Category Archives: Agriculture

Melvin Parson and the campaign to create a world-class urban farm in Ypsilanti

By Mark | February 26, 2019

Melvin Parson and I have been working off an on for the past two years on an interview for this site. It began as an Ypsilanti Immigration Interview, and, over time, as we dug deeper into his work with We The People Growers Association, evolved into something more about his dream of establishing a world-class […]

Also posted in Ann Arbor, Detroit, entrepreneurism, Environment, Food, Sustainability, Uncategorized, Ypsilanti | Tagged 13th, addiction, Ann Arbor, Avalon Housing, Black Beauty, community gardens, culinary arts, Dawn Farm, Detroit, Doug Coombe, drugs, Edible Avalon, Emanuel Tyus, food hub, fundraising, Great Migration, Henry Ford, Henry Ford Museum, heroin, inequality, Kerrytown, Kerrytown Farmers Market, local food, local food production, matching grants, Melvin Parson, Michigan Department of Corrections, Parkridge Homes, Port Huron, prison industry, prison reform, Shaka Senghor, social justice, St. Joseph Mercy, substance abuse, the hiring on ex-fellons, urban farming, Washtenaw County Jail, We The People Growers Association, We The People Opportunity Center, white flight, Wizard of Oz, YCS, Ypsi immigration interview, Ypsilanti Community Schools | 9 Comments

U-M PhD Michelle Leach, the founder of Oasis Aquaponics, on leaving academia to focus on solving basic problems afflicting the poor

By Mark | January 24, 2016

Upon graduating the University of Michigan with her PhD in Biomedical Engineering, Michelle Leach decided to try something different. Instead of either pursuing a careen in academia, or accepting a job in industry, she chose to start a social venture called Oasis Aquaponics with the intention of creating an affordable food production system that could […]

Also posted in A2Awesome, Uncategorized | Tagged anemia, aquaponics, biomedical engineering, Central America, corn, distribution, El Salvador, fish, food insecurity, food production, Jacquelyn Hernandez Ortiz, Michelle Leach, micro loan, nitrogen, nutrition, Oasis Aquaponics, poverty, quality of life, stunting, Sustainability, sustainable agriculture, tilapia | 6 Comments

Deer assassination in Ann Arbor, habitats for fish sex in Ypsi, the music of Heather Evans, and our first in-studio bat infestation… on episode 33 of the Saturday Six Pack

By Mark | November 18, 2015

After kicking things off with the awesome into song written by our recent guest Frank Allison, we jumped right into things with University of Michigan Associate Professor Rebecca Hardin, the host of WCBN’s environmental news show It’s Hot in Here, and avid hunter Ben Connor Barrie, the editor of the Ann Arbor blog Damn Arbor. […]

Also posted in Ann Arbor, Environment, Local Business, Uncategorized, Ypsilanti | Tagged Aja Marcato, bats, Ben Connor Barrie, biodiversity, dams, darters, deer, deer cull, ecosystem, Elizabeth Riggs, Erika Nelson, ethics, fish, fish habitat, fishing, Frank Allison, Fred Bear, Geddes, guns, guns in parks, guns in schools, Heather Evans, hostas, hunting, Huron River, Huron River Watershed Council, It's Hot in Here, James Hughes, Jim Cherewick, kindness, large mouth bass, Lyme Disease, Marquette, Matt Jones, native plants, Organization for Bat Conservation, public health, public parks, rabies, Rebecca Hardin, River Street Anthology, RiverUp!, Schultz Outfitters, shrubs, small mouth bass, suckers, Ted Nugent, The Who Guy, ticks, USDA, vampires, white bass, White Nose Syndrome, Wildlife Conservation Society, wildlife management | 32 Comments

The Ann Arbor Seed Company’s Eric Kampe on the importance of seed saving, the threat of the “Big Seed” industry, and how proud he is of his biennial root vegetables

By Mark | May 3, 2015

A few weeks ago, I had the occasion to lead a seed bomb making workshop at the downtown Ypsilanti library, where, by the way, there happens to be a pretty awesome seed library. And, after we’d finished making the seed bombs, and talking about where and how they might be deployed, we watched a documentary […]

Also posted in Ann Arbor, Local Business, Locally Owned Business, Uncategorized | Tagged Abbondanza Organic Seeds & Produce, Ann Arbor Seed Company, Colorado, Eric Kampe, factory farming, GMO, heirloom seeds, kale, monocrops, open pollinated, Open Sesame: The Story of Seeds, seed bombing, Seed Savers Exchange, seed saving, seeds | 3 Comments

Gut bacteria, in-studio photography and preserved vegetables… on the upcoming Saturday Six Pack

By Mark | February 19, 2015

This Saturday, I’ll be back on Ypsilanti’s AM 1700, hosting The Saturday Six Pack. I’m still trying to pull everything together, but here’s what I think we’ve got lined up thus far. First, I’m not sure if he’ll come through for us, but I’m told that local song and dance man Jim Cherewick, who came […]