Is “urban agriculture” possible in a city like Charlotte? Can backyard chickens and rooftop gardens solve urban hunger?
The public will get a chance to consider those questions – and sip free martinis made from local ingredients – at the June 13 KEEPING WATCH Clean Martini Screens. This free, public event will be 6 to 9 p.m. at UNC Charlotte Center City.
The evening includes a showing of “Growing Cities,” a documentary that details urban farming successes across the nation. Short clips from agricultural eco-artist Jean Paul Ganem will be part of the event.
Mary Newsom of the UNC Charlotte Urban Institute and PlanCharlotte.org will moderate a panel discussion about bringing back food production to the heart of the city. Panelists will be:
- Henry Owen, program director for Friendship Gardens.
- Kris Steele, board member of Keep Mecklenburg Beautiful and a Wilmore neighborhood activist
- Nicole Peterson, UNC Charlotte assistant professor of anthropology, an affiliated researcher at the Center for Research on Environmental Decisions at Columbia University and a leader in the creation of the Integrated Network for Social Sustainability.
Clean Martini Screens presents eco-film screenings and clean martinis from local products, compliments of Slow Food Charlotte, as well as light, locally sourced hors d’oeuvres. Clean Martini Screens are programmed in conjunction with Sustain Me Baby, an exhibition in the Projective Eye Gallery at UNC Charlotte Center City.
The June 13 event is part of KEEPING WATCH, a three-year initiative of the UNC Charlotte Urban Institute in partnership with the UNC Charlotte College of Arts + Architecture, designed to engage the public in issues about the region’s natural environment. With the help of area historians, writers, artists and scientists, KEEPING WATCH is exploring the region’s reliance on plastics for 2014, the health of its creeks for 2015 and air and trees for 2016.