In the midst of West Valley urban sprawl is a somewhat unexpected sight: a diverse, organic vegetable farm called New Roots. The farm is a local program of the IRC (International Rescue Committee), an organization serving people whose lives have been upended by war and natural disasters. While the IRC has had offices in Salt Lake since the 90s, New Roots SLC was developed in … [Read more...]
The Other Side Academy: A Home for Recovering Addicts and Criminals in Salt Lake City
“We’re a family here. We’re all about connection. If addiction is disconnection, recovery is reconnection.” —Dave Derocher. I recently had the chance to meet with Dave Derocher, executive director of The Other Side Academy, a home for recovering addicts and criminals in Salt Lake City. I greeted him in their home-base building, a historic mansion located in east downtown. … [Read more...]
Affordable Housing Crisis: Utah Urbanites find solution in Cohousing Projects such as Wasatch Commons Cohousing
“I drive past the strip malls and big box stores, the parking lots and car dealerships, office buildings and sub-developments, each building a model of cost-efficiency, and I marvel: “After 5,000 years of architectural development, we’ve ended up with this?” We have maximised our production of the measurable—the square feet, the productivity per labour unit—at the expense of … [Read more...]
Krishna Food Forest & Farm—what is the permaculture concept?
Mimicking natural ecosystems The Krishna Food Forest & Farm , located behind the Sri Sri Radha Krishna temple in Millcreek, is a wonderfully accessible place for anyone in the area to learn about ecological food production while engaging with the Millcreek Permaculture Guild, a friendly community and leadership team. It is run by the Millcreek Permaculture Guild, which … [Read more...]
Forest bathing with Wasatch Forest Therapy
Wasatch Forest Therapy, run by Utah County resident Lissa Kennedy, wants to help people slow down by experiencing forest bathing, because many Utahns love spending time outdoors, but often spend that time whizzing through the landscape. Immerse yourself in nature with forest bathing Once a month, Kennedy takes up to 10 people into the woods for three hours. She conducts … [Read more...]
Salt Lake City—conserving water for spring garden preparation
Hugelkultur Beds Salt Lake City—Conserving water for spring garden preparation comes with a German accent. Many of you are getting started with spring preparation for your vegetable garden this growing season. If you’re thinking of expanding your garden by converting another section of your lawn into a garden bed, you might consider installing a hugelkultur garden bed. … [Read more...]
Serve Refugees Sharehouse Creates Cycle of Hope and Change
A modest relocatable classroom located at Lincoln Elementary School in South Salt Lake houses the Serve Refugees Sharehouse - a crucial resource for thousands of refugees that didn’t exist before 2016. Donations like toiletry essentials, cleaning kits, and gas gift cards revolve in and out of the classroom - which added up to serve roughly 31,000 refugees in 2017. … [Read more...]
Mobile Moon Co-op
The Mobile Moon Co-op is a community herbal apothecary housed in a converted bus. Think of it as first aid on wheels. Founded last year by Salt Lake City resident Erika Longino, the mission of the Co-op is to bring people together over herbalism, wildcrafting, and growing and using herbs from home gardens. The organization operates as a platform for free education, empowerment … [Read more...]
Three Young Farmers You’ll Find at SLC’s Rio Grande Winter Market
Grand Prismatic Seed James Young and Guy Banner started Grand Prismatic Seed in 2016 after they returned to Salt Lake City from Oregon, where they learned to grow and save seeds. Their backgrounds are in ethnobotany, habitat restoration, and native-seed production. Grand Prismatic Seed is committed to using organic growing practices and selling primarily … [Read more...]
Three Nontraditional Home Gardens in Salt Lake City
Sugar House Joakim Orton moved into his Sugarhouse apartment in 2016, and since then he’s been cultivating a garden in an unlikely spot. Even though traditional gardening space is limited around his apartment building, he got creative and chose to utilize a long, thin strip of earth that lines the driveway—a spot most others would overlook. Before he began … [Read more...]