What better way to start off the summer season than to get handsy with some soil microbes and friends on Governors Island?
The Hénaff Laboratory for Living Interfaces is really excited to be the research arm in the People’s Eco-System, “a community of people, native edible landscapes, and programs that will become part of your ‘backyard’ here on Governors Island at the Institute for Public Architecture, Earth Matter, and on the Floating Garden SWALE Barge.” Organized by the Urban Soils Institute, with support in part from USDA-NRCS, and funded by the Maxwell Hanrahan Foundation, the People’s Eco-System builds on the People’s Garden Initiative and is an opportunity to build and restore ecosystem-based food systems for food sovereignty in urban environments.
As part of the lab’s research, they will sample soil and airborne microbes from the terrestrial food-producing ecosystems at Earth Matter’s brand-new Soil Start Terrace to assess variation in microbial biodiversity across soil substrates. In addition, the lab will also be hosting some on-site workshops this summer, so stay tuned to get your hands muddy!