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.
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.
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.
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.
Introducing Project INCA
This winter 2025 I am making plans for an ambitious remodel of the potager, pond, and water and carbon sequestration systems. I call this plan Project INCA (Innovating Nutrient Capture and Adaptation) Here are the basics.
Carbon BioMass on an Urban Farm
Carbon is a valuable resource on this planet. It can be as minuscule as smoke and soot or as massive as a tree. Mezzacello Urban Farm is sustainable in it’s philosophy, mission, and action. This is a blog post about how much carbon biomass on a farm there really is.
October 2025 GIFT Presentation
Welcome to Mezzacello Urban Farm. This is a presentation to the Global innovation Field Trip 24-hour STEM presentation event. In this presentation I am explaining the portable solar powered mobile tractor designed and built by 2025 Summer Camp Kids. In addition, this presentation highlights the other innovations put in place - by kids - to truly make this concept sustainable.
When Mezzacello Makes It Work
Mezzacello Urban Farm is a love letter to sustainability. The summer camps are not a SEPARATE aspect of the ecologies and systems of Mezzacello’s sustainability. They are an integral piece to the life, functionality, and innovation of the urban farm.
Patience Is a Survival Skill
There was a great deal we didn’t know when we purchased the 1868 house and the two plots of land to the south 10 years ago. We have been learning as we go all along. I am a big fan of Stephanie Travis from the YouTube series, “Escape to the Chateau” She recently released an episode where she mused about what she has learned and many of her points resonated with me. Here are those points (and a few of my Amens of my own).
2025: The Story So Far
2025 is our 10th year trying to make sustainability and applied STEM accessible to all. But it has been a challenge no doubt. The calendar here shows the journey so far. Our $100K operational budget was slashed by $75K in March with the loss of three big grants. There were 12 kids who had been training to be leaders for three months. I could not let these kids down. But now I am in great danger.