• home
• about
• ideas
• resources
• calendar
• news
• participate
• shop

Feature Story Archive

January 30, 2009 - Row-by-Row
by Eliza Toomey

As Christmas rolled around once more, I found myself dreaming of vegetables. Little broccoli seedlings with their two-pronged heads reminding me of four leaf clovers. Tragically, it could not be. I had no place to grow any vegetables. My two-hundred square foot back garden has no less than 9000 trees in it.

Last year I rejoiced over my six edamame bean pods. One of my broccoli plants that germinated in March has only just started to grow its broccoli bud in January, and only after I moved it to its own pot in on the front porch. This would not do. photo by Paul Gillespie, The Capital

So as Christmas gave me a break from work, my mind was free to wander the sea of possibilities. And hence, the Murray Hill Row-by-Row Project was born.

I began to wonder if it would be possible to get about ten families to commit to giving up about 100 square feet of lawn. I would grow seedlings and prepare the soil, erect fencing if necessary, plant the seedling and seeds, water, nourish and, starting in about April,begin harvesting the vegetables. (I need not mention that I would also take ANY help that was offered by the members!) At the Jones's, dozens of broccoli plants would be growing to maturity in succession. At the Smith's, half of their plot would be growing quick-maturing spinach while the other half nurtured sugar snap peas that can bear fruit for weeks.

Here is how it will work: I see many gardens, in yards scattered across the neighborhood, each one growing one or two crops that are harvested at the end of each week, as available, and distributed evenly amongst members for a small fee. I see sunflowers and Brussels sprouts, tomatoes and squash and cucumbers. And if I'm ambitious? I see a Saturday School, where neighborhood kids and families can learn how the gardens work, hands-on, learning as they help me plant seedlings, harvest string beans, compost the neighborhood's carbon- and nitrogen-rich waste. I see an option to have your tomatoes canned and delivered to you at a low cost, for enjoyment past summer's months. I see a Harvest Festival, pumpkins and all.

I'm a gal with a lot of dreams, and one of them is to grow things for a living. If you'd like to be a part of it, please visit my website at www.row-by-row.blogspot.com or email me at eatoomey@gmail.com.

See a story about Eliza in The Capital

January 22, 2009 - Recycling Success
by Jenni Bondi

My name is Jenni Biondi and I am a server at Cantler's Riverside.

Earlier this year I began a mission to convince the staff that it would be a great idea to recycle our beer cans at the restaurant. Imagine the magnitude... hundreds of cans a day that could be recycled instead of simply being thrown away.

It was a challenge to get everyone on board. We tried it a few years ago, but it became a problem as bags of cans piled up behind the restaurant waiting for the server who initiated the idea to find some time to take a trip to the recycling center. I realized that this time I needed to approach management differently by explaining that it would minimize the regular trash, as trash pick-up for restaurants is costly.

As I looked into it more, I was surprised that the County did not offer recycling for businesses. But, apparently, the cardboard box recycling contractor that most restaurants have will take the cans as well and that was a good thing.

Another challenge was space. Just a few strategically-placed canisters could make recycling easy, especially for those who only want to make a small effort.

I am happy to say it has been a success! I would love to see other restaurants get involved.

In addition to "Project Recycle" I also initiated "Project Conservation." This will be an ongoing challenge as much of our restaurant supplies are made of Styrofoam and servers are irresponsibly generous with supplies. I have noticed that restaurant reps are now offering alternatives to Styrofoam. My managers have recently purchased soup bowls made of sugarcane from Katcef. My manager said that regular distributors are now offering green products. It would be nice if we had some suppliers at the Green drinks meeting especially to promote alternatives for the Styrofoam to-go containers (my pet peeve).

I am very excited about the Annapolis Green organization and website. I love being part of a group that takes the initiative to make real changes and exchange ideas.

We're all on a Journey to Green. Send us your story.