Our Urban Farming Collaborators

The ALE lab has been studying insect communities in urban vacant lands and comparing these communities to lands converted to produce food crops for two summers now. We have had a chance to work with some great collaborators though this research and I wanted to provide some information on their efforts to produce food within the urban landscape.

Blue Pike Farm

Carl Skalak, owner of Blue Pike Farm with Mary, Chelsea and Lucia

Blue Pike Farm: Last week we held an outreach event at Blue Pike Farm. This farm is operated by Carl Skalak. Blue Pike is located on East 72nd Street north of Saint Clair in downtown Cleveland and is the first farm started in Cleveland in the 21st century. The goal of the farm is to produce a variety of produce for local sale with out the use of conventional fertilizers, herbicides or pesticides. In addition to Carl the Blue Pike staff consists of a hard-working volunteer coordinator named Pat and several volunteers who help to plant, cultivate and harvest the produce. They produce a diversity of crops at Blue Pike including strawberries, raspberries, melons, squash, eggplant, asparagus, peppers, tomatoes, lettuce, onions, and herbs. The farm sells produce every Thursday from June-October on-site. They also sell at local markets in Cleveland as well as direct to restaurants around town. Carl and Pat are really great to work with, we really appreciate them allowing us to collect data from Blue Pike Farm and we hope to work with them again next summer!

The Cleveland Botanical Gardens Green Corps Program

The Cleveland Botanical Gardens Green Corps Program: Our research team also worked with the Cleveland Botanical Gardens this summer, collecting data from 6 of their learning farms which are located across the city. These farms host the Green Corps program which is a work/study program founded in 1996. As part of Green Corps high school students learn job skills, leadership and environmental stewardship. Students in Green Corps plant, tend, and harvest produce that they sell at farmers markets across the city. They also produce their own bottled products called, Ripe from Downtown, including salsa and salad dressing. For more information about the Cleveland Botanical Gardens Green Corps program, check out their website at: http://www.cbgarden.org/green_corps.html