Sustainability and Urban Farming for the Homeless, March Against Monsanto, and Artisanal LA

Last Friday, I went to see my friend Chick at Step Up on Vine Street. Step Up is an organization that helps the homeless, and my friend works with them, runs groups and trainings, and maintains the tower gardens on the roof. As he was giving me a tour, I was stunned by how evolved the whole premise and the way it is structured to include urban farming and sustainability in its program.

The roof garden at Step Up on Vine street

Step Up on Second and Hollywood Community Housing Corporation, both 501(c)3 organizations, have retrofitted an existing 20,718 sf, three-story hotel into a 34-unit affordable housing project. The facility is intended for the psychosocial rehabilitation and support of the homeless affected by severe and persistent mental illness. 

Located at the corner of Santa Monica and Vine, the ground floor features retail and community spaces including a computer lab, cafe and commercial kitchen to be used by residents. The second and third floors consist of living quarters, a community room and laundry facilities. The roof of the structure features an aquaponic rooftop garden, outdoor seating and lighting that enables the space to be utilized by residents. 

Sustainable features include green screens on the exterior; daylighting strategies including low E windows and eyebrows that will extend past the green screen; low flow plumbing fixtures; use of a grey water/irrigation system; a potential 50 kW solar array on roof deck; thermal hot water system heated by solar; and new efficient electrical and mechanical systems. 

The cafe at Step Up on Vine Street- full commercial kitchen in back

 I got that blurb from the construction company website- because the Step Up website has the best information about the services they provide for the homeless- which are extensive and impressive- like the commercial kitchen and cafe where they train the residents to work. The cafe is open to the public and is manned by the people who have been trained to prepare the food and run the cafe. CLICK HERE to see more about what Step Up does.

Me at Step Up on Vine Street

For the purposes of this blog, I wanted to mention Step Up not only for their contribution to humanity, but for their efforts at sustainability.  I love that they are using solar panels- it was interesting to learn that the power drops on cloudy days. It makes sense, but I didn't know how that worked. I had gone there to help my friend plant the towers, but by the time I got there, he had planted them all- it was a super hot day, and once I got there I could see why he had wanted to hurry up.  They grow a lot of different vegetables and leafy greens which they use in the kitchen and cafeteria.  I love the tower gardens, and I have one myself, but I've had trouble getting the seedlings going this time around- from the weather scorching them, to me over watering them, to my cats eating them- its been a little challenging.  But once that part is done, the towers manage themselves, and do provide a great option for having a garden when you don't have soil to plant in.  (If you look up garden towers here in the STH blogs, you will see a lot more about them).

The March Against Monsanto, May 25, 2013

 Saturday is the March Against Monsanto. Things like this really separate the chaff from the wheat, when it comes to putting your money where your mouth is. Its easy to share a great activist-y meme or Down with Monsanto meme on facebook- its an entirely different thing to commit a chunk of your day to going to march. Originally I had a big group of people who wanted to go to the March- and its dwindled to my one homey, who I affectionately have called my Wife for many years. She and I are gonna go hit the streets on Saturday, and then we will be attending Artisanal LA, which will feature locally grown and artisan foods and products, as well as classes on beekeeping and creating community gardens and canning and fermenting....a bunch of cool stuff! If you are in LA, I would like to suggest you do your best to get to both. As for the March- I am sure you have stuff to do on Saturday. We all do. I am a mother, trust me, I know. But there is strength in numbers, and if people last minute decide they have to tend to other things, the march will be looked at as a sweet little attempt by a few earth loving hippies and not something to be taken seriously. WE NEED YOU! There is a March in almost very city in the US, and all over the world.

MARCH AGAINST MONSANTO!


CLICK HERE FOR MORE INFO ABOUT THE MARCH AND WHERE TO GO IN YOUR CITY

Xoxo,

Ashley Dane

Shake the Hive!