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Denver’s Urban Gardens: A Collective Green-Thumb

SPIRE — Tue, 17 May 2011 20:03:22 +0000

In recent years, there has been an advent in the amount of urban community gardens “sprouting up” throughout Denver communities. The practice of urban gardening—which usually requires a collective effort on behalf of a community to see the growth and maintenance of a neighborhood garden—can have several benefits, among which includes the development of edible produce, an added aesthetic to a neighborhood, and even the addition of income for a community with the garden’s produce being sold at various farmers markets around the Denver area. Anybody can become involved in an urban garden initiative; and the best part is, the success of a garden usually requires a mutual effort on behalf of all participating parties, so in the end there is a nice sense of community that “springs” out of your urban gardening effort. Here ares some useful tips and resources on how to become involved in your local community gardening effort:

Denver Urban Gardens—a.k.a. “DUG”—is an urban gardens initiative 25 years in the making, whose solve vision is to develop a thriving and connected network of deeply-rooted community gardens, conceived of, cultivated and supported by local residents and institutions throughout the urban neighborhoods of Metro Denver. In 2010, DUG broke ground on its 100th community garden, and in its 25 years DUG has become a community focus for producing food, fostering neighborhood activities and hosting education programs for over 32,000 individuals annually. Visit the DUG website today for any number of resources on how to get involved, and click HERE to find the nearest community garden to you and see where you can start getting your hands dirty!

An event worth mentioning is DUG’s upcoming GreenShots2, an evening celebrating urban agriculture, gardening, and community on Wednesday, June 22. In addition providing a chance to meet others with a passion for gardening and urban agriculture, this year’s GreenShoots event will feature documentary film screenings with appetizers and drinks at Root Down in Denver, a fantastic restaurant and supporter of community agriculture!

Re:Farm Denver is a non-profit initiative aimed at educating families in underserved areas on the process of urban farming. The initiative is expected to reach 80 families in west Denver this year, up from 38 last year. Read more on the topic in this interview from Matthew Rodriguez at YourHub.com: http://ow.ly/4WL7U

Perhaps the initiative that gets today’s reward for most interesting and innovative is the Denver Urban Truck Farm. Inspired by a similar project in Brooklyn, the Denver Urban Truck Farm was started in 2010 by two Landscape Architecture graduate students and highlights the growing trend of urban agriculture in a unique and mobile form. The Farm is constructed in the bed of a 1966 Ford F-250 pickup truck and provides approximately 40 square feet of growing space. Food crops for 2011 will include tomatoes, peppers, broccoli, lettuces, radishes, leafy greens, and a variety of herbs. The Farm will include two crops, a spring cool season crop of lettuces, greens, radishes, and broccoli, and a summer warm season crop of tomatoes, peppers, and other hardy vegetables and herbs. All crops will be grown organically from seed. The Denver Urban Truck Farm will be participating in several local events in 2011, including the Old South Pearl Street farmer’s market on Sundays, and the Civic Center Eats Lunchtime Market on Tuesdays and Thursdays throughout the summer.

Which brings us to our final point. If the concept of urban gardens is something that you want to support, but you don’t necessarily have the green-thumb gene, might we suggest heading to one of the various farmers markets that bear the fruit of these urban gardens’ labor. Here is a great list of farmers markets opening in the spring/summer months, courtesy of Yelp, Denver: http://ow.ly/4WN8E

TEDx Mile High

SPIRE — Tue, 05 Apr 2011 17:07:08 +0000

The Spire is proud to announce such an amazing event going on here in the Mile High City, TEDx Mile High! This is an event you do not want to miss. Denver brings in some of the most creative minds, thought leaders, and innovators to educate, inspire, and stimulate change here in the Mile High City.

TEDx In the spirit of “ideas worth spreading,” TED has created TEDx. TEDx is a program of local, self-organized events that bring people together to share a TED-like experience. Our event is called TEDxMileHigh, where x = independently organized TED event. At a TEDx event, TEDTalks video and live speakers combine to spark deep discussion and connection in a small group. The TED Conference provides general guidance for the TEDx program, but individual TEDx events, including Mile High TEDx, are self-organized.

Started as a four-day conference in California 26 years ago, TED has grown to support those world-changing ideas with multiple initiatives. At TED, the world’s leading thinkers and doers are asked to give the talk of their lives in 18 minutes. Talks are then made available, free, at TED.com. TED speakers have included Bill Gates, Jane Goodall, Elizabeth Gilbert, Sir Richard Branson, Benoit Mandelbrot, Philippe Starck, Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala, Isabel Allende and former UK Prime Minister Gordon Brown. Two major TED events are held each year: The TED Conference takes place every spring in Long Beach, California (along with a parallel conference, TEDActive, in Palm Springs), and TEDGlobal is held each summer in Edinburgh, Scotland.

Here is the Tedx Mile High Homepage where you can learn more and purchase tickets: http://www.tedxmilehigh.com/

Follow TEDx Mile High on Twitter at http://twitter.com/#!/TEDxMileHigh or on Facebook at http://www.facebook.com/TEDxMileHigh

Follow TED on Twitter at twitter.com/TEDTalks, or on Facebook at facebook.com/TED.

TEDx Mile High bring you some Denver’s best & brightest speakers along with some incredible national speakers.

Here are a few of the local heroes you can look forward to:

Bernard Amadei (Professor of Civil Engineering at the University of Colorado at Boulder and Founding President of Engineers Without Borders – USA and co-founder of Engineers Without Borders-International) http://ceae.colorado.edu/mc-edc/?ii=People%20:%20Bernard%20Amadei
Alex Bogusky – Emcee (Co-Founder of Crispin Porter & Bogusky) Founder of the Fearless Revolution http://fearlessrevolution.com/
Ashara Ekundayo (Founder of BluBlak Media Consulting and Café Nuba) http://cafenuba.com/
James B. Hayes (Former Publisher, Fortune; Former CEO, Junior Achievement) http://www.ja.org/
John Hickenlooper (Governor, State of Colorado) http://www.colorado.gov/GOVERNOR
Allen Lim (Director of Sports Science, Team RadioShack) http://www.teamradioshack.us/
L. Hunter Lovins (President and founder of the Natural Capitalism Solutions (NCS) and Co-Founder of Rocky Mountain Institute) www.natcapsolutions.org

Here are a few of the national speakers:

Robyn O’Brien (Author of The Unhealthy Truth) www.allergykidsfoundation.org & www.robynobrien.com
Jeff Olson (1998 Winter Olympics, 1992 Winter Olympics, co-founder of Well Nourished Worldwide) www.wellnourishedworldwide.com
Sally A. Ranney (CEO of StillWater Preservation LLC (SWP)) www.areday.net amatterofdegreemedia.com www.imattermarch.org
General Victor E. Renuart Jr. (Former Commander of NORAD and US Northern Command) http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Victor_E._Renuart,_Jr.
Casey Sheahan (CEO & President of Patagonia, Inc.) http://www.patagonia.com/us/home
Obura Tongoi (CEO, Africa Redefined & Co-Founder, Audeamus Capital Partners LLP) https://africaredefined.com/index.php

We have included a short video below to familiarize you a little more with the TED experience. This is a can’t miss event for everyone in the Mile High City! If you attend please share your thoughts in the comments section of this post, on Twitter http://twitter.com/#!/SPIREDenver or on Facebook http://on.fb.me/e29aHt

Denver’s Culture Haus…

SPIRE — Thu, 17 Mar 2011 21:11:39 +0000

Here at the Spire we think one of the little hidden gems of this amazing city is the Culture Haus at the Denver Art Musuem. CultureHaus is the educational extension of the Denver Art Museum; CultureHaus connects the young at heart with art. CultureHaus provides its members with a wide range of opportunities to learn about art and collecting. At exclusive events held nearly every month, members and guests can enjoy unique insights about art, private exhibition viewings, and the chance to meet other art enthusiasts and make new friends.

When you choose to become a member of CultureHaus you become part of a unique and exclusive resource that that opens doors to Denver’s emerging cultural and arts scene. CultureHaus delivers on this promise because it’s backed by the Denver Art Museum. And CultureHaus extends DAM’s mission by supporting and networking with youthful arts patrons, emerging artists, and local arts organizations.

CultureHaus membership includes a rewarding experience and these exciting benefits for you PLUS a guest. (Please note: A Denver Art Museum annual membership is required to join CH, and you can join both at the same time.)

• Party at our annual CH Banner Event

• Discover collecting with CH Collects 6 times per year

• Educate your mind at CH InHaus 4 times per year

• Visit exclusive art-related events with CH Out & About 2 times per year

• Celebrate your membership at our annual recognition event with CH Bash

The next event is Mixology 101 March 21, 2011

When: Monday, March 21, 2011

Where: Stir Cooking School – 3215 Zuni St., Denver, CO 80211 | Google Map

Time: 6:30pm – 8:30pm

Cost: $15/member, $20/member guest

Tickets: Tickets Available Via Blacktie Colorado

MIXOLOGY 101

Please join CultureHaus for a fun evening at the New Stir Cooking School in the Highlands for Mixology 101. Mike Henderson, mixoligist extraordinaire, and professional bartender instructor will teach this class. We will learn an overview of cocktail styles and cocktail building basics, which will culminate in all of us taking our own, turn at creating (and sampling) tasty adult beverages!

Due to space constraints we will need to limit registration to 30 participants…so don’t delay!

This is an abbreviated version of Mike’s Cocktail 101 class, which normally costs $55/person.

More information about the Stir Cooking School can be found at: www.StirToLearn.com

Culture Haus Membership: http://bit.ly/fsGe1F

SPIRE’S Green Commitment

Welcoming Committee — Wed, 01 Jul 2009 15:35:54 +0000

SPIRE was once again getting kudos on TV – Channel 4 on Monday, June 29. Click the link below and find out more about SPIRE’s commitment to being a green and sustainable building.

http://www.cbs4denver.com/video/?id=58982@kcnc.dayport.com