

Stop paying rent! Kevin Cyr creates traveling “alternative apartments” out of bikes, campers, and shopping carts. Good for the environment, your wallet, your wanderlust, and will certainly turn some heads along the way…

Re-Purposed Guitars

                 

I’ve recently come across two amazing examples of repurposed guitars, where artists take old objects such as tool boxes, cigar boxes or whatever is lying around the house and turn them into unique instruments. The first is Canda-based Hobo Nation guitars, and their creator Kim White, who made this stunning tackle-box guitar (top right) for Brad Barr (of the Barr Brothers and the Slip). There’s a video of Brad playing it using the string bow technique, which is gorgeous and unlike anything you’ve ever heard. 

The second craftswoman is Shelly Rickey who is creating guitars, ukeleles and banjos out of beautiful antique objects, such as the cigar box/skeleton key 3-string on the top left. She’s based in Rotterdam, and is a founder of “The Big Damn Ukelele Band”. Her deep love of the instruments and the understanding of their nuances comes across loud and clear in each of her creations. 

These projects are inspiring, sustainable and creative, and show that there’s always ways to extend the lifecycle of an object, and turn it into something new.

Sheep Lawnmower Anyone?

There was a wonderful article in the Times recently about people finding sustainable solutions in the current economic downturn (including some local chicken farmers in Red Hook!). A close friend sent me the article with his happy note:

“I get so bogged down and frustrated by what isn’t working in world; snippets like this just remind me how grateful and excited I am to be alive right now. There is so much creativity and change reshaping the way we interact with the world, so much potential and momentum to tap into. Beautiful.”

She’s absolutely right. Check out the article and slideshow, it will brighten your day and make you feel a little better about the world. 

RedEyed Reading List

The Top 7 Books on my “To Read” list:

1) Shakey, Neil Young’s Biography by Jimmy McDonough

2) The Altered Landscape: Photographs of a Changing Environment by Lucy Lippard

3) Tatt Book: Visionaries of Tattoo by Joseph Ari Aloi

4) The Old, Weird America: The World of Bob Dylan’s Basement Tapes by Greil Marcus

5) The Competition Bicycle: A Photographic History by Jan Hein

6) What, Me Worry? by Andrew Kuo

7) The Construction of Secret Hiding Places by Charles Robinson