Today, around 55 percent of the world's population is thought to be living in an urban area or city, with that figure set to rise to 68 percent over the coming decades. As cities increase in size, new and sustainable ways to grow enough food to feed the people inhabiting them will need to be developed. One such way is urban farming and one such organisation leading the way is Center Park, an educational urban farm located on the roof of the Dizengoff Center, Israel's first shopping centre which opened in Tel Aviv in 1983.
Center Park is a joint venture between the Dizengoff Center and the
LivinGreen company, an Israeli company that has helped pioneer soil-less
aquaponic and
hydroponic farming solutions. Not long ago my dad and I joined a tour of the rooftop gardens to see how this unique farm offers a method of cultivating vegetables, leafy greens and herbs without soil in an urban environment.
The farm grows only local species, according to the season and is open to the general public for tours and workshops. We were shown the
biodynamic bee hive, below, and learnt the purpose of the bees' important activity. We saw the nursery for tree seedlings and the garden built to attract butterflies and to teach their environmental value. We were taught about energy efficiency and the actions taken to reduce the carbon footprint of the Dizengoff Center. There is a domestic
biogas system at the farm that demonstrates how organic waste can be turned into gas using microbes, which can be used for cooking and operating generators.
Vegetables being grown at Center Park include lettuce, chard, celery, spinach and green onions. While the farm does have some soil-based plants at the site, the crops grown for consumption are using the aquaponic and hydroponic methods, which means growing food plants in water without any bedding whatsoever, with the nourishment materials being dissolved in the water. Advantages of the methods are the lightweight nature of the system compared to soil, as well as the simple installation and easy ability to grow food. Apparently three or four times the amount can be grown using these methods than in the ground, which can be a very good solution for the future in order to feed people in urban areas. In addition, the techniques are so simple you only need two or three farmers to produce thousands of vegetables per month.
Currently 15 restaurants in Tel Aviv and a number of self-service stands inside the Dizengoff Center are the beneficiaries of Center Park's produce but, and perhaps more importantly, the organisation is helping build a blueprint that could benefit countless people around the world in the coming decades. They believe that everyone living in the city can grow agricultural produce on his or her own using these simple methods and at low cost, and that the main benefit is quality and healthy food.
Workshops at the farm teach the participants about urban agriculture, cultivation methods and the various technologies, as well as about the ways to implement them at home, office or school.
My dad and I came away inspired and excited by what we'd seen.
