Public Food + Urban Agriculture Aboard a Floating Food Forest
This summer, Eco Practicum is hosting an “experimental summer program” centering on Public Food + Urban Agriculture. Part of their Resilience + Resistance NYC project, the week-long workshop is geared towards college students, recent graduates, and young professionals who are interested in social and environmental issues, and want to work towards justice in these fields. The practicum will run from May 30 – June 4.
Most of the program will take place on the Swale, “an edible public park set atop a 5,000 square foot barge.” Docked in the Hudson at lower Manhattan, the Swale “floating food forest” is an innovative and original piece of art and public infrastructure.
The practicum is set up to be part think-tank, but also part action-oriented. Participants will:
- Explore the role of government and public policy in the world of public food
- Learn the fundamentals of urban beekeeping
- Manage solar energy and water filtration systems
- Host speakers and film screenings
- Take part in arts workshops
- Create healing tinctures with medicinal plants
- Visit Bed-Stuy Campaign Against Hunger, the largest food pantry and urban farm in Brooklyn
- Learn to forage for food
EcoPracticum is also offering a similar program focusing on Urban Waterways + Water Systems from June 6- June 11. Tuition for each session is $800 and covers programming and daily lunch. Scholarships are available. The deadline to register is May 5th.