Comments on: Greenbelt Commission Seeks New Members

By: Rod Johnson

Rod Johnson — Fri, 10 May 2013 14:02:50 +0000

Interesting, thanks.

By: Timothy Durham

Timothy Durham — Fri, 10 May 2013 13:51:27 +0000

Thanks for that link, Steve!

By: Steve Bean

Steve Bean — Fri, 10 May 2013 13:43:04 +0000

Tim, i think the Tilian Farm Development Center, with their partners, is doing similar things: [link].

By: Timothy Durham

Timothy Durham — Fri, 10 May 2013 13:30:44 +0000

Rod,
As I understand it, the Greenbelt program just buys the development rights from current farmers (deed restrictions) so there is no pressure on them to sell to spec housing developers.

This Countryside Initiative actually resurrects dead farms and leases them to people looking to get into farming. They also teach prospective farmers HOW to farm (sustainably) and provide support along the way. It’s a pretty interesting program. I don’t get the sense from the Greenbelt website that they have anything like that. Didn’t know if there was something else going on along the lines of the Countryside Initiative. I couldn’t find it if there were.

By: Rod Johnson

Rod Johnson — Thu, 09 May 2013 17:59:49 +0000

Isn’t that kind of what the Greenbelt is all about? (At least in part.)

By: Timothy Durham

Timothy Durham — Thu, 09 May 2013 13:07:37 +0000

Is there any talk of (or does Ann Arbor/Washtenaw County already have) a program like this "Countryside Initiative" in Cuyahoga County? [link] Re-localizing the food system is going to be increasingly important. Although that's already taking place, it makes sense to make sure no more productive farmland is lost to speculative housing/shopping center developers.

By: Steve Bean

Steve Bean — Mon, 06 May 2013 11:32:11 +0000

Piggybacking on Barry and Dan’s comments on Scio Woods Preserve, a neighbor reported yesterday that she and her husband saw a scarlet tanager out there last week. We walked there with them last spring. It is a beautiful area. Nice to hear about the woodpeckers.