news

A Sustainable Future, Fifteen Miles Away

Published on March 26, 2010

By Daniel Cassady

Last year roughly two thousand pounds of produce were harvested from a fully sustainable floating urban farm in New York. Meanwhile, deliveries came in everyday from all over the country, leaving a massive carbon footprint in their wake. The Science Barge sits on the Hudson River just fifteen miles from Manhattan, in the city of Yonkers. Originally built by NY SunWorks as a working model for rooftop farming, it is now under the care of Groundwork Hudson Valley, an environmental justice non-profit group. The Science Barge is a glowing example of how we can help reduce the amount of dangerous greenhouse gasses being emitted into the atmosphere while increasing sustainability and supporting our local economy. Lettuce, tomatoes, and a wide variety or herbs and other greens are grown in a hydroponic greenhouse, all the while emitting zero net carbon emissions and using no pesticides and requiring seven times less land than a traditional farm.

Science Barge Solar Arrays

The Barge is powered for the most part by two large solar arrays linked to a passive tracking system. This allows the arrays to stay in direct sunlight, providing twenty percent more energy than fixed solar panels. The Barge also makes good use of its home on the Hudson between the city of Yonkers and the undeveloped, picturesque Palisades by using wind turbines, while bio-fuels provide any additional energy required.

Nutrient Film Technique

Inside the greenhouse crops are grown a number of ways. One of which, the nutrient film technique (NFT), uses a shallow stream of nutrient rich water that flows past the roots to feed the plants. Because the water is constantly re-circulating through out the system, only one quarter the amount of water needed for a conventional farm of the same size is used. The crops are irrigated by rainwater that is collected and stored in large tanks on The Barge. The tanks on board collect 800 gallons of water for every one inch of rain and can hold up to 1,200 gallons. In the event of a dry spell, there is a reverse osmosis water filter on board that purifies the readily available Hudson River water. Ambient air temperature and humidity are monitored my computer. If the temperature becomes too high in the greenhouse, a wall mounted evaporative cooling system is engaged.

Groundwork Hudson Valley hires about six interns a year to help teach visiting students, who range from third graders to graduate students, and maintain The Barge during their seven-month growing season. During the off-season, from November to late April, they bring educational workshops to schools and volunteers come on Sundays to help with the upkeep.

Greenhouse

Around 3000 children paid a visit to The Barge last year to learn about urban farming and renewable energy. They came as a part of class trips or public tours. They came from private schools and public schools. They walked on a deck and sat on picnic benches made from recycled number two plastic bottles. They learned how to recycle and compost their waste after lunch. For the schools that couldn’t afford the fee, the price was subsidized. 33 were admitted for free. Ideally, these children head home after a day at The Science Barge, and for the first time, take notice of the unused rooftops of their schools and libraries that would be better suited for urban farming than empty space and the odd satellite dish. There are about 19 square miles of unused roof space in New York City. The two thousand pounds of produce mentioned earlier was grown on 1,291 square feet. That means there are enough rooftops to provide the entire city’s population with fresh produce year round.

This article is available for noncommercial use under a Creative Commons license. It was originally published on MediaRights.org, a project of Arts Engine, Inc. This notice must accompany the article at all times.

Comments (1) | Leave a Comment | Share:

Share Your Thoughts

Comments

Wondeful article !! very educational and definitely thought provoking. Imagine if all the roof tops in NY were green. It would be a great boost for the environment!!!

Posted on 2010 03 29 by Lilly Bueno