Introducing The Eco Gazebo Prototype
Welcome to the next evolutionary step for Mezzacello Urban Farm. When I run Summer Camps or Workshops and we experience inclement weather, I have to use pup up tents to protect sensitive equipment and nervous kids in rain. Introducing The Eco Gazebo Prototype to turn this bug into a feature.
The HVAC Struggle at Mezzacello
After 10 long years of living at Mezzacello, in 2024 we finally got working furnaces (we were heating the house with gas fireplaces all these years) and two brand new AC Units - that didn’t work.
When Kids Get To Make The Rules
Mezzacello is purpose built to allow kids, families, and communities better understand sustainability, ecology, STEM content and food. One of our favorite components of this learning journey is being there for when kids get to make the rules.
Portable Energy Generation systems (PEGs)
An emerging aspect of our mission to Grow, Maintain, Sustain, and Explain is improved portable units to teach our Applied STEM systems in more locations. PEGs is the latest offering. Portable Energy Generation systems.
Our Mission, Home, Purpose, and Business
It's all hiding right there in the logo! Red Brick green tree urban farming non-profit! It's way more than the sum of its parts. It's a new way of thinking about sustainability.
Building a New Vision of the Urban Farm
This is a quick update on our journey of building a new vision of the urban farm. The house has been in need of serious attention for some time. We took out a loan and have started making Phase III of Mezzacello Urban Farm a reality.
Entering a New Phase of My Mission
This week I finally launched the PALs outreach initiative. PALs stands for Portable Ag Lab station. It will be joined shortly by the PETs (Portable Environmental Testing station) and PODs (Portable Observational Data station).
The Periodic Table as Nature Sees It
What if Mother Nature were to szhow you what the periodic table looked like? What do you think she would show you? I suggest that mother nature is not an accountant with tables and columns, but a spider, weaving life and atoms together one proton and electron at a time.
Boursin Chicken Roulette With Cabbage
This was a real surprise from Manon’s Little Kitchen! Boursin cheese, butter, salt and pepper on white cabbage. Delightful and wicked easy to make — and best of all — even better the next day! Rick included the entire dinner from Manon’s book.
Vertical Axis Wind Turbine Update
I am getting ready to expand and modify the VAWT systems at Mezzacello. I will move the two towers from the north side of sheds 1 and 2 to the south side. Read why in this blog. Learn more in a workshop at Mezzacello!
The Mobile Classroom Upgrade
This is The Mobile Classroom Upgrade. It is a steel shelving system j-Welded together, with four steel shelves, an independent front suspension with all-terrain tires. It comes standard with a 55” Monitor, onboard AC Inv erter and Backup batteries. A power strip for plugging into, a solar panel and rain cover that makes it all-season and it’s own PA system and 5G hotspot.
Portable Power and a Mobile Coop
This portable coop comes equipped with automatic feeder, a waterer, manure detection feature, wheels, a suspension and onboard power for everything powered by the sun, a solar panel and batteries.
The Age of Steel - Part 3
As Mezzacello matures and becomes more active with camps and content, we are finding time and again that steel makes the most sense in terms of infrastructure.
BioEngineering Summer Camp 2023 Guest Blog - Max
I love teaching Applied STEM summer camps. It never ceases to amaze me what kids will dream up if you give them a problem, some tools and then get out of their way. These are two BioEngineering Summer Camp 2023 Guest Blogs that were shared with me today.
An Engineered and Mobile Ecology
Last week the kids in my Biomechanics summer camp created a very innovative mobile, sustainable animal cage from scratch! Learn how they did it here.
Multiple Career Hats at Mezzacello
At Mezzacello Urban Farms kids wear different hats every day! What careers do you think they might be interested in?!
Prepping For The Environmental and Climate Justice Academy
Become a part of the Ohio EPA-funded FREE Environmental an Climate Justice Academy! Learn more here!
How Kids Can Monitor and Protect Their Environment
At a Mezzacello Urban Farm Summer Camp for Middle School Students, a team of kids tested, monitored, diagnosed a parasite, and treated a 7000kl pond and the vet approves!
Baby Garden Assassins
Baby ducks and their mother are truly garden assassins! Ther will not be a tick, a mosquito, or a cicada that will survive I should think!
Computer Power and Exponential Growth
This is a poignant reminder of the irrtional and transcendent numbers in our universe. Pi, Phi, e, and i. This tiny chip on the bottm photo has more memory than that ENTIRE BUILDING.