Lesson: Animal Evolution Body Puzzle
Lesson identifying different parts of three distinct species of animal and finding commonalities and needs among them.
Lesson: Ecosystem Anomalies
This is a fun search and ID lesson where students work in teams with a hula hoop to take surveys on ecosystems to find a mystery.
Lesson: Basic Sanitation 101
Sanitation is a critical skillset on an urban farm. This lesson introduces students to the basics of sanitation and pathology.
Lesson: Creating an Ecosystem
Students will create a map or maquette of the ecosystems of Mezzacello and determine using science and data if it is an ecosystem.
Lesson: Magnetism 101
Students will learn the mystery of magnetism. From the quantum to the electro-mechanical students will explore all types of magnets.
New Mezzacello Portrait
This is the New Mezzacello Portrait. It was designed by our neighbor and talented friend, Gabriel Gatton. It may be my favorite thing ever! Read more!
Harvest, Hunger, and the Art of Preservation
The harvesting of food is the single greatest chore in urban farming, the next greatest is preserving it!
The Boy Scouts Were Right; Always Be Prepared
I found a duck on a clutch of eggs and rather than act right then to help, I did the wrong thing. Be a boy scout.
Fishy Business
When you start something new like an entire garden system with multiple gardens and systems, things surprise you, like the fishy business.
Animal Harvest Day at Mezzacello
This one is a bit grim, but super important if you want animals in your ecosystem and not just pets. Everything matters.
Musings on Energy
The blog post where I muse on the intersection between, life, art, physics and metaphysics. A little Rock and Roll, Voltaire, and Newton, with some Clerk Maxwell!
Sustainability and Renewal
The secret to sustainability is finding ways to reintegrate waste and produce more than you started with. Repeat and add diversity.
Fear, Necessity, Economics and the Future
Hence Mezzacello Exists. This is a reflection on the past, the present, and the future.
The Ghost Foundations of Mezzacello
Since 1868 when the house was built, there have been three houses built and destroyed here to the south of us. The foundations remain.
Too Much Nitrogen, Not Enough Nutrients
After a hopeful start, I realized I missed the mark on nutrients, minerals and compost vs manure. Another season.
A Sustainable Aquatic Ecosystem
A big hole, bigger dreams, some resources, disasters, and a summer later, we have a pond. And there were ducks.
Practical Water Management
Water is one of the holy trinity of resources in an urban ecosystem, alongside biomass, and flora and fauna.
Urban Farm, Urban Problems
Urban Farm, urban problems vandals, theft and working out the path of sustainability and ecosystems. We rebuild and keep working.
The City/Farm Garden
The Systems Approach to life expects one to look at pattern, process, and structure. That's what we have done here at Mezzacello.
Why "Poor Boys Have Poor Ways"?
This was our original inspiration for starting Mezzacello. We had vision, but no funds. Ben Franklin and Thomas Jefferson, “Poor boys have poor ways”, and “Living in the past, for the future”. These lay at the heart of what Mezzacello Urban Farm is.