Potatoes on Rooftops: Farming in the City

It’s not always easy being green in urban areas, but Dyer suggests simple projects and small behavioral changes that can help city-dwellers make their environments more natural in this colorful guidebook. Dyer points to the importance of eating locally grown and raised foods to minimize the distance between farm and plate; graphics and sidebars include statistics about global ecology, hunger, and international rates of consumption. Profiles of organizations and enterprises that have successfully turned urban wastelands into thriving oases demonstrate the power of collective efforts. Highlighting innovations in landscape architecture, shrewd use of space and materials (for example, growing lettuce in a colander), and a more complete understanding of food’s influence on the health of nations, Dyer underscores how each individual is a link in an important chain. Ages 9–12. (Nov.)