* See below for details on speakers, book sale and give away, and web streaming link.

6:00 Reception - Kale salad samples will be available

These organizations will be present with information tables!

• Pennsylvania Integrated Pest Management 
• Pennsylvania Horticultural Society
• The Food Trust 
• Farm To City
  
• Penn State University Extension Office: Nutrition Links
  
• Grumblethorpe Historic House and Garden
  
• Teens 4 Good
  
• The Enterprise Center Community Development Corporation
• The Schuylkill Center for Environmental Education
  
• Awbury Arboretum
  
• High Tunnel Alliance
  
• SHARE Food Program
• Public Interest Law Center of Philadelphia
• Master Gardeners
• Overbrook Environmental Education Center
• Weavers Way Farm
  
• Mill Creek Farm
• Saul High School, Henry Got Crops CSA
• Heritage Farm, Methodist Home for Children
  
• Also: a scale model of a high tunnel will be available for viewing
  

6:30 Program

At this Urban Sustainability Forum, find out how high tunnels could help improve access to affordable, nutritious foods in Philadelphia. Since 1998, Dr William “Bill” Lamont and other colleagues at Penn State University began working with tunnels and started the High Tunnel Research and Education Facility, located on the Horticulture Farm at Rock Springs, Pennsylvania. As a result of the leadership provided by Penn State Extension, high tunnel crop production is becoming a sustainable solution for local urban agriculture development.High tunnels are nonelectric, temporary structures that consist of a layer of plastic over a pipe frame. They do not require a permanent heating or ventilation system, ventilation is accomplished manually, and there are no furnaces or fans. High tunnels can extend the growing season and improve the yield and quality of vegetables, small fruits, and cut flowers.

Urban farming is a fast-growing movement in the United States, especially in Philadelphia. As more than 86 percent of the U.S. population now resides in or around urban areas, the sustained use of urban farming could contribute to food security, food safety, and workforce development. Increased availability of fresh and nutritious food in urban areas could combat the alarming rise of obesity and thus reduce related healthcare costs in the United States. High tunnel projects could help eliminate Philadelphia’s “food deserts,” or urban areas lacking access to nutritious, affordable food, and provide more fresh and nutritious specialty crops to underserved populations.

Featuring:

• Jerome Shabazz - Executive Director, Overbrook Environmental Education Center Penn State Extension
• Dr. William J. Lamont Jr. , PhD - Professor, Pennsylvania State UniversityDepartment of Horticulture
• Eva Gladstein - Executive Director, Zoning Code Commission Philadelphia City Planning Commission
• Thomas C. McDade III - Executive Director, Development Services, Department of Licenses and Inspections (L&I)
• Dr. Jonathan D. Essoka, PhD - U.S. Environmental Protection Agency Brownfields & Land Revitalization

Book Sale and Give Away:

The book URBAN VOIDS: grounds for change will be on sale during this program -  one (1) copy will be given away to a lucky attendee!

URBAN VOIDS: grounds for change illustrates the innovative community engagement process and international ideas competition that challenged residents and designers to imagine sustainable re-purposing of its vacant lands. Featuring essays by key participants and an illustrated finalist gallery from the competition process, URBAN VOIDS offers inspiration for Philadelphia’s future.

To find out more about efforts to use vacant land in productive, innovative and healthy ways, also see:  www.gfcactivatingland.org

Live Streaming:

We will be offering live web streaming of the Wednesday, February 15 Urban Sustainability Forum Program on High Tunnel Gardening!

Please click on the link below at 6:30pm on February 15 to watch the program:

http://pointers.audiovideoweb.com/stcasx/va90winlive2125/play.asx