BINGHAMTON, NY— The Binghamton Local Development Corporation announces that all ten applicants for the 2013 BLDC-EAP Business Plan Competition have qualified as finalists. “We had a smaller response this year,
“We had a smaller response this year, but we were impressed by all the entries,” said Merry Harris, BLDC Executive Director. “Prior participants have said that the experience of being in the competition was very worthwhile and really advanced their preparation so we felt it best to give everyone the opportunity.”
The finalists are:
As some of you may know, VINES is piloting a low income Food Box CSA program in Binghamton's North-side. This is a partnership with the Healthy Lifestyles Coalition, the United Way and The Center for Agricultural Development and Entrepreneurship (CADE), and many other partners. Instead of paying upfront like a traditional CSA, share holders can pay as they receive their produce and have the option to use SNAP/EBT.
This is an exciting new program for VINES and we have applied to a Share to
Good grant from Seeds of Change to help us pilot the project.
*VOTE NOW!!!*
*The more votes we get the more likely we can invest this money in the
Binghamton Community! Please vote every day until 5/17/2013 to ensure we
can make it!*
*VOTE NOW!!! Seeds of Change on FAcebook.
*
BINGHAMTON, N.Y. -- The City of Binghamton was honored for its commitment to sustainability. Senator Kirsten Gillibrand presented the city with a 2013 Environmental Quality Award from the US Environmental Protection Agency Friday.
Binghamton was the only New York State municipality to win the award. Gillibrand actually nominated the city for the award because of its accomplishments in areas such as climate protection, energy efficiency, smart growth and sustainable development.
"I think it is setting an example for other cities in the state about how a vision and a plan and sticking to it really can make a difference. And our mayor has worked very hard on trying to reach long term goals every single day by investing in those goals," said Sen. Gillibrand.
"This is a great day for Binghamton and it’s a great day for sustainability because we all know that if we are going to continue to progress as a country and as a world we need to embrace these principles because that's the only way we are going to sustain our planet, and I believe, it will also sustain many, many jobs, and sustain our future," said Mayor Matt Ryan.
Gillibrand and city officials also celebrated Arbor Day by planting trees in Binghamton's Fairview Park.
The city says it encourages citizens to get involved with programs such as the Shade Tree Commission and the Citizen Pruner Program.
Rancho Mastatal promotes sustainable living and social and environmental justice. We advocate organic gardening and regional farming; healthy, local economies; permaculture; holistic health; natural, vernacular building techniques; alternative, local energy systems; and other educational activities to help facilitate a regenerative global community. In conjunction with the members of the town of Mastatal we work to create and supply most of our social and health needs locally. We serve to educate about political, environmental, social and economic issues important to us as we create a vibrant community where one can come to share, learn and get inspired.
We are currently looking for:
Animal Husbandry and Goat Caretaking Internship
Year Round
Two openings
Cost: $300 per month
Description
This unique opportunity is ideal for an enthusiastic, dedicated, animal-loving couple (or individual) who is passionate about learning the ins and outs of managing a goat herd and chicken flock. Responsibilities will include milking, making cheese, designing orchard and fodder space, providing basic animal care (feeding, hoofing, giving shots), and much more. The animal caretakers will live in a a beautiful, newly-constructed timberframe cabin that is home to large kitchen and private bedroom. They will work with a team made up of the Ranch staff and other interns. Experience handling goats is not a must but a willingness to learn and work hard are. Applicants should be motivated and willing to fully dedicate themselves to the experience. We offer our interns the distinctive chance to help us make design and long-term decisions and to become fully a part of our team.
This opportunity is only open to confident, highly motivated, organized and mature individuals willing to take on the responsibility of supervising and managing a herd of goats. The Ranch's “Goat Slope” is currently home to 10 goats, 50 hens, a pond full of tilapia, the “Honey Hut” (aforementioned cabin/kichen), and a developing orchard of jackfruit, nispero, lemon, grapefruit, durian, and rambutan. It's a magical space.
For more information please see our website:
http://www.ranchomastatal.com/pages/links/page.php?Grouping=Volunteer&Pa...
The City of Binghamton and Binghamton University are undertaking a community survey on the area’s quality of life to inform the creation of Blueprint Binghamton, the update of the City’s Comprehensive Plan.
The survey will be available online for the NEXT THREE WEEKS (through May 10th) – please take some time to complete the survey. We need to hear from YOU! The web address for the survey is: https://acsurvey.qualtrics.com/SE/?SID=SV_3QNXyFpFPm4b36J
Binghamton University students, working with Drs. Sean Massey and Susan Seibold-Simpson, and doctoral candidate Rick Kauffman from the Department of Biology, who are part of the Binghamton Neighborhood Project (BNP), will also be conducting a door-to-door survey of residents in portions of the city. The door-to-door surveys will be conducted during the next 3-4 months.
Thanks in advance for your input!
BREAKING THE SILENCE
Meet 11AM April 26th in front of the Roman Catholic Chancery in Syracuse
In 2007, Catholics who spent much of their lives opposing militarism were shocked to learn that the Roman Catholic Church announced the beatification of Austrian Catholic, Franz Jagerstatter. Jagerstatter had refused to go to war with the Nazis. In 1943, he was arrested, imprisoned, put on trial and beheaded. His parish priest, his Bishop and his village did not support his actions. There was silence. Before he was executed, Jagerstatter wrote: “If the Church stays silent in the face of what is happening, what difference would it make if no church were ever opened again?”
Some America Catholics, so disturbed by the failure of American Catholic leaders refusing to break the silence on the war in Iraq and Afghanistan, went to the beatification in Linz, Austria. When they returned, they began to write a series of letters to American Catholic Bishops asking them to speak out against the wars we were waging. After six logical, well crafted letters of respectful Christian requests to speak out were sent over a two year period to over 300 Bishops, the group calling themselves, Friends of Franz (Jagerstatter) waited for some answers. There was one response from a Romanian Catholic Bishop John Michael Botean of Ohio. It was the only letter and a letter of support for our work.
Mayor Ryan and Local Development Leaders Announce
5th Annual BLDC-EAP Business Plan Competition
BINGHAMTON, NY—Mayor Matt Ryan along with the Binghamton Local Development Corporation (BLDC) and the Broome Triad Entrepreneurial Assistance Program (EAP) based at Broome Community College announced today the details of the fifth annual BLDC-EAP Business Plan Competition, which awards $5,000 to the best plan for developing a business in the City of Binghamton. The prize money can be used only for advancing this plan.
The competition seeks to cultivate local business development, highlight BLDC financing programs and raise awareness about the EAP training and other community resources for small business growth. As with prior years’ competitions, organizers anticipate that the award will attract high quality entries, and provide useful assistance to the development of young businesses.
“The BLDC-EAP Business Plan Competition is another way we’re encouraging entrepreneurs to take a stake in our increasingly dynamic local economy,” said Mayor Ryan. “This competition offers not only a cash prize to be used for a new business in the City, but also helpful training for all those who are starting a company or are interested in doing so. It helps to increase the supply of new businesses to the city and the region”
VINES is pleased to announce that it is accepting applications for the
Binghamton Farm Share Coordinator, a new position to manage an exciting new
project to improve access to locally grown foods in our urban core.
The Binghamton Farm Share Around the Corner pilot project is a modified CSA
program that will deliver locally grown produce directly to residents at
convenient locations in Binghamton's North and West Side neighborhoods.
Residents will be able to use their SNAP benefits to purchase their
shares. Farm shares will be provided by VINES and other local farms. The
Binghamton Farm Share Coordinator will manage the overall planning and
implementation of the program. Further details are available in the
attached job description and attached program description.
Interested candidates should submit a cover letter and resume as soon as
possible to Sean Cummings, VINES Urban Farm Manager, at
sean@vinesgardens.org. For additional information, please contact Sean via
email or phone (607-205-8108 ).
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Topic of Binghamton Community Lab
BINGHAMTON, NY – The Binghamton Community Lab will host a mixer and discussion for anyone who is interested in investing locally. There is a self-pay dinner at 6:00 p.m. followed by the meeting at 7:30 p.m. Tuesday, April 16th, at the Lost Dog Café Violet Room, 222 Water Street in Binghamton. This event is free and open to the public.
Stimulating job creation and innovation and addressing community needs by nurturing a strong local economy that is less dependent on importing goods and services, and by advocating for and promoting independent locally-owned businesses, services and products, has been an area of focus for Binghamton Regional Sustainability Coalition, Binghamton Rising, and the Binghamton Community Lab since 2010.
The purpose and format of this meeting will be to expand the group of interested local investors, quickly review some of the most promising models based on the work and research of Local Economist Michael Shuman, and mostly to engage in a facilitated conversation about how to move from the concept phase to planning and implementation.
The Binghamton Community Lab is a gathering place for citizen investigators to create and support improvements that will grow a healthier, wealthier and stronger Binghamton region. The series, held regularly on the third Tuesday of each month will be facilitated by David Sloan Wilson, SUNY distinguished professor of biology and anthropology at Binghamton University and founder of the Binghamton Neighborhood Project, and David Currie, director of the Binghamton Regional Sustainability Coalition.
For additional information, contact Hadassah Head at hhead1ATbinghamton.edu.
Remember “Miss Rumphius,” the Lupine Lady? The children’s fiction book by Barbara Cooney (Puffin 1982) recounts the story of Miss Alice Rumphius, a woman who sought to make the world more beautiful by spreading lupine seeds in the wild. Flash back to New York in the 1970s and meet Liz Christy and her Green Guerillas group, who took to beautifying crumbling Manhattan neighborhoods by tossing “seed grenades” into abandoned lots. The first seed grenades, a term coined by Christy, were made from controversial ingredients: condoms filled with local wildflower seeds, water, and fertilizer. They were thrown over fences onto New York City’s wastelands in order to “green up” neglected urban land. Seed bombing, as it’s known today, is definitely punk, but it’s also a cheap and effective way for you, me, and everyone we know to transform an eyesore into a resource.
The seed bomb growing method has been practiced globally for centuries. The idea germinated in Japan with the ancient practice of “tsuchi dango,” which translates as “earth dumpling.” The idea was re-invented in the 20th Century by the Japanese farmer and philosopher, Masanobu Fukuoka, an advocate of Do-Nothing Farming and author of the classic, “One-Straw Revolution.”
Today seed bombs are wrapped in compost and clay, which protects the seeds while providing needed moisture, nutrients, and structure for seed germination and growth. The seed bomb protects seeds from being eaten by wildlife, so few seeds are needed when compared to broadcast seeding. As much as 80 percent of broadcast seeds, those scattered on the surface of the soil, can be lost before germination.
Read the complete article here http://www.good.is/posts/pimp-the-pavement-a-brief-history-of-seedbombin...
