To consolidate, disseminate, and gather information concerning the 710 expansion into our San Rafael neighborhood and into our surrounding neighborhoods. If you have an item that you would like posted on this blog, please e-mail the item to Peggy Drouet at pdrouet@earthlink.net
Monday, March 24, 2014
No Time To Garden At Home? At This Train Station, You Can Garden On Your Commute
A Tokyo rail
company has figured out how to green the city while giving some riders a
little more reason to enjoy their trip to work.
For people who spend long hours at work, it’s getting easier to
get things done while you wait for a train headed home: Virtual grocery
stores are popping up on subway platforms, Shanghai residents can pick
up library books while riding on the train, and services like Amazon
Locker are delivering packages to local transit stations in cities like
London. And in Tokyo, locals who don’t have the time or space to garden
at home can rent out a plot in a series of urban farms on top of train
stations.
"We're promoting the greening of the city," says Makoto Kawada, a spokesperson for East Japan Railway Company,
which runs train lines throughout Japan. "We started this vegetable
garden business out of a desire to contribute to the environmental
maintenance and the revitalization of the area along the train line."
There are five "Soradofarms" on the company’s rail network. The first
was launched along with a green roof in Tokyo's Ebisu station four
years ago. Since the spaces aren't huge--the garden in Tokyo is a little
over 500 square feet--and they've been popular, there tends to be a
waiting list to get a plot. A basic space, without any extra services,
isn't cheap: The yearly price is around $980.
The train station provides standard garden tools, seeds, and some
regular weeding. Anyone who hasn't gardened before can get expert
advice, and people who don't have much time to take care of their plants
can get help with things like checking for bugs or harvesting
vegetables.
For many, it's just a place to come to relax--when commuters aren't
stopping by after work, families come for picnics or to give their kids a
little extra room to run around. And as locals and commuters spend time
learning about how to grow kale and tomatoes, they're also getting to
know each other.
"We're building community by involving the whole area in activities
in which the locals can take part in and have fun with," Kawada says.
