The Urban Soils Institute is proud to participate in the SUBMERGE Marine Science Festival, held at Pier 84 on Friday, May 17th. USI will be holding an informative tabling session with a focus on subaqueous soils, bogs, marshes, wetlands etc.

SUBMERGE is an annual two-day celebration of our local waterways located on Pier 84. This event will feature a diverse array of hands-on marine science, opportunities to meet local wildlife and the chance to get on the Hudson River, SUBMERGE offers so many science-centric activities for the whole family to enjoy!

While Saturday is open to science lovers of all ages, Friday is all about NYC students. During this special day of SUBMERGE, teachers can book a field trip to attend the festival and learn from STEM experts across New York.

More Information: SUBMERGE Marine Science Festival – Friday, May 17 — Hudson River Park

The Urban Soils Institute is proud to participate in GreenThumb’s 40th Annual Grow Together Conference, held at the Herbert Von King Cultural Arts Center at 670 Lafayette St. in Brooklyn. Learn about lanternfly mitigation, trellising, and the basics of natural dyeing with plants. Join us for skill shares and hands-on learning experience to expand your gardening knowledge.

We will also be testing soil!

This event is hosted by NYC Parks GreenThumb. GreenThumb is proud to be the nation’s largest urban community gardening program, sustaining over 550 gardens throughout New York City. With GreenThumb’s support, community gardens are centers of environmental justice, ensuring that our city is fairer, safer, and greener for all. GreenThumb’s events are free and open to the public.

More info: 40th Annual GreenThumb GrowTogether Conference: Brooklyn - May 4, 2024 : NYC Parks (nycgovparks.org)

Registration:GreenThumb Workshops Registration : NYC Parks (nycgovparks.org)

Instructions:

1. Gather a plastic bag with about a cup of soil from your yard or garden, surface to 4’’ depth works best. Please clearly identify the bag so you can find it. Out of courtesy for other attendees, there is a maximum of 3 samples per person

2. Bring your sample to our drop-off station, located on the porch at SWALE House in the Nolan Park area of Governors Island. Location is indicated on the map.

3. We will test your sample for heavy metals content within 10 minutes and have it waiting for you on the porch at the pick-up table.
Sample drop-off deadline: 3:30 pm

Why Test Soil?

Soils are one of our most important resources, but they can easily become contaminated as a result of industrial activity and legacy pollution. Common soil contaminants, such as lead or cadmium, can cause negative health effects to folks who work and play with soils, with young children at particular risk.

Fortunately, remediating soil that is contaminated with heavy metals can be inexpensive and doesn’t require professional services when contamination is found – that’s where we come in! Our state-of-the-art handheld pXRF analyzer quickly screens soil samples for heavy metals content, and lets us know if remediation is recommended.

The Urban Soils Institute is proud to participate in The Newburgh Urban Farming Fair for the third year in a row! Come visit us and support the wonderful efforts of the Newburgh Urban Food and Farm Initiative to combat food insecurity in underserved communities. Also make sure to get your soil tested!

The Newburgh Urban Farming Fair is a celebration of fresh food, local vendors, crafts, and farm fun. Attendees will learn about urban farming and gardening and participate in “how-to demonstrations” about what they can do in their own yards and neighborhoods.

More info: Fair — Newburgh Urban Farm and Food Initiative

Soil Testing Instructions:

1. Gather a plastic bag with about a cup of soil from your yard or garden, surface to 4’’ depth works best. Please clearly identify the bag so you can find it. Out of courtesy for other attendees, there is a maximum of 3 samples per person

2. Bring your sample to our drop-off station, located on the porch at SWALE House in the Nolan Park area of Governors Island. Location is indicated on the map.

3. We will test your sample for heavy metals content within 10 minutes and have it waiting for you on the porch at the pick-up table.
Sample drop-off deadline: 3:30 pm

Why Test Soil?

Soils are one of our most important resources, but they can easily become contaminated as a result of industrial activity and legacy pollution. Common soil contaminants, such as lead or cadmium, can cause negative health effects to folks who work and play with soils, with young children at particular risk.

Fortunately, remediating soil that is contaminated with heavy metals can be inexpensive and doesn’t require professional services when contamination is found – that’s where we come in! Our state-of-the-art handheld pXRF analyzer quickly screens soil samples for heavy metals content, and lets us know if remediation is recommended.

The Human Impacts Institute invites you to join us for our Creative Climate Awards Opening Night 2024! Join us for a night of creativity and inspiration at 38 Washington St, where we will celebrate "Solutions from the Frontlines". Get ready to immerse yourself in a world of art, innovation, and sustainability. This in-person event will showcase amazing works from 58 artists from 28 countries - all who are passionate about making a positive impact on our environment.

Be prepared for an evening filled with live performances, special guests, and breathtaking artwork from around the world, all dedicated to inspiring BIG, BOLD, and BEAUTIFUL climate action. You won't want to miss this kick-off event full of inspiring performances and innovative ways to address climate change from artists around the world. Stay for champagne from Moët and Chandon as you engage with amazing climate action and art. End the night with our procession to the base of the Manhattan Bridge, where we will project climate art and actions from communities most impacted by the climate crisis!

More info: Creative Climate Awards Opening Night 2024 Tickets, Sun, Apr 21, 2024 at 5:00 PM | Eventbrite

This earth day, join our close collaborators (and neighbors on Governors Island), The Institute for Public Architecture (IPA), as they partner with Governors Island to celebrate Earth Day with free edu­ca­tion­al activ­i­ties and work­shops for all ages, guid­ed nature walking tours, and vol­un­teer stew­ard­ship projects. The IPA will host workshops in Colonels Row on Sat­ur­day, April 20th from 10:30am to 3pm. Join us at the Block House at 5pm for a Fellow Talk with Kaja Kühl, Principal of youarethecity and IPA 2014 Fellow, for Buildings As Carbon Sinks.

In this talk, Kühl will present an alternative approach in which buildings can act as carbon sinks, storing thousands of tons of CO2 within their walls as emissions from buildings are reaching an all-time high. Based on recent research and built projects using hemp lime, she will discuss the potential of bio-based materials to radically rethink construction methods and materials towards regenerative and circular building practices.

All events are free and open to the public. No advance registration is required. A reception will follow the Fellow Talk. 

More Information: 2024 Earth Day - Institute for Public Architecture

Thank you all for coming to the in-person sessions of Metabolism of Cities: Pt. 2. It was a blast to host you!

Virtual sessions coming up for Nov. 30 and Dec. 1.
You don’t want to miss this.

The symposium platform, through soils, brings diverse backgrounds,
disciplines, and sectors together to share, inquire and collaborate in holistic
solutions.

Metabolism of Cities embraces collaborative work towards metabolism
repair of our built environments, engaging efforts at different scales.
Session topics: Take Care of your own $hit, and The Clay Exchange - are
invitations to think about soils and their roles in our lives to help find
opportunities for metabolism repair of our built systems and structures for true
sustainability- with us being part of our environment.

An invitation for all who interact and are interested in the world supported by
soils. Be part of the discussions. Bring your projects, ideas, research, stories,
and explorations to share.
Soils Unite!

Our presenters list is live!

Check out the latest event information here: https://urbansoils.org/symposium-2023

Metabolism of Cities Virtual Sessions
Nov. 30; 9:15 am - 2 pm EST
Dec. 1; 3:30 pm - 8 pm EST
Virtual on Zoom

Free to attend

Agenda at a Glance

Thursday, November 30th

• Grounded in Clay: The Spirit of Pueblo Pottery
  Povi Romero, Native American Arts Fellow, Vilcek Foundations

• Cement Sinkers versus Clay Tinkers
  Stephanie Garon, Artist, Writer, Poet, Cornell University, Maryland Institute College of Art (MICA); Dana Bourland, AICP, A dynamic and visionary leader, advancing social and environmental justice.

• What is the best way to design constructed soils to achieve better phytomanagement outcomes?
  Maha Collet-Deeb, PhD, Soil Scientist Researcher at University of Applied Sciences and Arts, Western Switzerland

• Countercolonial Motions
  Emilie Houssart, Dutch-American artist and curator; Hernán Jourdan, Interdisciplinary Artist & Film Maker

• Foundations for Sustainability
  Dan Fiscus, PhD, Research Alliance for Regenerative Economics; Brian Fath, PhD, Towson University, Department of Biological Sciences Senior Research Scholar, Advancing Systems Analysis, International Institute for Applied Systems Analysis, Austria
  
  Friday, December 1st

• Terra Dispositions
  Alec Rovensky, Residency Director, Institute for Public Architecture

• The Right to Sewage
  Seth Denizen, PhD, researcher & design practitioner trained in landscape architecture, human geography, Assistant Professor at Washington University in St Louis

• DITCHIN#39: Carving out space in opposite fields
  Heather McMordie, Artist, Printmaker; Ed Landa, PhD, Soil Scientist Adjunct Professor at the Department of Env. Science & Technology, University of Maryland

• Funding Cuts Community Compost
  Marisa DeDominicis, Executive Director, Earth Matter

• Metabolism Repair Discussion
  Paul Mankiewicz, PhD, Dan Walsh, PhD, Dan Fiscus, PhD & Brian Fath, PhD

8th Annual Urban Soils Symposium

This is a platform bringing together different disciiplines, sectors, and backgrounds for discussion and building action items together. We are inviting you to bring your projects, ideas, research, stories, and explorations to share.

The mission of the symposium is to collaboratively discover, gain, and evolve our understandings of soils and their support of the workings of the world, through cross-disciplinary learning from soils and each other.

The format of the symposium is intended to be interactive, with time and priorities aimed at full audience, speaker & participant discussion, deliberations, development of hypothesis, methods, and ideas, leading to solutions and implementation through collaborations.

Soils Unite!

Thank you all for coming to the in-person sessions of Metabolism of Cities: Pt. 2. It was a blast to host you!

Virtual sessions coming up for Nov. 30 and Dec. 1.
You don’t want to miss this.

The symposium platform, through soils, brings diverse backgrounds,
disciplines, and sectors together to share, inquire and collaborate in holistic
solutions.

Metabolism of Cities embraces collaborative work towards metabolism
repair of our built environments, engaging efforts at different scales.
Session topics: Take Care of your own $hit, and The Clay Exchange - are
invitations to think about soils and their roles in our lives to help find
opportunities for metabolism repair of our built systems and structures for true
sustainability- with us being part of our environment.

An invitation for all who interact and are interested in the world supported by
soils. Be part of the discussions. Bring your projects, ideas, research, stories,
and explorations to share.
Soils Unite!

Our presenters list is live!

Check out the latest event information here: https://urbansoils.org/symposium-2023

Metabolism of Cities Virtual Sessions
Nov. 30; 9:15 am - 2 pm EST
Dec. 1; 3:30 pm - 8 pm EST
Virtual on Zoom

Free to attend

Agenda at a Glance

Thursday, November 30th

• Grounded in Clay: The Spirit of Pueblo Pottery
  Povi Romero, Native American Arts Fellow, Vilcek Foundations

• Cement Sinkers versus Clay Tinkers
  Stephanie Garon, Artist, Writer, Poet, Cornell University, Maryland Institute College of Art (MICA); Dana Bourland, AICP, A dynamic and visionary leader, advancing social and environmental justice.

• What is the best way to design constructed soils to achieve better phytomanagement outcomes?
  Maha Collet-Deeb, PhD, Soil Scientist Researcher at University of Applied Sciences and Arts, Western Switzerland

• Countercolonial Motions
  Emilie Houssart, Dutch-American artist and curator; Hernán Jourdan, Interdisciplinary Artist & Film Maker

• Foundations for Sustainability
  Dan Fiscus, PhD, Research Alliance for Regenerative Economics; Brian Fath, PhD, Towson University, Department of Biological Sciences Senior Research Scholar, Advancing Systems Analysis, International Institute for Applied Systems Analysis, Austria
  
  Friday, December 1st

• Terra Dispositions
  Alec Rovensky, Residency Director, Institute for Public Architecture

• The Right to Sewage
  Seth Denizen, PhD, researcher & design practitioner trained in landscape architecture, human geography, Assistant Professor at Washington University in St Louis

• DITCHIN#39: Carving out space in opposite fields
  Heather McMordie, Artist, Printmaker; Ed Landa, PhD, Soil Scientist Adjunct Professor at the Department of Env. Science & Technology, University of Maryland

• Funding Cuts Community Compost
  Marisa DeDominicis, Executive Director, Earth Matter

• Metabolism Repair Discussion
  Paul Mankiewicz, PhD, Dan Walsh, PhD, Dan Fiscus, PhD & Brian Fath, PhD

8th Annual Urban Soils Symposium

This is a platform bringing together different disciiplines, sectors, and backgrounds for discussion and building action items together. We are inviting you to bring your projects, ideas, research, stories, and explorations to share.

The mission of the symposium is to collaboratively discover, gain, and evolve our understandings of soils and their support of the workings of the world, through cross-disciplinary learning from soils and each other.

The format of the symposium is intended to be interactive, with time and priorities aimed at full audience, speaker & participant discussion, deliberations, development of hypothesis, methods, and ideas, leading to solutions and implementation through collaborations.

Soils Unite!

METABOLISM OF CITIES: AN INVITATION TO EXPLORE NATURE’S METABOLISMS & THE METABOLISMS OF OUR BUILT WORLDS; DISCOVERING THE PROBLEMS AND FINDING THE OPPORTUNITIES FOR TRUE SUSTAINABILITY.

Our built environments, driven by consumption, mimic and employ part of Nature’s metabolism, but disconnect from it at the point where we create the waste stream. This disconnection triggers a cascade of issues socially, culturally, environmentally, and economically.

Metabolism of Nature runs the living planet with each organism playing its part; sustaining, optimizing, recovering, breaking and building, under the unnegotiable laws of Nature.

SOILS: are the dynamic force supporting all life that runs the planet.

Integrating them back into the built environment reconnects us to the non-built environments, making soils the fundamental opportunity for metabolism repair, enabling true sustainable development for human and environmental health & wellness.

This is a platform bringing together different disciplines, sectors, and backgrounds for discussion and building action items together. We are inviting you to bring your projects, ideas, research, stories, and explorations to share.

Soils Unite!

No registration required - just show up!

November 17, 2023 Session - Collaboration hub

Friday, November 17, 2023, 1 1 am - 3 pm EST at SWALE House on Governors Island, New York City

USI and SWALE invite you over for conversation, partnership building, demonstrations and collaborative projects at SWALE House Nolan Park House #11, Governors Island. Something you want to discuss or share? Bring it with you!

On the agenda (still building as we receive contributing activities so stay tuned and keep checking):

• People’s Garden: Collaborative programming for the Ecosystem based food garden at SWALE House

• Partner bringing a demo on designing DIY for reintroducing ecosystems back into our daily urban landscapes using microbial mentors!

• Collaborative development of USI’s “Take Care” Series, because like with soils, it’s all about team work!

METABOLISM OF CITIES: AN INVITATION TO EXPLORE NATURE’S METABOLISMS & THE METABOLISMS OF OUR BUILT WORLDS; DISCOVERING THE PROBLEMS AND FINDING THE OPPORTUNITIES FOR TRUE SUSTAINABILITY.

Our built environments, driven by consumption, mimic and employ part of Nature’s metabolism, but disconnect from it at the point where we create the waste stream. This disconnection triggers a cascade of issues socially, culturally, environmentally, and economically.

Metabolism of Nature runs the living planet with each organism playing its part; sustaining, optimizing, recovering, breaking and building, under the unnegotiable laws of Nature.

SOILS: are the dynamic force supporting all life that runs the planet.

Integrating them back into the built environment reconnects us to the non-built environments, making soils the fundamental opportunity for metabolism repair, enabling true sustainable development for human and environmental health & wellness.

This is a platform bringing together different disciplines, sectors, and backgrounds for discussion and building action items together. We are inviting you to bring your projects, ideas, research, stories, and explorations to share.

Soils Unite!

November 16, 2023 Session - The clay exchange!

Thursday, November 16, 2023, 9:30 am - 5 pm EST at the LMCC Arts Center, Governors Island, New York City

Lunch and Refreshments provided; Beer & Wine Happy Hour

From a scientific standpoint, clay is a particle size classification, but it is by far the most charismatic one of all. Through infinitesimally small pieces, clay is able to exit the realm of purely matter and become something else entirely. It is equal parts substance, chemistry and electricity, and through these unique properties, is able to channel both biochemical and creative exchange.

Clay multiplies the reactive surfaces of other larger particles in the same way the Amazon Rainforest would to the surface of the moon. Rocks eventually decompose to clay, and clay proceeds to archive the developmental history of the broader soil, much the same way your kitchen sponge remembers the pasta bolognese from three weeks ago.

Clay is a governor of water and capillarity, and a prophet of ecosystem functions, with properties varying greatly according to origin, structure and charge.

Slippery, sticky, expanding, plastic-hard, clay changes as it is worked, fired, or mixed. Art and industry understood the dynamics of clay and its unusual characteristics to produce glass and ceramics for millennia, long before scanning probes and atomic force microscopy sought to demystify it. Nonetheless, the intuition of a skilled clay artisan often evades even the most rigorous laboratory analysis.

A world of mysteries is still to be uncovered exploring the phenomena of clay. One thing for certain is that clay is both a material and metaphor facilitating conversation among science, art and culture.

METABOLISM OF CITIES: AN INVITATION TO EXPLORE NATURE’S METABOLISMS & THE METABOLISMS OF OUR BUILT WORLDS; DISCOVERING THE PROBLEMS AND FINDING THE OPPORTUNITIES FOR TRUE SUSTAINABILITY.

Our built environments, driven by consumption, mimic and employ part of Nature’s metabolism, but disconnect from it at the point where we create the waste stream. This disconnection triggers a cascade of issues socially, culturally, environmentally, and economically.

Metabolism of Nature runs the living planet with each organism playing its part; sustaining, optimizing, recovering, breaking and building, under the unnegotiable laws of Nature.

SOILS: are the dynamic force supporting all life that runs the planet.

Integrating them back into the built environment reconnects us to the non-built environments, making soils the fundamental opportunity for metabolism repair, enabling true sustainable development for human and environmental health & wellness.

This is a platform bringing together different disciplines, sectors, and backgrounds for discussion and building action items together. We are inviting you to bring your projects, ideas, research, stories, and explorations to share.

Soils Unite!

November 15, 2023 Session - Take Care of Your Own $hit!

Wednesday, November 15, 2023, 9:30 am - 5 pm EST, at the LMCC Arts Center, Governors Island, New York City

Lunch and Refreshments provided; Beer & Wine Happy Hour

Growing metabolism repair from waste. At present, Cities mimic Nature’s metabolism, but are fundamentally disconnected from it. This disconnection produces profound waste, and misallocation of resources and energy. High urban temperatures, environmental pollution, poor social outcomes, and inefficient supply chains are just some of the outcomes of the broken metabolic state of cities. Opportunities for sustainable development and quality of life are possible through metabolism repair, where anthropogenic waste streams and energy flows are reconnected back into a healthy exchange supported by soils.

Consumerism to waste: social, material, and energy flows, data, media, technology, Going “Green”, economy, value, commodity, quality, development, sustainability, convenience.

This is the kick-off event for the ‘Take Care’ Series, a series of workshops and demonstrations continuing into 2024. We welcome your thoughts, questions, ideas for future ‘Take Care’ topics.