Buffalo Rising Online

Andrew Delmonte, a film student home for summer break helped me to document the exhibition that culminates the Architecture Institute of America’s local chapters project with Buffalo Schools, “Architecture + Education” this year. An exhibit of student works was hosted at CEPA Gallery last weekend, featuring the work of students at Buffalo Academy for Visual and Performing Arts, Hutchinson Technical High School, Discovery School, and Waterfront Elementary.

We had the opportunity to speak with Olivia and Nicholas, students in kindergarten at Discovery School. David Granville was “in the house,” representing the Mayor’s office, along with representatives from the Superintendent of Schools. In this picture, the children help with the rib…

Urban Roots Community Garden Center has an unusual selection of heirloom and hard to find varieties of flowers this year, carefully researched and selected by board member, Claire Schneider, who is also a Curator of Contemporary Art at the Albright Knox Art Gallery. Once Claire found the seeds for these unusual plants, she connected with a local grower, who grew the flowers just for Urban Roots. In this video, we talk about some of these special varieties, available exclusively at Urban Roots in the Buffalo area. The video includes images of these flowers and designs for how we see the store evolving, both inside and out.

Annette Daniels Taylor, poet, actress, performer, and mom--a woman I am always trying to watch perform but I always end up missing--has done us all a favor, she has started publishing to YouTube. Annette was one of the performers and organizers of Mamapalooza this year. In this video, Annette, other mom/artists and their kids are taking a tour of City Hall, hosted by David Granville, Director of the Buffalo Arts Commission.

I cannot say enough good things about heirloom tomatoes. Besides it being warm and having longer nights, homegrown vintage variety tomatoes are my favorite thing about summer. Curiously, this is the same thing tomatoes like--lots of sun! My good friend and an excellent gardener Richard Prince asks "Do you remember how tomat…

Last year at about this time, a few of us got together and talked about a new business idea, with major implications for our neighborhood. A garden center, where we could buy plants without driving to West Seneca or Amherst. And more than that, let's make it a cooperative, so that we have some control over what we can buy there. And so, the seed was planted for Urban Roots Community Garden Center. We gathered surveys and put the word out about this plan this summer, and we are moving forward toward incorporation, and our first summer of providing plants to the community.

We expect that as spring appears you are looking forward to …

The Urban Roots Community Garden Center is putting together a Buyer's Club that will allow people to order special plants, including organic heirloom tomatoes, perennials, annuals, herbs and vegetables, at a reduced rate, and pick them up at Utica and Brayton on a designated date this Spring. This is the first major project of the cooperative, and what we can accomplish before being legally incorporated.

The order forms and a "catalog" will be available at Diggin' It! (801 Elmwood Avenue) for the month of March for those who don't have Internet access or are not internet savvy. Orders are due March 27, and the plants will be available for pick up at the corner of Utica and Brayton Streets on June 3.

For further information please visit our