Upcoming Events with a Focus on Food...

Tuesday August 18th, at 6:30 PM - Deb Habib of Seeds of Solidarity Farm will be giving a presentation "Growing Food Everywhere" at the New Bedford Public Library.

Wednesday August 26th, the Food&Agriculture Subcommittee of the Southeastern Massachusetts Council on Sustainability will be meeting - exact time and location tbd. For more info please contact the farm at 508-992-1868.

Friday August 28th and 29th - the Dartmouth Grange in Russells Mills Village will host their annual Rural Community Fair.

Friday September 26th and 27th - the Working Waterfront Festival: Surf and Turf - Fisherman and Farmers Finding Common Ground will be held at State Pier in New Bedford.

Saturday October 17th the Dartmouth YMCA and Sharing the Harvest will host its annual fall festival - including a road race in the morning and family friendly farm activities in the afternoon.

Thursday October 22 - Sunday October 25 - Bioneers by the Bay will be in downtown New Bedford. Including an event on Saturday October 24 in conjunction with 350.org's International Day of Climate Action.

and finally... Friday November 13th - the first New England Biochar Symposium will be held at UMass Amherst.

Thoughts on the Economy

The New York Times published a nice op-ed piece by Eric Zencey today focusing on the misuse of GDP as a measure of societal well being.

While by no means a new finding, the article is a timely reminder of the gap between economic indicators and other measures of quality of life.

One group that has sprung up to address the need for positive thought around sustainable economics, The Slow Money Alliance, has recently announced its first National Gathering to be held in early September in Sante Fe, New Mexico. Woody Tasch who has authored a book titled Slow Money, will be one of this years keynote speakers at the Bioneers By the Bay Conference
which will be held Oct 22-25 in New Bedford, Massachusetts.

For a terrific presentation focusing on the nexus of our economic, energy, and ecological crisis I highly recommend visiting www.christmartenson.com and taking the time to view his Crash Course presentation. In my mind the presentation should be mandatory viewing for many; from elected leaders, MBA students, to concerned citizens.

Roots Down New Bedford - August 4th and Fall Schedule

Roots Down New Bedford continues with a workshop on Growing Nutrient Dense Foods - Mid-Summer Tips and Techniques including Using a Refractometer to Measure Brix Levels and Foliar Fertilizers.

The August workshop will be held today, at 4PM at the Lawler Branch Library, 745 Rockdale in New Bedford.

We are also announcing our Fall 2009 Roots Down New Bedford Workshop Schedule - all workshops held the first Tuesday of every month at 4PM at the Lawler Branch Library.

New Market Added: Thursdays at Wing's Court in New Bedford

This season we have added a new market to our locations where you can purchase Brix Bounty Farm produce. Last week we begin our weekly participation in the Wing's Court Farmers Market in downtown New Bedford. The Wing's Court market is held every Tuesday from 2PM to 6 or 7PM, depending on weather and market traffic.

We are happy to be joining a number of other terrific growers at the market, including: Karl Glosl who grows apples, blueberries, and more at his orchard in Dartmouth, Mary Merhi from Quansett Gardens who is already bringing local tomatoes to the market!, and Dick Winterbottom who grows corn, flowers, and other terrific vegetables across the harbor.

In addition to fresh produce, we'll have our Brix Bounty tip sheets available for gardeners to check out, an active community board sharing news about the healthy, local food movement on the Southcoast, and I'll be available to answer general gardening questions.

If you are interested in signing up for weekly market announcements, an email that will be sent every Thursday morning with an update of crops available that afternoon, please send us an email

Roots Down New Bedford - Tuesday July 7th: Compost and Irrigation Strategies

Join us for our next installment of Roots Down New Bedford this Tuesday at 4PM at the Lawler Branch Library, 745 Rockdale Ave. in New Bedford.

We'll be focusing on two terrific topics to help your summertime garden thrive: Compost and Irrigation Strategies (though I reckon the irrigation is a little less pressing this season).

about Roots Down - New Bedford*

what: A Free Monthly Series Focusing on Sustainable Gardening Techniques

why: To help new and experienced gardeners gain a deeper understanding of methods used in healthy food production.

To help build local food security for our community.

*Roots Down - New Bedford is part of the Safe Soils for Healthy Food Project presented by Brix Bounty Farm and the Rotch-Jones-Duff House&Garden Museum and is made possible by the Community Foundation of Southeastern Massachusetts - SEEAL Fund.

Bristol Community College's Organic Agriculture Technician Program

Bristol Community College is launching a new Organic Agriculture Technician Program in the Fall of 2009.

The program is "designed to prepare people to use ecological production techniques that minimize pollution and create a healthier, tastier product". Classes begin this September with a course focusing on Organic Farming Practices; held at their Fall River campus.

For more information check out the brochure for the Certificate Program or contact Dr. James Corven, Program Coordinator, at 508-678-2811 x3047.

Meet our 2009 Urban Agriculture Apprentices

Rosa V. DaCosta, Khepe-Ra Maat-Het-Heru, and Raymond Duarte Jr.

Three terrific young leaders continuing to make a difference in greater New Bedford.

For full biographies please download our 2009 Urban Agriculture Bios .pdf