Did you know there are dozens of urban farms - not to mention hundreds of community gardens - in existence around New York City? They serve a variety of purposes and use several different methods & technologies to grow food.

Come check out NYC's only AgTech co-working lab in Brooklyn, where you'll investigate several of the Urban Ag projects around the city, discussing benefits & drawbacks to each one, and hear about what opportunities exist to engage further in this emerging field. You'll also learn about hydroponics, one of the more popular methods for growing food in confined urban environments, and leave having measured out a nutrient solution for your own mini-hydroponic container.

What past participants have said:

"I knew I would learn about hydroponics, but walked away with so much more!" -Elyssa, 7/30/17

"I left the class more excited than ever to learn how I can find my role in the urban agricultural movement." - Kevin, 11/29/17

According to global design firm SOM, "there are an estimated 37 square miles of roof atop New York City...with only a tiny fraction designed for active use." But combining common practices with emerging technologies, we now have the tools to change this and help solve key challenges concerning food, water, energy, and biodiversity that negatively impact our cities today.

This class will examine a range of topics as they pertain to Green Roofs, including:

• Overview & History
• System Types
• Elements & Technology
• Design Considerations
• Benefits
• Installation
• Incentives
• Solar Integration

About the instructor: Alan Burchell is the founder of Urbanstrong, a full-service green building technology firm that designs, builds, and maintains a range of green infrastructure solutions.

*This presentation is also eligible for a 1-hour continuing education credit with AIA CES, LA CES, and GBCI CES.

Our staple introductory course, taught bi-weekly.

You'll investigate various Urban Agriculture projects around the city, discussing benefits & drawbacks to each one, and hear about what opportunities exist to engage further in this emerging field. You'll also learn about hydroponics, one of the more popular methods for growing food in confined urban environments, and leave having measured out a nutrient solution for your own mini-hydroponic container.

Finally, by taking this course, you'll be invited to join our digital network of researchers, career transitioners, & entrepreneurs all exploring topics around the future of sustainable food systems.

What past participants have said:

"I knew I would learn about hydroponics, but walked away with so much more!" -Elyssa, 7/30/17

"I left the class more excited than ever to learn how I can find my role in the urban agricultural movement." - Kevin, 11/29/17

Ever had dreams of designing your own product? How about one that makes growing food in any space more feasible? Then you'll love learning from the founders of Urban Leaf about the design, testing, and feedback process that led them to creating The World's Smallest Garden.

You'll hear how a back-to-basics approach helped Rob & Nate go from first prototype to shippable product in less than 9 months, and why understanding the problem you’re solving is a critical step for any entrepreneur. Finally, you'll learn about the successes & challenges that come with being a mission-driven startup in a competitive market.

Who doesn't want a beautiful rooftop garden atop their building? Looking out over NYC from above, it's a wonder why the vast majority of available roofspace is unused and dreary. But a lot of dreams are deflated when building structures wind up being too weak to support any type of green space without expensive reinforcement.

This class will provide the audience with a basic understanding of common NYC building structures, and the tools and knowledge to make a rooftop farm or general green space possible on a variety of budgets.  Combining realistic expectations with a coactive and open-minded team of design professionals is the bridge between dreams and reality - to turn grey into green.

We will cover:

• Successful rooftop green space - a range of examples
• Possibilities for your building - what’s legal
• The Department of Buildings and your Certificate of Occupancy
• Understanding common building structures and loads
• The anatomy of a successful design team
• How to select and work with your structural engineer
• Tools to maximize your greenspace from layout optimization to load reduction
• Step by step project case study
• Project costs

About the Instructor: Eugene Gurevich, PE, LEED AP, is a Senior Structural Engineer at RAND Engineering & Architecture, DPC, as well as a guest lecturer at City College of New York.

*This class is brand new and in the process of obtaining AIA certification for 1-hour continuing education credit (AIA CES); attendees will be able to receive certificates as soon as the process is complete.

Are you an urban gardener looking for efficient ways to monitor the growth of your fruits, vegetables, or herbs? Have you ever gone on vacation, only to discover your roommate killed all your plants while you were away? Or maybe you've just heard about "AgTech" but are still confused as to how the "Tech" really works?

If so, then the Internet of Plants workshop is for you! You will learn how to use open-source, free technology and off-the-shelf electronics to check on your plants and their progress from anywhere, using any device, 24/7. You will customize your own “plant dashboard” to monitor the temperature, humidity, light, and soil moisture, and even learn about automatic watering tools.

Included in the workshop is a brief intro to internet of things, basic electronics, and programming — but don’t worry if you’re not already familiar with any of these. The goal of the workshop is to help you better understand what your plants need to thrive in any setting.

*Please bring a laptop!*

Schedule:

• 2:00: General introduction
• 2:15: Intro to IoT technology
• 2:30: Basics to electronics & agricultural sensors
• 3:30: Programming basics, uploading Arduino firmware
• 4:30: Connecting to cloud API, configuring live dashboard
• 5:00: Wrap-up

About the Instructor: Tarek Ahmed is an IoT Systems Architect and the founder of Pixel Corn, which provides hardware & software solutions for agricultural operations of many sizes. Tarek also founded the first hackerspace and mobile makerspace in Egypt in 2009. He has been teaching "Internet of Plant" classes for several years in cities around the world.

What does it mean to design something? Can you “design” living things? Can we, or should we, control “Nature?” Are we part of or apart from Nature? Should we have let Buckminster Fuller build a giant dome over Manhattan in 1960!? In this class, we’ll explore these big-picture questions via the engineering terms biomimicry, biodesign, living machine, and others within the context of food and agriculture.

After a historically grounded introduction to some core concepts, we’ll take a tour through a rogue’s gallery of eco-designs from the aquaponics systems of John and Nancy Jack Todd to CRISPR-edited crops, and from plant factories in major cities to farms on Mars. Then, we will collectively workshop one future for the city of New York by making design interventions, of any level of whimsy, involving edible living things.

About the Instructor:

Wythe Marschall is is an anthropologist of technologies involving plants, currently finishing his Ph.D. in the Department of the History of Science at Harvard. His dissertation examines the production of value—in all senses of the word—using indoor agriculture. Previously, Wythe worked in the world of advertising and co-produced exhibitions on art and science in Brooklyn, critically exploring biotechnology and visions of future cities. Wythe received his BA in literature from Bennington College and his MFA in creative writing from Brooklyn College, where he taught in the English Department for five years.