Photo: Brooklyn Grange Navy Yard / Eagle File Photo by Lore Croghan

Society USA10. November 2019

Rooftop Farms in Big Apple Grow Vegetables with Rainwater, Reduce City Heat

Finding local, organic vegetables in a city full of high-rise buildings is becoming easier and easier: farms set up on the rooftops in the Big Apple – the nickname for New York City – are providing sustainable produce in the United States’ most populous area.

The green roofs – which grow over 36 tons of organic vegetables every year and use food waste to produce compost – soak up millions of liters of rainwater that otherwise goes straight to the sewers that pollute the city’s rivers. They also reduce urban summer heat, decreasing the energy needed to keep buildings cool.

The founders of Brooklyn Grange – which operates the farms located on top of three historic industrial buildings – explain that urban agriculture help cites become cleaner and more sustainable. Their farms, which sell half their produce to restaurants, are also home to 40 beehives. To date, they have hosted 50,000 young people on educational visits about sustainable urban farming.

Source:
World Economic Forum

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