Last year, NRC Culinary Arts students participated in Chefs for Impact, a benefit where NYC chefs gathered raise funds to deliver e-Learning to rural Africa. They worked aside Chef Andrew Whitcomb from Colonie and Mark Henegan from Madiba, serving as Chef Assistants.
They’re doing it again this year, tomorrow, November 19th! Join me in congratulating our students for their hard work and dedication. Go NRC students and Chefs for Impact!
New York City Deputy Mayor for Strategic Policy Initiatives Richard Buery announced today that Brooklyn’s only community college—Kingsborough Community College—and Hostos Community College in the Bronx were chosen as the two expansion sites among CUNY campuses for the CUNY Fatherhood Academy (CFA). The announcement took place at LaGuardia Community College, the site of the original 2012 program launch. Joining Deputy Mayor Buery were Kingsborough Community College president Farley Herzek, Hostos Community College president David Gomez, LaGuardia Community College president Gail O. Mellow, CUNY Director of Continuing Education and Workforces Programs Valerie Westphal, and NYC Human Resource Administration Office of Child Support Enforcement Assistant Deputy Commissioner for Parent and Community Engagement Alan S. Farrell.
Hostos Community College in the Bronx was also selected as the second expansion site, and LaGuardia Community College will continue to sustain the Fatherhood Academy which began on its campus in 2012. Total funding of $2.1 million will serve more than 200 fathers over the next year at all three sites. Beginning in November 2015, the grant of $441,357, which will be administered by Kingsborough’s Center for Economic and Workforce Development, will allow the College to serve an anticipated 40 young fathers in CFA as they prepare for, and enroll in college and/or training programs.
CEWD programs (Project Rise, Northeast Resiliency Consortium) serve as pipelines to college enrollment, specifically enrollment at Kingsborough. Our programs provide educational training needed for college-level work, the opportunity to bank college credit, preparation for the CAT (CUNY Assessment Tests), and enrollment assistance when participants decide to move on to higher education. Pretty awesome, right? It gets even better:
Kingsborough just announced that the College has been recognized as Leader College—a national designation awarded to community colleges that commit to improving student success and closing achievement gaps—at Achieving the Dream. KCC has shown how data can inform policy and practice to help community college students achieve their goals, resulting in improved skills, better employability, and economic growth for families, communities, and the nation as a whole. Upon hearing the news, KCC President Farley Herzek said that the college is “committed to helping students walk away with a sense of confidence and readiness for four-year study or for the workforce.”
Recipes by student Farmer Chef Lilja with the assistance of Farmer Mike
KCC Urban Farm Veggie of the Week: Ground Cherries (Physalis Pruinosa)
FACTS
RECIPES:
By Benjamin Hanon, KCC Urban Farm student aide
Today’s story is about turning our compost pile, with the help of the nice folks over at the Liberty Partnerships Program at Kingsborough.
In the deepest depths of the kingdom of Kingsborough’s Urban Farm, towards the T1 building and behind the student beds lies the mysterious Mount Compost. Rumor has it that this mountain is made of garden waste and the bodies of fruits and vegetables that never get eaten. They say that mysterious figures wearing sun hats and farm clothes add to the mountain every week. It is believed that otherworldly forces transform this plant matter into soil. I know the truth. Mount Compost is made of much more than just the bodies of our fallen plant brethren. Mount Compost is composed of a network of of Bacteria, Fungi, and Protists that digest plant matter and convert it into the rich soil that we use on the farm.
By Lilja Walter, KCC Urban Farm student aide
Every day I look at the progression of the tan on my arms. I trace over the marks and splotches that the plants have bestowed upon my epidermal layer. They are the gentle kisses that the farm leaves behind after a hard days labor. On the train I am wrapped in my cozy dirt blanket. The light dusting protects all of my exposed parts from the cold train car, allowing me to rest rather than shiver. As I am lulled into sleep I admire the soil locked behind my fingernails. I feel my fingers worming through the land as I try to free my loves from the saboteur weeds stealing their nutrients.
I dig my arms deeper into the soil.
This summer 14 high school juniors and seniors participated in the Brooklyn Science Innovation Initiative (BSII), a program generously supported by the AT&T Foundation. BSII, a collaboration between CEWD–led by our very own Dr. Edgar Troudt–and KCC’s College Now program–led by the program’s Director Robert Pero–provided college-level Earth Science and Entrepreneurship classes. During this 5-week program, student groups developed virtual business based on what they learned in class.
Photo via Jessica Nieberg at Kings County Politics
Last week, these students presented their businesses to a crowd of over 50, including the president of AT&T Foundation in New York, Marissa Shorenstein, KCC President Farley Herzek, and Brooklyn Borough President Eric Adams. Businesses included a system using oysters to clean the ocean, the development of metal cell phone cases to protect and limit radiation exposure, a proposed design for a prototype machine to clean the bottom of the ocean, a solar-powered water filtration system for countries with limited access to clean drinking water, and an app to help make learning earth science more enjoyable.
By Ben Hanon, KCC Urban Farm Student Aide
Today’s story is about staff distribution, one of the most exciting times of the year. We hope you enjoy!
The sign outside the farm gate seemed simple enough. It told the staff and faculty what time the distribution of vegetables began. 11:30 A.M. on the dot, never a second too early, and never a second too late. From the back of the farm looking out, the farm crew could see a sea of bodies. Bodies of people who had dedicated themselves to two things. The first was serving the Kingsborough community to the best of their ability, the second was getting their farm fresh organic veggies before our stock ran low. This crowd had been waiting all year as students came and went as they pleased to student only distributions of produce. They were ready, they were hungry, and we were ready to serve them.
We’re excited to introduce KCC Urban Farm’s new Farm Manager, Cris Izaguirre!
Cris completed the Ecological Horticulture Apprenticeship at the Center for Agroecology & Sustainable Food Systems in Santa Cruz, California (the same training program as our previous, Farm Manager, Silvia Torres!). Previously, Cris worked on permaculture and Native Hawaiian farms on the Big Island of Hawaii, while also assisting elementary school gardening classes at Honaunau Elementary School. Having worked part-time as a Farm Assistant pre- and post-Hurricane Sandy at KCC Urban Farm, Cris feels like they are returning to their farming home.