| The hanging gardens |
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| Sunday, 11 May 2008 | |
 The concept of food sovereignty implies the active participation of citizens in a context where the cultivable land is scarce. Thus, terraces and balconies can be a feasible alternative. However, gardens on roofs require the implementation of technologies that are complex. This has led researchers to focus on new processes that allow growth to grow abundant vegetation cheaply. Despite the presence of Mont-Royal and the St. Lawrence River, Montreal remains a city concrete which generates a very high proportion of urban heat islands, especially downtown. Unlike the cities of Toronto or Portland (the USA), our city still did not have a real political struggle against the islands of heat. Several speakers, with the front row organizations such as Alternatives, just trying to use the roofs of several public buildings in order to carry out innovative experiments. Experiments innovative Already, some public places were used to conduct experiments on greening surfaces built downtown. However, the technology of green roofs lends itself better to concrete structures. That is why the wooden structures of small residential buildings should be strengthened to be able to host this type of infrastructure. Maximize the urban agriculture Depending on the area covered, green roofs can also filter the air pollution and reduce the cost of cooling buildings. However, few small property owners have the resources necessary to adapt the roof of their building to do so. Here come the approaches derived from hydroponics cultivation, a practice which could be up to four times more productive than that used in the case of a traditional garden. A true small revolution Aware of the issues in contention, a researcher in the employ of Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada, Marc-Andre Valiquette, has developed a system of hydroponics simplified to the extreme. This system uses two bins recessed into one another in order to maximize the growth of plants in urban areas. It is the opinion of the principal concerned of a "bioactive system that uses a container yard with a pool of water." Two baskets culture (small tubs containing plants) will be installed on a large rectangular box which contains a reserve of water. It creates a space so the insulation between the water supply and baskets culture hosting the ground (substrate). This process helps avoid thermal shock the roots and guarantees a good level of ventilation that will foster growth and differentiation of roots. The technical coordinator at Action Communiterre, Mathieu Roy, is simply does not. "We have installed a quarantine of vegetable trays and trays containing twenty flowers, all covering an area of approximately 400 square feet. We were surprised to harvest 100 kilograms of vegetables this summer, which is not nothing, "he said during a demonstration of prodigious system. |
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