#harlemgrown

Did you know that the rise of swing and the Harlem Renaissance coincides with a movement among African-American intellectuals and artists known as the "New Negro"? This movement sought to redefine what it meant to be African-American in the United States. Instead of waiting for change to happen, scholars such as Alain Locke helped promote the importance of economic determination, participation in the political process, pride in African-American traditions, and focus on various forms of cultural self-expression. The movement also sought ways to address how African-Americans faced legal discrimination while receiving a level of mainstream acceptance during the Harlem Renaissance. When we study dance, we learn more about the world dancers lived in....Onward...

*Photo: The Universal Negro Improvement Association (UNIA) Parade, organized in Harlem, Date Issued: 1920

*Division: Schomburg Center For Research in Black Culture, Photographs, and Prints Division

*Content: Accession: SC-CN-79-0039

At PS 197 in Harlem, NYC, Aquaponics goes vertical!

Last week, Teryl Chapel of City Planet Farms  moved some existing ZipGrow towers he had from a previous project into the highly visible interior facade of a public school in Harlem. The project was done in collaboration with HarlemGrown whose mission is to empower healthy food access in Harlem. 

The installation is superb. It is clean, sturdy, and pleasing to the eye. The team found a perfect spot to put a large fish tank and 7 Zipgrow towers. Edgar Emiliano (left), who volunteers at the school and helped with the project told us he "learned how to design, plan, and construct these systems". We have been seeing Zipgrows all over the place lately, whether it be at this years ASLA annual meeting or inside SpringUPS vertical shipping containers in Red Hook, Brooklyn. Teryl has used the systems for previous installs, including this high end restaurant in Sag Harbour, NY. 

When asked about why he likes the ZipGrow systems, Teryl responded "I like the portability the most, also their unique medium creates some added benefits with evaporative cooling, and finally they have high yields per square foot". 

Its great to see partnerships like this coming together for the benefit of underprivileged children in urban areas with limited healthy food access. This simple and solid installation shows that it doesn't take much to make unused space in a school into a thriving food education space.