Amish-Inspired, STEM-Powered, Sustainability-Focused Urban Farm
Education is an active sport., and mentorship is a two-way street. If we want to change the world, we must also be willing to change ourselves, to fail and be willing to take risks, and ultimately to succeed. Children NEED to be part of that transformation and conversation. Welcome to Mezzacello Urban Farm.
The Foodist: Poor Man’s Pate
Winter is here and it is cold! It is definitely time for a rich and hearty, homemade cream of mushroom soup. It is rich, thick, and filling and loaded on a piece of homemade toasted bread and homemade butter it is divine!
Privacy, Protection, Poison, and Poultry
On the southern border of Mezzacello Urban Farm, we have a bold hedge of Manhattan Euonymus that adds a level of privacy and protection to the farm. It’s a clean hedge that we were able to propagate easily. It is however poison to poultry.
Metro J-Term 2026: Keeping Tilapia From Drowning
In this class, part of the Project INCA Sustain | Ability J-Term topic we discuss aquatic ecologies and fish. What we learned is that there are different aquatic environments, and the "Upside Down" of our life below water differ as well. Tilapia do not thrive in static ponds.
Metro J-Term 2026: Ribosomes and Tailored Proteins
Day three at Metro Middle School and it's time to switch the script on the biodome. Four student teams were created with specific folding instructions to make VERY specific protein structures that go together in specific ways. The dome emerged after just 10 minutes this way,
The Foodist: Oyster and Bacon Chowder
If you need a superb winter chowder that will warm everyone up and is delicious, this is it! Do not underestimate the depth of flavbor the oysters bring to this recipe. This oyster and bacon chowder was gone in an evening!
Metro J-Term 2026: Proteins, Rabbits, and Biodomes
10 days at The Metro Schools teaching five periods of 5,6,7, and 8th grade students #urbanfarming #stemeducation and biology, bioengineering, and simple machines. My innovation this year was creating three teams in each period. There were surprises.
Metro Blog: Infrastructure
The end of the first whole week of Metro Middle School J-Term, “Project Inca”. The kids have explored nature, biology. mechanical engineering, and sustainability. They have built a power system and a biodome.
Introduction to 2026 Sustain/Ability Programming
The 2026 Theme for Mezzacello Urban Farm’s Spring and Summer programming will be “Sustain/Ability”. The programming will continue to explore sustainability, energy, ecology, and STEAM-Focused problem solving. We are launching our programming January 10 - 24 at Metro School here in Columbus, OH.
Why The Amish Inspiration?
People ask us why we reference the Amish so much as an inspiration to building Mezzacello Urban Farm. The answer is simple. The Amish are a Venn Diagram to growing food and creating simple systems of production and achieving meaningful sustainability.
The Foodist: NYE Sustainable French Breakfast
In the spirit of renewal and sustainability I planned a fresh homemade breakfast from resources mainly found at Mezzacello Urban Farm. Eggs, herbs, vegetables, milled flour, homemade bread, butter, and cheese, and wine. It came out great and fills me with hope.
Exploring More Durable Outdoor Storage Bins
Plastic Bin revisited here and more on Polypropylene Resin options. I am really fond of these Craftsman and Plano toolbxes. They are watertight (100%) and they resist UV, CO, and CO2 degradation. During the Life Finds a Way summer camp this year, Team “Questionable Ethics” Placed a note to the fish in a Plano toolbox and lowered it to the bottom of the pond.
The End of an Era: Loudspeaker
The End of an Era: The Mezzacello Portable Loudspeaker has died. The USB C plug has come apart from the motherboard and it will no longer charge. Do I toss it or do I figure out how to get a charger adapted to the motherboard?
Plastic Bins, UV, CO, and Failure
Plastic Bins, UV, CO, and Failure. This blog discusses which plastic bins you can rely on on an urban farm, and which ones you must not use. It all comes down to sunlight, pollution, and chemistry, folks.
Bladerunner Bread and Other Data Recording Hacks
I am a visual learner. I also love data as long as I can see the patterns clearly. Recently I started experimenting with baking bread and I was looking for a way to visually determine what made the bread perfect. I stole this idea from the movie, Bladerunner, recording aspects of the bread on the bread itself.
Building a Biodome With Straws, Chickens, and Dignity
My CCS intern, Marcus, and I pulled together content to teach a three-hour Sustainability In Science workshop. We wanted to cover three science and engineering-based topics. We chose testing pH, Understanding protein folding, and building a biodome. That turned out to be so much more than just a biodome.
Project INCA: The Calm Before The Storm
We are officially into the winter season 2025/2026 at Mezzacello Urban Farm. My intern Marcus and I presented to the Youth Innovation Alliance about our plans for Project INCA yesterday. Today I thought I would provide some insight on Project INCA: The Calm Before The Storm.
STEM Day at CAHS
This post is a section of my fantastic intern, Marcus’, presentation at Columbus Alternative High School. Marcus and I planned this presentation, and Marcus and I taught the first iteration. We succeeded and failed and now we know more. We will be presenting again next Wednesday.
Project INCA Programming 2026
Every year at Mezzacello Urban Farm we try to tailor our experiences around a theme. In the past, those themes have been Project Martian, Project BioLEGO, Project BioTech, Project Renewables, and Project SEE (Sustainability, Energy, and Ecology). This year, it is Project INCA (Innovating Nutrient Capture and Adaptability). All of our programming will build experiences in adaptive reuse of water, robotics, energy, and automation.
Building Our Human Skills
What do you think of the value of meditation or daydreaming? I teach it as a fundamental aspect of the human lived experience. I make space for it, and I empower the kids who come to my camps to engage in it.