Carlo Petrini in Boston

Last week, the founder of Slow Food, Carlo Petrini, spoke at Tufts and at Harvard as part of a series of conferences at American universities.

Over 300 students, staff, and community members attended Petrini's talk and book signing at Harvard. Carlo Petrini's speech, in Italian, was translated by Corby Kummer, author and senior editor of The Atlantic.

Corby Kummer (left) and Carlo Petrini (right)

Petrini spoke about numerous aspects of the Slow Food movement, which supports the pleasure of good food, while supporting the community and the environment.

Petrini began by discussing the current food system, which is detrimental to our environment. The constant selection for highly productive crops has decreased the fertility of the soil, and has caused a significant loss in biodiversity. Petrini also touched upon food subsidies, which have led to cheap food, health problems, industrial disasters, and environmental degradation.

In addition, Petrini gave many suggestions for changes that can be made. Food shouldn't be wasted, and leftovers should be savored. Foods should be eaten when they are in season, and food shouldn't be transported long distances, because this requires more fossil fuels. He also suggested that we should buy less food, and buy higher quality food.

Although there are many changes that need to be made to the current food system, Petrini noted that many positive changes have already been made. Although it was hard to come by farmers markets just ten to twenty years ago, now farmers markets are much more common. In 2000, Slow Food U.S.A. campaigned for raw milk cheeses to be allowed to be produced in the U.S. rather than just importing them from Europe, and now raw cheeses produced in the U.S. can be found in more and more stores.

Despite the lack of infrastructures to support new and young farmers, there is an increased need for young farmers. Luckily in the Boston area, there is the New Entry Sustainable Farming Project, which supports and offers training to those who are interested in becoming farmers. Petrini asked for everyone in the audience who was under 30 and planning to work with the land in their future to come up, and many people did.

Farmers to be

Finally, Petrini spoke of and encouraged people to attend Terra Madre, a bi-annual international gathering of over 5,000 food lovers who support and want to learn more about sustainable and local foods and food production. The next, and fourth, Terra Madre event will begin next week, in Turin, Italy.

After Carlo Petrini's speak, many eager audience members came up to get signed copies of his new book, Terra Madre.

It was an inspirational experience to hear the president of Slow Food speak. Read about his visit at Tufts on the Slow Food Tufts blog, and another article and videos of his Boston visit from the Slow Food website.

First Annual Sustainability@BU Festival

This past Thursday, BU held its First Annual Sustainability@BU Festival.

It was a beautiful day for the festival in conjunction with the BU Farmers Market,


and music from the Tumbleweed Company.



One of the most apparent changes in BU's sustainability efforts this year are the compost stations at the George Sherman Union, with separate bins for composting and recycling, and the option of re-usable plates if you decide to eat at the GSU. Read more articles about BU Going Green.

At the festival, Sustainability@BU gave free mugs to those who joined the challenge,


and student organizations present at the festival included the Organic Gardening Collective and Slow Food BU, among others.

Stay tuned with BU's sustainability efforts at Sustainability@BU. You can also like them on Facebook and follow them on Twitter!

Earth Week 2010

Last week, the BU Green Groups, Sustainability@BU, and BU's Dining Services participated in Earth Week in honor of Earth Day.

Events throughout the week included Meatless Monday at lunch throughout all the dining halls, free Bike Workshops sponsored by BU Bikes, a screening of the film Earth 2100, and a compost awareness day. (In fact, BU composts much of their waste regularly to Save That Stuff. Read more about what BU Dining Services is doing about food and sustainability here).

Slow Food BU participated in the Earth Day Celebration on the GSU Plaza last Thursday with environmental groups from BU and the Boston area. This year, we teamed up with Fair Trade Boston to bring students free fair trade banana splits, made with fair trade bananas from Equal Exchange and Ben & Jerry's ice cream. Ben & Jerry's aims to expand their full product line to Fair Trade Certified ingredients by 2013 as announced in their press release.

Other groups present at the Earth Day Celebration included BU Dining Services,

BU Bikes (with bike-powered smoothies, of course!), and BU's Organic Gardening Collective, among others.

As always, Earth Day was a great success, and the students and the groups involved in Earth Week learned a lot and had a good time. We look forward to participating again next year!

April Events

There is a lot going on this month! For more details, look at our calendar.

• Wednesday, April 7th - Slow Food BU Potluck in Sargent College (635 Commonwealth Ave.), Room 218
• Throughout April - Sustainable Food Films: free film screenings throughout April thanks to Whole Foods.
• April 9-11th - Down:2:Earth - Sustainable Living Expo at the Hynes Convention Center
• Wednesday, April 14th - Screening of "The Garden" thanks to the Harvard Food Literacy Project
• Saturday, April 17th - Slow Food Founder Carlo Petrini at Tufts School of Nutrition *CANCELLED and to be rescheduled*
• Sunday, April 18th - Slow Food Founder Carlo Petrini at Harvard University *CANCELLED and to be rescheduled*
• April 19th-23rd - Earth Week at BU, with various events sponsored by us, BU, and BU's Green Groups
• April 23rd-24th - SlowFest. Check out the local food vendors that will be present.

Sustainable Foods Video

Watch this Sustainable Foods Video by Anna Webster featuring JJ Gonson from Cuisine en Locale, Claire Kozower from Waltham Fields Community Farm, and Annabelle Ho from Slow Food BU.

HomeGrown Film Screening with Slow Food Boston

Slow Food BU kicked off the semester with a film screening of HomeGrown in a collaboration with Slow Food Boston.

HomeGrown explores the urban, organic farm Path to Freedom run by the Dervaes family in Pasadena, California. Although the family of four began the farm in order to feed themselves, they were doing so well that they began to sell their produce. Now, the Dervaes produce over 6,000 pounds of produce annually in less than a quarter of an acre! The family also produces their own biodiesel, power their computers using solar panels, use non-electric appliances such as those from Lehman's (hand-cranked blender, anyone?), and more. If you missed the film screening, we highly recommend watching the documentary and reading more about the urban homstead on their website and on their blog.

Following the film screening was a discussion panel featuring Jess Liborio from The Food Project, Lisa Gross from the Urban Homesteaders' League, and Nathan Phillips from BU (previously featured in the Boston Globe for his carbon neutral office!), moderated by Willow Blish from Slow Food Boston.

Panelists Jess Liborio, Lisa Gross and Nathan Phillips

The audience asked good questions for a lively and engaging discussion. We learned that there are many ways to incorporate growing your own food in urban areas with or without a backyard. If you live in an apartment, you may consider sprouting, growing herbs, or growing microgreens in your kitchen or on your windowsill. Or if you live in Boston and have a backyard, The Food Project may help you to build your very own raised bed through their Build-a-Garden program! Meanwhile, Green City Growers in Somerville installs raised beds, and even helps to maintain them for you. In addition, farmers markets now abound, more people are signing up for local CSA's (community supported agriculture), and more winter farmers markets are cropping up!

If you want to get your urban homestead on, you may consider joining the Meetup Group The Urban Homsteaders' League. Run by Lisa Gross, the UHL hosts and sponsors various urban homesteading events around the Cambridge area, and we will be co-sponsoring our next event with them, a No-Knead Bread Making Workshop, on January 31! (Our apologies, but this workshop is full! E-mail us if you want to join the waiting list).

Thanks to all the volunteers and speakers who helped to make this event happen!

If you missed HomeGrown, this was only part one of Slow Food Boston's 3rd Annual Film Series! Watch Two Angry Moms with Slow Food BU and Slow Food Boston on February 21, or join Slow Food Boston at Tufts for film screenings of The End of the Line and Bullshit. More details can be found here.

Willy Wonka's LOCAL Chocolate Factory

Coffee and Chocolate are the two biggest for those trying to maintain a mostly Local diet. But if one is going to indulge, its best to enjoy those that are fairly produced, and easiest on the environment. And it doesn't hurt if they are created by local, artisan crafters. Enter our favorite purveyor of Chocolate-Taza!

December 5th 2009: Tour the Taza Chocolate Factory!

Ever wanted a firsthand look at the inside of a chocolate factory

? Now's your chance! Just in time for the winter holidays, Their opening the doors

to the public for chocolate tastings and tours of the factory.

On Saturday, December 5th 2009, visit them in Somerville, MA

and see how chocolate really comes to be. Tours run from 10 AM to 6 PM, and are free and open to the public. Be prepared: There will be lots of tastings.The factory is quite small, so come early or late if you can't stand to wait!

Still need some Holiday gifts? There will be lots of tasty chocolate and holiday gifts for sale, at factory discount prices

We went last year and it was so cool to see how they stone-grind their chocolate using traditional Mexican Methods. Check out their website for some great information about how they make the chocolate, and drool over the fantastical flavors ( Guajillo Chili is my fave!)

See you there!

Sustainability Dinner

Last Tuesday, the officers of SFBU attended a Sustainability Dinner with The Director of Sustainability at BU, Dennis Carlberg. It was in StuVii 2- the new residence hall, which is unbelievably nice and fancier than many hotels we've been in! The dinner was up on the 26th floor and just check out the view!!!

It was a gathering for the student groups and administration to talk about what BU is doing sustainably and where there was still room for improvements. All while eating a Zero Waste, locally grown meal!

Love Food Hate Waste!

Kelly Dunn, our favorite Sustainable Dining Coordinator, did a presentation working to reduce food waste at BU.

SFBU has worked with Kelly on ideas for making dining services more sustainable, and she is very receptive to our suggestions.

Ok, time to turn off the computer!

SPLASH!

Slow Food BU represented at SPLASH! at BU last week.

Kate and Annabelle signin kiddies up!

SPLASH! happens every fall, to introduce all the freshman to Clubs and Activities on Campus. We were part of the "Green Section," where all the clubs dedicated to sustainability were congregated.

Next to our friends the Organic Gardening Collective

Dory and Elizabeth sharing some words of wisdom : Ride it like you stole it and Eat more Kale

We met a lot of fun people and Spread the Word:

Hello BU!

Your Local Farmers Markets!

With farmers markets popping up everywhere, more people participating in CSA's, and with cranberries, pumpkins, and winter squashes just coming into season for the fall, there has never been a more perfect time to get your local produce!

BU now has a farmers market right on campus, in front of the GSU! At 775 Commonwealth Ave., it runs on Thursdays from 12 pm - 4 pm, from June 25 - October 29. Read our previous post about it.

However, if you are otherwise occupied on Thursdays, or if you would like to venture beyond the grounds of BU for local produce, we have conveniently mapped the farmers markets that are in the Boston area! Go the the map link here.



For more information and listings about farmers markets in Massachusetts, look at Mass Farmers Markets, LocalHarvest, MassGrown's listing, and Edible Boston's list. LocalHarvest is also a good resource for those of you interested in a CSA (Community Supported Agriculture).

And if you are unsure of when various produce is in season, check out this chart!

Photo source link

Enjoy the fresh produce while it's in season!

Boston University's Farmer's Market!

We are very excited to announce that BU's Farmers Market will begin this Thursday, June 25th!!

For the first time the farmers market will feature several local farmers and vendors from the area, including baked goods from Big Sky Bakery based in Newton, MA and locally grown fruits and vegetables from Lanni Orchards of Lunenburg, MA!

Local artists will be present, selling artwork, jewelry, homemade crafts, and soaps. And to spice things up further, the farmers market will include rotational vendors!

So help support the local community by stopping by the George Sherman Union Plaza at 775 Commonwealth Ave. on Thursdays from 12:00-4:00 pm (June 25th-October 29), and get some fresh fruits and vegetables while you're at it!

The BU Farmers Market is run by BU Dining Services. Read their announcement of the farmers market here.

Future of Food Conference at Boston University

SFBU had the pleasure of attending and helping out at the Future of Food Conference held May 8th and 9th at the BU Law School.

The conference, which was organized by the Institute of Human Sciences, served as a forum for professionals interested in the global issues of food and sustainability, to highlight some of the current problems with our food systems, and suggest possible futures. IHS organized this conference in response to the growing concerns of local communities in both the US and Europe over the global food crisis, and presented a dialogue about what can be done to stem it. Participants gathered to see how they could shape the the current food system into something that is sustainable, and safeguards cultural and biodiversity, while providing safe, healthy food for all citizens both now and in the future.

Friday, May 8th, included the lecture and workshop "Wild Fermentation" by Sandor Ellix Katz, followed by another lecture and cooking demo with Bryant Terry. The day ended with a screening of King Corn, introduced by filmmaker and followed by a discussion with director, Aaron Woolf.

Saturday featured 5 panel discussions, starting at 9am and running until 9 pm. The panels addressed a myriad of issues, including food production, agribusiness, food security, food safety, climate change, and the ethics of eating.

Satish Kumar, nuclear disarmament advocate and editor of Resurgence Magazine, gave an excellent keynote address, and also spoke on the panel about the ethics of eating. Kumar is well known for his having accomplished an over 8,000 mile Peace Walk through the capitals of nuclear superpowers-America, England, France and Russia.

While he shared many interesting insights on the issue of food sovereignty, his statement, "If you don't have enough time to bake Bread, you don't have enough time to Live," seemed to strike a particular chord with conference participants.

Other presenters of note were Mark Winne, author of Closing the Food Gap; Tim Wise, director of Research and Public Policy at Tufts Global Development and Environment Institute; Benedikt Haelin, president of Save our Seeds; Jim Harkness, President of the Institute for Agriculture and Trade Policy; Andrew Kimbrell, Executive Director of Center for Food Safety; Helena Norberg-Hodge, founder of International Society for Ecology and Culture; Sandor Ellix Katz, author of Wild Fermentation and the Revolution Will not be Microwaved, Harriet Lamb, executive Director of Fair Trade Foundation, and finally Michael Ableman, farmer and author of Fields of Plenty.

Another interesting topic that was touched upon in discussion by the third panel was the GMO debate. According to the Union of Concerned Scientists report "Failure to Yield" by Doug Gurian-Sherman, genetically engineered crops do not in actuality increase yields! See the press release here.

It was helpful to compare and contrast US food policy and reports with those from other places, especially from the EU. There was so much information to absorb, and the presenters were very knowledgeable and approachable!

Of course there were multiple coffee breaks, and breakfast and lunch were provided-with lots of things to nibble on. Fair Trade Coffee, hummus, and vegan cookies galore! Also Taza Chocolate had a booth, as did Gnosis Chocolate.

A video of the entire conference will be available on the website soon so that you can shape your future of food and eat the revolution!!!

The Food Project

Thanks to everyone who joined SFBU and BU Hunger Relief for our trip to The Food Project in Roxbury!

The Food Project's goal is to "grow a thoughtful and productive community of youth and adults from diverse backgrounds who work together to build a sustainable food system." The Food Project also has various opportunities for youth and adult alike to learn and participate in sustainable agriculture in the community, ranging from Summer Youth programs, to internships, to individual volunteering.

We started off the morning with the game "the Wind Blows," and learned things we had in common with the other volunteers, such as who else had access to a farmers market within their community.
The day involved making raised beds, weeding with hula hoes, and other tasks, all with the help of The Food Project's high school crew leaders!
After a short break, everyone joined in cleaning up several parts of Roxbury.
The three hours went by fast, and because we promptly ended at 12:30 pm, it was a great way to start off the day!

Another game in the afternoon involved "Stepping in the Circle," with the center of the circle representing the ideal food system that is concerned with the producers, the communities, the consumers, and the earth, and a food supply that makes fresh and sustainable food accessible to consumers. At the end of the game we were all outside of the center of the circle, teaching us that there is still a long way for us to go to reaching a sustainable and ideal food system.

Almost every state buys 85-90% of its food from someplace else.

If you would like to help us reach the center of the circle or if you would just like to enjoy a sunny day outside, volunteer with the Food Project! You can drop in any Tuesday, Thursday, or Saturday in the Spring (April-June) or in the Fall (Aug. 28 - Nov. 1), from 9:30 am - 12:30 pm, at their Lincoln and Roxbury locations!

Conference - The Future of Food: Transatlantic Perspectives

Slow Food BU is a proud partner of the conference The Future of Food: Transatlantic Perspectives, to be held on May 8-9th!

Among other events, Friday, May 8th, will include a screening of King Corn from 8 pm - 10 pm at the BU Law School (765 Commonwealth Ave). The screening will be FREE and open to the public, will be introduced by filmmaker Ian Cheney, and will be followed by a discussion with director Aaron Woolf.

Meanwhile, the Saturday conference will include the following:

Keynote addresses by:
-Satish Kumar, Editor, Resurgence
-Michael Ableman, farmer, photographer, and author of Fields of Plenty

Session I
From Farm to Fork: the Global Food Chain

Session II:
Then End of Cheap Food: Food and Geopolitics

Session III:
What's in What You Eat? Food Safety in a New Ecology

Session IV:
Eating Green: Food and Climate Change

Session V:
What is "Good" Food? The Ethics of Eating

The conference will be held at the BU Law School (765 Comm. Ave.), & will also be FREE and open to the public!

The panels are meant to encourage people to think more consciously about the kind of food they buy and eat; because food is not only pleasurable: our food choices can have serious ethical and political impacts.

What a great way to end finals week! For a complete schedule and more information, please look at the website!

Northeast Real Food Summit-2009

This past weekend 8 members of SFBU joined over 300 college and high school students from more than 60 northeastern schools to learn, network and stratagize around food justice at The Real Food Summit in Amherst. The Northeast summit was one of 5 regional summits organized by the "Real Food Challenge" which is a project of The Food Project, the California Student Sustainability Coalition, and their partners. We joined other like-minded students to brainstorm new ways to get fresh food in dining halls, more campus gardens, or more critical food-related curricula, making our schools invest in healthy, community-based, fair, and environmentally sound food for all.

“Our food system affects the future of our country, from health to climate change to the economy,” says Anim Steel, Director of National Programs at The Food Project, and co-coordinator of the Real Food Challenge. Our current food system is like the Titanic. We have a huge system that's chugging along, but where is it going? We're headed towards a huge iceberg that includes the global food crisis and climate change. But like the Titanic, all it takes it a small part of the system, a rudder as such, to turn this ship around.The Real Food Challenge has set an ambitious national target for colleges and universities to meet: purchase 20% “real food” by 2020. Led by students themselves, the campaign believes that with collaboration, commitment, and collective action, it will be possible to turn around the university food service industry. Students have the potential to be a huge driving force, and not just consumers of Real Food. 4 Billion Dollars a year are spent for food in dining halls, which means we have a huge buying power, and the potential to turn this ship away from the iceberg. As Anim said, “The younger generation has the largest stake in the future, so they should have the loudest voice in shaping our food system. That’s what this summit is about.”

Workshops included "Building Food IQ and Sharpening Your Sound Bytes" by Dr. Susan Rubin, the founder of Better School Food, during which students learned, among other things, that the sweetener high-fructose corn commonly found in commercial foods has been indicated to be contaminated with mercury. Suggested reads included The End of Food by Paul Roberts and recommended movies included The Real Dirt on Farmer John and F.L.O.W.. Meanwhile, students discussed The Farm Bill and the Northeast with Simmons faculty member and NESAWG consultant Larry Dixon. Although improvements to the Farm Bill can always be made, students recognized some of the positive changes in the U.S.- including the transition of the Food Stamp Program to SNAP, the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program.

Dixon explained the provisions within the Farm Bill, such as value added grants, which students can utilize in order to get Real Food to their dining halls and gardens on their campuses. Though the Farm Bill has been passed for the next five years, there is room for on-going input in terms of where funding from the bill is allocated. NESAWG, the North East Sustainable Agriculture Working Group, is attempting to make funding more accessible by providing support and educational resources regarding the Farm Bill, which can be especially beneficial for university students who want to see change on their campus but might need funding to make it happen.

As well as attending other groups' workshops, Slow Food BU was asked to participate in a workshop held by Julia Middleton, Director of Youth Programs for Slow Food USA. Doing so provided us with the opportunity to share with other Slow Food members and would-be members our own ideas about running a successful Slow Food On Campus chapter, as well as to learn about the exciting things that other SFOC chapters have been doing.

Despite the Summit ending early due to the impending snow, it was a great success and lots of fun! Thanks to all who came from BU and a BIG thanks to the RFC organizers!

Dining at Green U

Read the article Dining at Green U, which talks about Kelly Dunn and sustainability efforts at BU, released today in The Boston Globe!

BU: Sustainability Update

Improvements are being made at BU one step at a time. Thanks to Kelly Dunn, here's the latest scoop on BU's sustainability efforts!

To start with, let's welcome BU's new Sustainability Director, Dennis Carlberg! A former architect with a background in green buildings, Dennis really wants to get student input on what they would like to see on campus. To find out more, check out this article.

BU's farmers market will be held on Thursdays in front of the GSU link, from around mid-May to Thanksgiving. If you have any suggestions for farmers or vendors who you would like to see there, you can e-mail Kelly Dunn or let us know, so we can pass along the information to her!

BU dining services is still looking into composting everything at the GSU, from food scraps to utensils. There are still some details to work out, but be on the lookout for composting bins this spring or the upcoming fall semester!

And if you're hungry and want to eat out for a good cause, certain restaurants are participating in the Super Hunger Brunch this weekend, January 24-25, to help end hunger and benefit the Greater Boston Food Bank! Read more details here.

Meeting with Kelly Dunn

SFBU met yet again with BU’s Sustainability Coordinator for Aramark, Kelly Dunn, and there seems to be a lot of exciting projects happening!

Efforts to make the upcoming farmers market more traditional with local farmers, vendors, and artisans are still in the works. Once the date and time of it are decided and more details are set, there should be opportunities for students to help!

Most of the utensils at BU's George Sherman Union are already biodegradable. As the GSU is a high generator of waste on campus, dining services is looking into potential compost bins there to reduce waste.

Hopes are that the new dining facility on east campus will be as green as possible with food and architecture in mind. Read about the sustainable Engrained Café for some inspiration! This café is funded by Aramark and is located in a green building at Arizona State University.

It certainly seems that dining services is making their effort to be more sustainable! Kelly would still like to work on transparency at BU to improve awareness of what dining services is doing to be more environmentally conscious.

Please contact us if you would like more information about SFBU and BU dining services, or if you would like to become more involved!

Meanwhile, read BU's College Sustainability Report Card for 2009 from the Sustainable Endowments Institute.

Happy Holidays!

SFBU and Dining Services

Slow Food met with Robert Flynn, manager of the Myles Dining Hall. Good news: The dining halls compost to Save That Stuff! In addition, produce is no longer purchased from Sid Wainer and local produce is soley purchased through Costa. Read more about BU Dining Services and sustainability.

SFBU also met with BU's new Coordinator of Sustainability for Aramark, Kelly Dunn, who previously worked as a recycling program manager for Cambridge. She hopes to make everything transparent at BU by increasing the accessibility to and awareness of what dining services is doing to be more sustainable. Kelly is also interested in expanding BU's green roof, bringing local vendors to the BU's farmers market, expanding green-cleaning products in all of the dining halls, and more. A new dining facility may also open up around east-campus in the future! If you have any questions, concerns, or comments about this place, e-mail us and we can pass the information along to her!

We anticipate working more with Kelly in order to increase the availability and consciousness of environmentally friendly, sustainable, and fair food options on campus. If you would like any more information regarding Slow Food BU and dining services or if you would like to become more involved, e-mail us!

In addition, see how other schools are integrating sustainability at their campuses!:

-Addie's Loft at BC is a vegetarian, sustainable café. BC also has a campus garden.
-Real Slow Food at UConn and UConn's Local Routes program, which brings sustainable foods to the Whitney Dining Unit. The UConn EcoGarden Club also has a student-run garden with their produce featured on Whitney's menu!
-Read about the pilot farmers market at University of California, Davis and their Student Farm.
-When the Fine Arts Café (run by Aramark) at the University of Virginia School of Architecture was renovated, it opened with a sustainable menu with the help of the student Serena Weaver.
-The experiment of incorporating sustainable foods at Yakeley Hall cafeteria in Michigan State University.
-The Harvard Farmers Markets on the Harvard Campus and at Allston.
-The Yale Sustainable Food Project

Roof-Hopping at Tufts

Last Sunday, SFBU spent a chilly morning on top of Tisch Library, gazing at succulents and the bones of the Tufts Green Roof Collaborative. We spoke with Colleen Butler, who organized the project for her research on pollinator insect species, and dreamed of a day when BU would agree to set up something similar for students to participate in urban agriculture.

There are a lot of considerations that go into to building a green roof: roof access, access to water, weight-bearing capacity, and membrane-layering are just a few things Colleen told us about the construction process. The Green Roof Collaborative was set up as an experiment in its first year, using uniform, shallow containers to allow for easy removal of the plants if need be, and to facilitate the scientific research going on there. Colleen's work specifically deals with measuring the bee population that visits the different species of plants on the roof, but she's also interested in the insulation and heat-island reducing effect a green roof can have in an urban setting.

Plans are in the works to set up a test garden this summer on top of BU's College of Arts and Sciences. The Organic Gardening Collective operates out of the (as yet) ramshackle greenhouse there, so we could put out some containers on the roof, experiment with what grows best, get some good hands in the soil, and propose a plan for further action to BU administration in Fall 2009. Ultimately, we'd like to have a student-run workstudy/internship program in green building/design/urban ag. available to those who tend the garden. Of course, all of this goes back to reestablishing the connection between the individual and his or her food supply; knowing where your food comes from is easiest when you grow it yourself! If you'd like to be part of this project or share any thoughts/advice, contact slowfood@bu.edu.

Other green roofs in Boston that are worth a look:

WGBH in Brighton
Boston's World Trade Center
the Four Seasons Hotel and
Massachusetts General Hospital (run by the Food Project)
also the Apple Store on Boylston St. ...maybe?

Living walls are cool too.
Green Roof FAQ from Good Magazine: here.