The Growing Connection

The Staircase

noreply@blogger.com (Ken Waagner) — Sun, 01 Jun 2008 18:06:00 +0000

From the first time we set foot on the grounds of the Museum of Science & Industry, we were drawn to this grand staircase that is directly north of the SmartHome and is bathed in sunlight. Thanks to the cooperation and efforts of many, including, but, not limited to: MSI, WIRED, EarthBox, the UIUC Extension, The Master Gardeners of Cook County, Michelle Kaufmann, Bernie Jacobs and Good Earth Greenhouse, we now have a total of 40 EarthBoxes planted on the grounds of the SmartHome.

Including 16 EarthBoxes that we have planted on the staircase pictured here:

Which once the boxes begin to bloom should look pretty incredible.

For more photos, go here: The Growing Connection @ MSI

Gearing Up for Smart Home: Green + Wired

noreply@blogger.com (Karen S) — Fri, 09 May 2008 23:33:00 +0000

Volunteer master gardeners plant the first of 40 EarthBoxes from The Growing Connection at the Museum of Science and Industry’s boxes at Smart Home: Green + Wired

What’s Green, sponsored by Wired, and most assuredly Smart? The Growing Connection’s garden at the new Smart Home: Green + Wired exhbit at Chicago’s Museum of Science and Industry, of course! Showcasing innovations that are as friendly to the earth as they are to the home’s potential residents, the three-story modular home is chock full of ideas for green living, using reusable resources, energy-efficient technology and sustainable development. Architect Michelle Kaufman is a thought leader in the burgeoning industry of sustainable, modular architecture. Beginning with the exhibit's grand opening this week, visitors will be able to tour the structure, as well as the surrounding grounds, tended by master gardeners from University of Illinois Extension.

Not only will the greens, veggies, and herbs from the TGC garden contribute to the sensory experience of the Smart Home, the harvest will be donated to a ABJ Community Services, a nearby food bank in Chicago’s Hyde Park neighborhood.

The Growing Connection is honored to be a part of the exhibit, which celebrates sustainable living that, though we’re hoping will be prevalent in the near future, is most definitely available today. Come down to the museum and check out our garden on the Smart Home's grounds, and stay tuned for more events during the course of the exhibit through the summer and fall.

Open Source will not save education

noreply@blogger.com (Ken Waagner) — Wed, 09 Apr 2008 19:35:00 +0000

Interesting comment from ZD Net, and some things we've definitely found to be true and taken into consideration thus far.

"The problem isn’t supply. It’s demand. Teachers won’t or can’t invest the time needed to integrate new technology into their work. So 20 years have been essentially wasted.
I have watched this waste first-hand, as both a parent and reporter, and Zemsky is right. By the time a computer technology is in place, and teachers are given training on using it, it’s obsolete."

"Computing has also been a powerful tool in the developing world, where time is often in greater supply. Every village which is connected to the Web becomes part of a global village, and can learn at the world’s pace."

WILCO - Poster Donations

noreply@blogger.com (Ken Waagner) — Mon, 10 Sep 2007 16:01:00 +0000

Our friends in WILCO have been kind enough to designate The Growing Connection as the recipient of the proceeds of poster sales for their recent show at the Greek Theater in Berkeley, California. You can still purchase copies of the poster by clicking here.

backyard this summer

noreply@blogger.com (robertpatterson) — Sun, 24 Jun 2007 17:06:00 +0000

i've finished my planting at home... would like to know from others (teachers, leaders, home users, students, etc) what they are growing + photos if possible...
thanks
bob p.

The Growing Connection in New York City

noreply@blogger.com (Ken Waagner) — Fri, 01 Sep 2006 17:03:00 +0000

We have been working for the past few months with Philson Warner from the Cornell Cooperative Extension to grow corn for an exhibit at WIRED NextFest. In addition to The Growing Connection's booth, we have been contracted by General Motors to grow corn to be used in an alternative fuels exhibit showcasing Ethanol/E85 powered vehicles.

IIASA - Land Use Change

noreply@blogger.com (Ken Waagner) — Sat, 29 Jul 2006 16:36:00 +0000

IIASA - Land Use Change

Land-use and land-cover change are significant to a range of themes and issues central to the study of global environmental change. Alterations in the earth’s surface hold major implications for the global radiation balance and energy fluxes, contribute to changes in biogeochemical cycles, alter hydrological cycles, and influence ecological balances and complexity. Through these environmental impacts at local, regional and global levels, land-use and land-cover changes driven by human activity have the potential to significantly affect food security and the sustainability of the world agricultural and forest product supply systems.

Independent of long-term global cumulative dimensions, changes in land use and land cover will have profound regional environmental implications, such as alterations in surface runoff dynamics, lowering of groundwater tables, impacts on rates and types of land degradation, and reduced biodiversity. It is therefore widely recognized that an understanding of changes in land and water use over a time span of the next 30–50 years is central to the debate of sustainability.

Greenmarket at 30, Searching for Itself - New York Times

noreply@blogger.com (Ken Waagner) — Wed, 19 Jul 2006 13:40:00 +0000

Interesting story from The New York Times about the Greenmarket program and shortage of vendors. We hope to help fix that.

Greenmarket at 30, Searching for Itself - New York Times

AHS at River Farm Blog

noreply@blogger.com (Ken Waagner) — Sat, 08 Jul 2006 05:20:00 +0000

The staff at the American Horticultural Society Headquarters located at River Farm in Alexandria, VA have been keeping a blog all spring in the Growing Connection Demonstration Garden. Stop by and take a peak at some of the amazing crops.

Green Maps

noreply@blogger.com (Ken Waagner) — Sat, 08 Jul 2006 05:17:00 +0000

We've recently had the pleasure of making the acquaintance of the people at Green Maps . They have 350 different communities around the world publishing green maps. Very cool stuff, definitely check it out.

noreply@blogger.com (Ken Waagner) — Sat, 08 Jul 2006 05:13:00 +0000

Sorry. It's been awhile, but, that means we've been busy, and up to good things.

We continue work on the site and have begun registering people on the site. If you'd like to join The Growing Connection community, please sign up for the site here.

noreply@blogger.com (Ken Waagner) — Tue, 27 Dec 2005 18:19:00 +0000

We've just launched the new forums and user registration using e107, check it out here: Click here. We encourage everyone to please sign up for an account and use the forums. We are striving to use the website as the centralized base of operations for all aspects of the project, from lesson plans to student interaction to gardening tips to project initiatives and Advisor action points.

noreply@blogger.com (Ken Waagner) — Tue, 25 Oct 2005 00:05:00 +0000

New content management system. We've been messing around with e107 and have it installed on the server here check it out and if you're familiar with e107 and want to lend a hand, please drop me a line.

Thanks.

Ken
ken@thegrowingconnection.org