RUST – The Radical Urban Sustainability Training – is back!
We will be offering a class in Albany, NY , on October 2-3 , 2010. For more info see:
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The Radix Ecological Sustainability Center
posted Aug 30, 2010
Scott Kellogg and his daughter on the site of the future Radix Center.
Scott Kellogg wants to teach you to live greener and be more self-sustaining — you know, grow your own food, raise a little livestock.
Hey, city dwellers — this means you.
Kellogg and Stacy Pettigrew are the founders of the Rhizome Collective, a center for community organizing and urban sustainability in Austin Texas, and the authors of The Toolbox for Sustainable City Living.
Now they live in Albany, and they’re building a space called The Radix Center to teach city dwellers and suburbanites alike to do everything from compost with worms and grow porch mushrooms, to collect rainwater and raise their own fish.
Scott says not only is this possible, you’re actually going to enjoy it.
So what is the plan for the Radix Center?
We want to use the space as a demonstration site for ecologically sustainable tools and technology. We want to teach people to have more control over life resources — chiefly food, with the ultimate goal that they be replicable. Our first structure will be a greenhouse. We’ll teach people to compost with worms, remediate soil in their backyards, grow their own food, raise small livestock like chickens and goats, collect rainwater and raise fish and plants in ornamental ponds.
We’ve acquired a half acre lot in the south end of Albany on the corner of Grand and Warren Streets. We’ve gotten a use variance for the property and we’re applying for a permit to construct a 20 x 60 greenhouse — that will be the first building on the property. We actually got permission to keep some small livestock — chickens and goats — as well.
Raise fish in the city?
Sure, if people have small yards, they can put in ornamental ponds and create an aquaculture where they raise fish and aquatic plants.
There’s a lot you can do in the city. You can grow mushrooms on the porch or in the bathroom. You can compost with worms. You can have a backyard or rooftop garden You can collect rainwater in barrels…
see the article and comments at
http://alloveralbany.com/archive/2010/08/30/the-radix-ecological-sustainability-center
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This bed was made with rocks that were pulled out of the fields and thrown into a wall pile on an old farm north of Albany. It was built without mortar, which took a really long time! It has been planted with strawberries and greens.
Raised bed in progress.
Landscape fabric was laid on the bottom of the bed inside the rocks to prevent plant roots from getting into the subsoil – a good measure to take when soil toxicity levels are unknown.
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We installed 2 packages of bees with Russian queens. Russians are supposed to be more cold and mite tolerant than the typical Italian honeybee.
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In December we got 2 pregnant goats- Beauty and Marigold. We set up a temporary space for them across the street from our apartment until we are more established at the Radix Center site.
A very pregnant Beauty the day before she kidded.
Marigold - she is due later in the spring
Last Saturday morning Beauty gave birth to 2 kids after a challenging labor. Luckily we had an experienced goat midwife present to assist!
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Scott Kellogg and Stacy Pettigrew started work this week on their new project – the Radix Ecological Sustainability Center. After many months spent clearing regulatory hurdles, we’ve gotten the green light from the city of Albany to begin work. With construction permit in hand, we’ve started to dig holes for cedar fence posts on the half acre property. Numerous boulders and concrete slabs provide fun challenges, but we are excited to get going on this new endeavor. We plan to have a new Radix website containing details about the project up soon. Also, look for an upcoming new workshop series in Summer 2010!
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This September, students from Tech Valley High School in Rensselaer, NY used the Radix Center’s vacant lot for a class project. They identified insects and plants, and designed site plans for the future educational center. 
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The apartment gets even smaller….
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Funds from the 2008 Albany RUST workshop were used to buy gravel for the Albany Free School’s playgound. The gravel forms an impervious barrier, preventing contact with the lead contaminated soil that is ubiquitous in inner city Albany.
Funds from 2007 Albany RUST were used to buy the wood for this arbor. Built by work exchange students and volunteer carpenter Skye, it is located next to a cob bread oven on a green space used by the Albany Free School community. 
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