What do you do with Doggy-Doo? Can I put corks in my compost bin? Do worms have lungs? Why is my compost full of thousands of tiny white flies?Vital questions such as these are the lot of a Compost Hotline Operator, as Spring Gillard knows only too well. That really is her job description, and she fields calls like this all day long. She also meets a cast of characters curiously crazed by the garden bug. Like Ellen who wears worm earrings and belts out the "Compost Rap" to unsuspecting participants in her vermicomposting class. Or Laurel, worm bin mural artist, Wet Coast Wes the Scarecrow, Scissor-happy Sally, and Mike their fearless leader, prone to tai-chi fits...The Diary of a Compost Hotline Operator began in 1996 as a series of entries on the web site of City Farmer, Vancouver's non-profit urban agriculture group that has been thriving for 25 years. It is packed with barely credible real-life tales from the trenches of the urban horticulture avant-garde, dealing with all manner of gardening lore -- such as:* the essentials of composting* alternatives to pesticides* organic and edible landscapes* garden tours and compost teas* green buildings and drug-free lawns* rainwater harvesting, and even* urban ag in New York and Cuba.It is also a mine of useful resources -- perfect reading for garden fanatics, gift-givers, ag-academics and environmentalists, and all who like to laugh while they learn.

Books on container gardening have been wildly popular with urban and suburban readers, but until now, there has been no comprehensive "how-to" guide for growing fresh food in the absence of open land. Fresh Food from Small Spaces fills the gap as a practical, comprehensive, and downright fun guide to growing food in small spaces. It provides readers with the knowledge and skills necessary to produce their own fresh vegetables, mushrooms, sprouts, and fermented foods as well as to raise bees and chickens—all without reliance on energy-intensive systems like indoor lighting and hydroponics. Readers will learn how to transform their balconies and windowsills into productive vegetable gardens, their countertops and storage lockers into commercial-quality sprout and mushroom farms, and their outside nooks and crannies into whatever they can imagine, including sustainable nurseries for honeybees and chickens. Free space for the city gardener might be no more than a cramped patio, balcony, rooftop, windowsill, hanging rafter, dark cabinet, garage, or storage area, but no space is too small or too dark to raise food. With this book as a guide, people living in apartments, condominiums, townhouses, and single-family homes will be able to grow up to 20 percent of their own fresh food using a combination of traditional gardening methods and space-saving techniques such as reflected lighting and container "terracing." Those with access to yards can produce even more. Author R. J. Ruppenthal worked on an organic vegetable farm in his youth, but his expertise in urban and indoor gardening has been hard-won through years of trial-and-error experience. In the small city homes where he has lived, often with no more than a balcony, windowsill, and countertop for gardening, Ruppenthal and his family have been able to eat at least some homegrown food 365 days per year. In an era of declining resources and environmental disruption, Ruppenthal shows that even urban dwellers can contribute to a rebirth of local, fresh foods.

"Canadian environmental ideas & action" (varies)

The production of this manual is a joint activity between the Climate, Energy and Tenure Division (NRC) and the Technologies and practices for smallholder farmers (TECA) Team from the Research and Extension Division (DDNR) of FAO Headquarters in Rome, Italy. The realization of this manual has been possible thanks to the hard review, compilation and edition work of Nadia Scialabba, Natural Resources officer (NRC) and Ilka Gomez and Lisa Thivant, members of the TECA Team. Special thanks are due to the International Federation of Organic Agriculture Movements (IFOAM), the Research Institute of Organic Agriculture (FiBL) and the International Institute for Rural Reconstruction (IIRR) for their valuable documents and publications on organic farming for smallholder farmers.

Edible insects have always been a part of human diets, but in some societies there remains a degree of disdain and disgust for their consumption. Although the majority of consumed insects are gathered in forest habitats, mass-rearing systems are being developed in many countries. Insects offer a significant opportunity to merge traditional knowledge and modern science to improve human food security worldwide. This publication describes the contribution of insects to food security and examines future prospects for raising insects at a commercial scale to improve food and feed production, diversify diets, and support livelihoods in both developing and developed countries. It shows the many traditional and potential new uses of insects for direct human consumption and the opportunities for and constraints to farming them for food and feed. It examines the body of research on issues such as insect nutrition and food safety, the use of insects as animal feed, and the processing and preservation of insects and their products. It highlights the need to develop a regulatory framework to govern the use of insects for food security. And it presents case studies and examples from around the world. Edible insects are a promising alternative to the conventional production of meat, either for direct human consumption or for indirect use as feedstock. To fully realise this potential, much work needs to be done by a wide range of stakeholders. This publication will boost awareness of the many valuable roles that insects play in sustaining nature and human life, and it will stimulate debate on the expansion of the use of insects as food and feed.

Each century has its own unique approach toward addressing the problem of high density and the 21st century is no exception. As cities try to cope with rapid population growth - adding 2.5 billion dwellers by 2050 - and grapple with destructive sprawl, politicians, planners and architects have become increasingly interested in the vertical city paradigm. Unfortunately, cities all over the world are grossly unprepared for integrating tall buildings, as these buildings may aggravate multidimensional sustainability challenges resulting in a “vertical sprawl” that could have worse consequences than “horizontal” sprawl. By using extensive data and numerous illustrations this book provides a comprehensive guide to the successful and sustainable integration of tall buildings into cities. A new crop of skyscrapers that employ passive design strategies, green technologies, energy-saving systems and innovative renewable energy offers significant architectural improvements. At the urban scale, the book argues that planners must integrate tall buildings with efficient mass transit, walkable neighbourhoods, cycling networks, vibrant mixed-use activities, iconic transit stations, attractive plazas, well-landscaped streets, spacious parks and engaging public art. Particularly, it proposes the Tall Building and Transit Oriented Development (TB-TOD) model as one of the sustainable options for large cities going forward. Building on the work of leaders in the fields of ecological and sustainable design, this book will open readers’ eyes to a wider range of possibilities for utilizing green, resilient, smart, and sustainable features in architecture and urban planning projects. The 20 chapters offer comprehensive reading for all those interested in the planning, design, and construction of sustainable cities.

"The assessment builds on the work of the Livestock, Environment and Development (LEAD) Initiative"--Pref.