Hopes and Dreams

Hopes and Dreams

Hopes and Dreams

Hopes and Dreams matter to us adults and to the kids we support, encourage, and adore. This is Gabe. One of my #PostCOVID summer camp kids at Mezzacello Urban Farm and there is a great story here.

Fearless Dreaming

[Gabe] taught me to not be afraid of my dorkiness, but to always lean into what I was passionate about.

Jim Bruner

In June of 2021 the world was realing from the devastating effects of the COVID19 pandemic and the global mandatory lockdowns through all of 2020. Fear was everywhere. But I KNEW – I KNEW – I needed to give people hope here at Mezzacello. After all, it had sustained Rick and I all through the pandemic.

I just needed a brave cohort of families to trust in me and my partners at PAST Foundation to share their children in a summer of transformational learning. All courtesy of the Ohio Farm Bureau Foundation. So we launched the BioLEGO and ProjectMartian Grants.

It was still a very scary time. COVID deaths could rise again and everyone had to wear masks still.But more than anything we all of us wanted to learn, dream, grow, connect, and hope for more. I met some remarkable people that year.

Enter Gabe

The kids in my two camps that year, BioLEGO and Project Martian were so amazing. They wanted more from life. They wanted fun, mystery, challenges – and they wanted to connect.

After a year of isolation, they were nervous, but more human now than ever. Gabe was a fabulous kid in my Project BioLEGO camp. He taught me to not be afraid of my dorkiness, but to always lean into what I was passionate about.

A kid. A kid modeled this for me and MADE me believe it. It was Gabe’s idea to take this photo.


Who Knew Robots Could do this?! Samuel in Fin 2 Feathers Workshop

Jim Bruner


He casually informed me that we were BOTH going to wear the same hats in this photo. Black stetsons that I wear a lot. And we were going to pose for the camera, but we had to also wear the NASA helmets.

He SAW that I was willing to dream, he WATCHED me lay down for 30 minutes after every meal that I ate for two solid weeks straight. He KNEW I wanted a brighter future for ALL kids. So we took this photo together.

People Can Be More Than One Thing At A Time

Gabe and I were both wearing NASA helmets. You can’t see Gabe’s helmet, he is way too cool. Gabe wanted us BOTH to be farmers and astronauts.

The backstory here is that JUST THAT DAY, Gabe had asked me what I thought about every day – three times a day after I ate – what I thought about lying still for thrirty minutes. I told him the truth: I think about all the ways that I plan to change the world.

Gabe decided right then and there that he wanted to change the world too. He didn’t need to be JUST a famous Tattoo artist on YouTube, he could also be a fabulous nano-fabrication lithographist on Mars. People can be more than one thing at a time, Mr. Jim.


This is a part of the City of Columbus Parks and Recreation Summer Grant Grant #1521-2023.



Carbon Sequestration? Plant The Future and Compost It

Carbon Sequestration? Plant The Future and Compost It

Carbon Sequestration, Compost and Urban Farming

Today I was reading through a science blog site and I saw a story about US plans to create a carbon sequestration plant in the states of LA and TX. I can see the logic of this as oil production and refinement are especially pernicious producers of CO2 and CO. But have they ever heard of Carbon Sequestration, Compost, and Urban Farming?

NHCOPS That “C” is Carbon and that “O” is Oxygen

Every year that I plant a garden or lay out a new bed, I am participating in carbon sequestration. Also, Compost is the ULTIMATE form of Carbon Sequestration! It locks so much carbon up into the soil.

Every summer I produce between 2000 – 6000 Liters (630 – 1100 Gallons) of compost here at Mezzacello. That is a lot of carbon. But I am one person. Imagine what our world would be like if MORE people were able to compost at this scale.

NHCOPS Yes, The “S” is Sulphur

Sulphur is smelly and necessary to all life on this planet.I am sorry if smelly is inconvenient. Spend more time in NYC in August.

But that Sulphur is important. It binds things and causes reactions that this planet desperately needs! It creates natural calcite, limestone and sandstone.

Yes, it takes a millenia. But we didn’t just fall into this problem with the climate. We deliberately chose to ignore mother nature’s warnings about what would happen if WE DI NOT clean up our room!

See any of my blogs on sustainability or the UN 17 Sustainable Development Goals

If every community had at least one bioreactor and 10 families were able to fill it in one week, the amount of carbon and oxygen a city the size of Columbus, OH could produce would be STAGGERING. And what’s more is that the carbon would NOT be locked up or sequestered, but freed and able to bind with OTHER atoms and especially Nitrogen to make life.

Plant The Future Earth

This pathway to sequester Carbon, Oxygen, Nitrogen, and Sulphur is nature’s pathway. This is a farm, this is a forest, this is a prairie. It’s OUR fault we prefer concrete and asphalt to dirt.

We had GOOD reasons for going with Non-Permeable solids to build on. But eventually, convenience has a cost. In the case of Carbon Sequestration, that cost is $1.2B. I can build a robotic composter anywhere for $1200.

Do the math. Nature doesn’t NEED replaced. She needs help.

We can help her. Plant a garden, and then compost that garden. You will be shocked at how easy it is.

Weigh the compost you create initially and then subtract 2/3 of the weight. That last 1/3 is probably half Carbon and a raft of other ESSENTIAL elements and minerals. This is the sequestration we NEED more of right now.


This is a part of the City of Columbus Parks and Recreation Summer Grant Grant #1521-2023


Compost Update 2023 – Restocking the Bioreactor

Compost Update 2023 – Restocking the Bioreactor

This is a tutorial and a love letter to friends who have helped me along the way. So I am throwing an Easter celebration with a compost update 2023 – Restocking the Bioreactor! If you know anything about compost, you know it’s a feast or famine affair.

You Can’t Always Get What You Want

In the spring, browns are hard to come by, but greens are plentiful. In the winter, greens are hard to come by, but browns are plentiful. How does an industrious Urban Farmer meet this paradox?

By being thrifty and frugal. I harvest and store back greens and browns across all seasons. Grass clippings get treated with hydrated lime and stored in a dark cool space. Leaves get collected and covered through the winter the calcium hydroxide slows the loss of nitrogen and the formation of ammonia.

This processing insures I have sufficient biomass to add to my systems across all seasons. It also helps me keep the greens and browns in suspension through the darkest, coldest paart of the winter. Then I can start resetting the IBC 1000L Bioreactor blocks on demand in the spring.

A Little Help From My Friends

None of this would be possible without the help from several friends. When we first started Mezzacello, we were tool poor. A dear widowed friend donated all of her husband’s tools to us, many of which we still use – daily.

Another dear friend donated tools from their dad that are MISSION CRITICAL to the Bioreactor. Namely a leaf shredder and several pumps and hand tools. I have replaced the leaf shredder, but learning what a transformative tool this was was an amazing discovery.

Keep building, experimenting, planning and saving. Life cares and love shares. On this western holiday, I am grateful for rebirth and opportunity.

Let’s change the world. Let’s do it sustainably. Let’s do it together – I love you all.


Let’s Start a Farm On Mars

Let’s Start a Farm On Mars

Power, Water, Nutrients, and Food

Everything I do Mezzacello is geared towards learning, exploring, and growing food as efficiently as possible. A young friend calls my 21st Century Urban Farm the “Let’s Start a Farm On Mars” farm. I like that title.

Power

I start with power because it is essential. So many things for building a farm ANYWHERE need power to run tools, cook food or run pumps. Power is a critical component.

There are multiple ways to gain power. Wind turbines, solar panels, batteries, gravity batteries that use falling water, methane generators, and solar powered electrolysis systems that create hydrogen to fuel a system. Just to name a few.

I use all of these – methane and hydrogen electrolysis systems will come online this summer. They will both be integrated into the Biodome project. The project will create fresh water from waste water as well as collect dew from the atmosphere on its plastic sheathed dome.

The biodome 2.0 will also house a new methane generation system that will transform manure and kitchen scraps into methane gas. It will then store that gas under minimal pressure for use in a generator. The heat that was a disaster last year will be a benefit in version 2.0.

Water

Mezzacello recycles as much water is practical. Rainwater, and recycling waste water is done in new and novel ways. The biodome 2.0 will contain three water evaporation stills that will purify water. The outer dome will feature a dew collection system that uses vibrating actuators of the steel dome frame to shake dew off the outside skin of the biodome for collection.

All this water will be used in multiple ways. Some of it will be used to water animals, add to hydroponic growing systems, or mixed with minerals to make it drinkable. Water is a valuable resource anywhere, but especially at Mezzacello.

The ability to easily recycle and purify water makes the pond an even more useful feature. I always maintain that the addition of the pond into the ecosystems at Mezzacello makes us draught proof. I always have fresh liquid water even in the winter.

The pond at Mezzacello is 1.7m (5’8″) deep. This depth insures that fish and aquatic life can dive and avoid prey birds. This depth also insures that there is liquid water in the pond at all times.

The liner for the pond at Mezzacello

This reservoir of water is also a useful feature of sustainability. Knowing there is a THIRD backup of water is a good idea. The more diversity, the better.

Nutrients

Nutrients at Mezzacello come from a variety of sources. The top three are from compost, manure, and the soil structures themselves. I need the nutrients to support the life I am trying to grow in terms of food.

Compost is a primary nutrient resource. I create it from collecting greens and browns from all around Mezzacello. I accelerate the compost with a combination of water, beer, soda, and ammonia.

This accelerant not only makes compost in a speedy 45 days, it also produces a pre-biotic fluid. This fluid is an excellent fertilizer! I can also use this fertilizer in combination with algae from my pond and make an even healthier fertilizer.

One of the summer camp kids testing the fertility of the accelerated compost in the bioreactor.

I can then use the compost anywhere I am growing food or even plants. It improves the soil and the water drainage. It encourages micro biotic life to come up to the surface.

I also collect manure and waste materials from five species of animals and insects at Mezzacello. All of these sources of nutrient materials arrive in different ways and require differing treatment. For example chicken and duck manures are acidic and dangerous to plants fresh, whereas rabbit and algae are fine fresh.

Regardless, all manures get recycled here at Mezzacello. Either directly in the soil structures, in the compost, or as a base for liquid fertilizer, nothing goes to waste. No pun intended.

In the livestock coops and warrens, a system of underground pipes channel chicken and duck wastes to a holding tank where they naturally lose their acidity over time. The fish wastes are collected in the biofilter for drying and reuse. The rabbit, worm, and cricket wastes are immediately recycled.

Food

All of these resources are leading us to food. Food production at Mezzacello is the primary focus of all of the above resources. From power to water, to nutrients, all of it can be traced back to food in some way.

There are six primary avenues of food production on site. These include:

  1. fruits and vegetables
  2. herbs and flowers
  3. meat production
  4. egg production
  5. food-grade insects
  6. imported grains, and dairy
No cows or grains at Mezzacello!

All serve some purpose at the farm and are part of the sustainability network. And what is eaten is largely recycled back into systems that provide feedstock to compost, insects, or to the animals directly. Regardless, food is a precious resource here.

The power systems provide energy for grow lights for the hydroponics systems and energy for the bioreactor which creates compost and waters the garden beds. Power also keeps animals safe and warm, and keeps water liquid in winter. Power also automatically pulls water from the rain barrels to the central bioreactor water tank.

The water helps us obviously to grow food and produce nutrients for food. Water also provides us resources for and from the animals, fish, and insects. These in turn provide nutrients which -you guessed it! Help us grow food!

Well now I am hungry. I think I’ll go down and harvest some spinach, open a can of canned tomatoes, grab some fresh herbs and make an egg omelette. Enjoy your day and thanks for reading this!


My Podcast with The Innovation World Young Collaborators

My Podcast with The Innovation World Young Collaborators

My Podcast with The Innovation World Young Collaborators

On Friday night I took part for the first time in My Podcast with The Innovation World Young Collaborators. Siddharth is a natural (9 year old podcaster, inventor, and global youth activist. It was really humbling and fun!

Listen to Let’s Start a Farm on Mars, Part 1 Here!

Siddharth had so many great questions about what I am inventing here at Mezzacello we had to make TWO podcasts!
Listen to Part 1 here.

Initially this conversation with Siddharth was to cover my #ProjectMartian work here at Mezzacello. Siddharth wanted to call it Let’s Start a Farm on Mars. It quickly became obvious that Siddharth and the the Innovation World Young Collaborators was also very interested in my UN 17 Sustainable Development Goals work.

Part one is about Mezzacello and the UN 17 SDG work. Part two is about Project Martian, my fascination with Mars, inventions and robotics. It also covers the Biodome, Bioreactor, and the VAWT energy production systems at Mezzacello.

I hope you’ll join us on Siddharth’s and my first podacst together. Each month another member of the Innovation World Young Collaborators panel will host another adult innovator they are curious to know more about. This was a lot of fun. I am sure you will enjoy it too!

Siddharth, Juli and me when Juli told us we gabbed too long about the future.

Curbing Hunger Through Sustainability

Curbing Hunger Through Sustainability

Curbing Hunger Through Sustainability
Multiple staggered harvests through the spring, summer, and fall season
All wastes get returned to compost or to the bioreactor compost
Parterre Herb Garden Update 2022
First full harvest
Harvest Storage Through Winter

Curbing Hunger Through Sustainability Is a multi step goal. It isn’t just one thing, a monolithic action, it’s a series of intentional actions and systems and ways of thinking about the world. We are so obsessed and a resource hungry world I’m thinking of food as one thing. That is unsustainable and the very worst thing you can do to curb hunger.

I tie this simple truth of where food comes from and what food is to games and projects so they can see all food has an origin story — and it isn’t a grocery store-y.

Jim Bruner

part of the issue with hunger is access to food obviously. Another problem arises when you don’t have space to grow food. One of the best ways we can get around that problem is technology and vertical growing and hydroponics.

Food is complex, and has a short shelf life

Food is a cultural phenomenon, as well as a critical need. At Mezzacello I take food very seriously. For me is a complex web of nutrients and varietals chosen because they’re hearty, nutritious, and they store well.

To reach a sustainable goal of ending hunger we need to stop treating food as a magic resource. I am completely aware that that’s easy to say and even harder to do. That’s why I’m committed to education around what food is why it’s important and why it’s more than just one strategy.

In my programs and camps, every kid and teacher knows that the whole goal of an ecology is to maximize nutrition life and diversity in terms of food, nutrients, and water. This is easy to do when you start thinking about food as a gift and not as a tool. The very best way to do this with kids is to make it relevant to them and fun while still showing them why food matters.

I have compassion and empathy and I remember what it was like to be a kid where everything was mysterious because the adults did everything. Kids don’t know how unsustainable our food systems are in the world today. So I tie this simple truth to games and projects so they can see all food has an origin story — and it isn’t a grocery store-y.


Power Heat and Water Even in the Winter

Power Heat and Water Even in the Winter

Power Heat and Water Even in the Winter
The bioreactor and its turbines and solar panels in ice

The pond with it’s six foot depth and mesh cover

I’m really excited about power heat and water even in the winter at Mezzacello. Especially as I enter my third season of summer camps. Why am I excited about winter for the summer?

I’m so glad you asked! The reason is these systems are integral to all four of the camps that I focus on at Mezzacello. Bio technology, bio engineering bio renewables and energy, and bio chemistry.

I have found that my summer camp kids love the fact that Mezzacello is a living machine. It seems magical to them and they really love problem-solving to help all the various animals plants ecosystems micro biomes and systems live together in a fun way. This applied stem playfulness is at the very heart of the success of Mezzacello.

Why sustainability is cost-effective

As a farmer and a scientist I am intensely Interested in how all four of these systems integrate throughout my farm. The energy components, the bio chemistry components, the animal safety, and the natural resources are all very important. Also, they are impossible to replicate and financially difficult to replace by hand.

Let’s look just that water. If I were to pay for all the water that I regularly use on my farm annually my water bill would be OVER $1000 US dollars – I’ve included a currency calculator here. That is not affordable.

Nor is this sustainable. But my systems for storing and using water cost me under $1000 to implement and they re-integrate rain and snow back into my water table. That costs me zero dollars.

What’s the catch?

The one caveat to water is that it needs one further treatment before I can use it to grow food or water animals. So do I buy an expensive water treatment system? Or do I use gravity and natural filtration systems to clean the water on demand?

if you guessed option number two congratulations you were right. What are the benefits of the Bioreactor tower is that it pulls water from rain barrels. But only water from the top of the rain barrel. All of the heavy elements and dangerous elements sink to the bottom and baffles where they can be cleaned in the spring.

Interoperability and integrated sustainability

This interoperable and integrated sustainability method is a life changer. But it did require an initial capital investment three years ago. Since then the system has run entirely through wind and solar power including in the winter when I need it most.

I recently gave a lecture on the 17 UN sustainable development goals to a group of high school kids here in Columbus. I’m very pleased that all of my integrated systems at Mezzacello touch on almost all 17 of those UN SDG. It is a point of pride for me.

in 2023 I plan on talking more about these integrated systems and what they have to do with the UN 17 SDG to avoid climate reality and ensure sustainability is an easy option for anyone. I don’t have a title for the series yet, maybe you could help me out with that. I’ll probably be work shopping it in my summer camps.

After all, who is better suited at coming up with clever ideas for sustainability than the very people who will inherit this world well after I’m gone. I hope you’ll join me. And of course you’re welcome to give options in the comments and I hope you do.


Global Innovation Field Trip and the Bioreactor

Global Innovation Field Trip and the Bioreactor

Me standing in front of the Bioreactor at Mezzacello.

Last weekend I presented at the Global innovation Field Trip and the Bioreactor was my subject. It was a lot of fun and I got to use my icon that was designed for me by my friend, Ike. It’s a lot of fun and captures my enthusiasm for climate reality and agriculture – as well as meaningful action to curb the bad effects.

The Design Cycle

Everything that I do at Mezzacello involves the Design Cycle. I iterate through every invention and problem using this amazing tool that I first learned about working with The PAST Foundation. It is the natural way that humans learn, play and think.

In this presentation I was speaking to a group of child inventors around the world who had joined that were interested in invention. Not one of them probably believed farmers were also inventors. But we are inventors by our very nature; we invent life.

The presentation that I have posted below was a simple demonstration of how invention happens. I created this presentation to make this process easy for young minds. Making learning fun is what I do.

In this presentation I modeled the path I took from simple compost to the more advanced systems of the bioreactor and the biodome. It was a process of thinking, researching, designing, building, failing, modifying, and now sharing. It’s important that young leaders see the design process is a real tool that all humans use.

Click here to view the presentation slides.


Cardboard Journey Into Green

Cardboard Journey Into Green

There are times where finding enough “browns” for compost can be a tall order. That is why in this post I discuss the use of cardboard and the cardboard journey into green. Cardboard is an amazing resource from carbon, but it requires a bit of prep and some understanding of how it is produced.

Most people do not realize that the paper used to make cardboard is actually pretty high-quality. The inks that are used are all required to be soy-based inks, and the glue that binds cardboard together is often corn-based. The difficulty with cardboard is the tape and the glues and adhesives that OTHER companies might use.

Tapes! And Why I hate them.

A quick word on tapes. Tape on cardboard is the bane of my existence. It is unusable, period. It will NOT decompose, it will destroy your shredder, and it is toxic in that it’s adhesive is usually made of tolulene which contains heavy metals.

The processing strategy I have outlined below will make removing tape a breeze, as the tape will EASILY separate from the cardboard with ease. There is no good tape – even black Amazon tape which uses a soy-based adhesive has strings in it that will clog your shredder.

White Labels

Shipping labels are another issue. They are paper (usually) but sometimes they are plastic. Almost always they are produced from thermo-responsive paper that uses a compound known to be a hormone disruption factor. The UV radiation probably destroys this compound but I do not have data on that.

A good rule of thumb is do not try to recycle cardboard if you are not willing to deal with and manage tape and white labels. White labels are usually temperature responsive thermal print paper which contain hormone disruptor chemicals. Best to avoid both.

The Tape! Remove it!

There is nothing more annoying than finding tape in your compost. It makes you feel like your compost is substandard and it is annoying to collect it piecemeal. Remove it from the waste stream early.

Not All Cardboard Is Alike

Cardboard is a remarkable, high quality source of paper and carbon. It also comes with some limitations that one must understand. Not all cardboard is alike so here are three classifications I find useful in discussing cardboard.

  • Traditional Plain Cardboard (Amazon, moving, plain brown affairs)
  • Bleached or Dyed Cardboard (ny box that has color – especially white boxes)
  • Wax-Coated Cardboard (This is shiny and covered with a thin sheet of plastic printing or such)

The paper and glues used in most cardboard boxes in use today are all either soy or corn-based adhesives. So they are naturally organic. Here is a quick video on just how cardboard is made from pulp to package.

The issue with cardboard is that it is not always clear if the final glue joint is also a corn-based adhesive. Sometimes it is made from a resin, and you have to be mindful that the end user might also use a strong resin-based adhesive. But the cardboard itself is entirely organic.

The glossy printed boxes pose another problem. While the paper is organic as is the ink, the two degrade at vastly different rates and respond to water and UV radiation differently. To make the glossy paper degrade quicker, recyclers use heat and select chemicals to return the glossy paper to pulp.

Since most gardeners do not have that luxury or equipment, I suggest we stick with brown, unbleached boxes just to be safe. The real issue is cardboard that has been bleached white. I am not certain what process is used, and I just try to find another use for that.

The Minor Inconvenience of Readying Cardboard

Cardboard stock is DESIGNED to be durable. Therefore you cannot just process cardboard and use it. It needs to undergo setting in the sun and rain for a short period of time. Chlorinated water is not sufficient for breaking down the bonds and glues of cardboard. Rain and UV work best.

That means a week or two in the elements. This looks bad, but pays dividends. A fantastic and virtually limitless source of browns at your disposal and delivered to your home. You can’t beat that.

Processing

After your broken down boxes (yes, you should break them down to expose as much surface area as possible) have weathered outside it is wise to break them down to pieces that actually fit beneath a lawnmower. The lawnmower is the final step in this process.

Lawnmower Prep

First make sure your lawnmower is at least 3/4 HP and your blades are sharp. If you are not sure, it is best to look at the blade first. If you can, remove the blade, clean it and hand sharpen it yourself, or better yet, buy a blade specifically for this task.

Slow and Steady

When you are ready, stack the cardboard in a pattern. The pattern should have air in it so that that as much edge of the boards are exposed against each other as possible. Then slowly mow over them to shred them.

I suggest using a bag on your mower and a semi solid surface as even though the cardboard is wet and weakened it will fly everywhere. You’ll want to be able to collect that confetti, and your bag will clog quickly. But you will have perfectly small and highly shredded cardboard on demand.

Cardboard in a compost pile or garden bed is ideal because it holds water well and breaks down quickly in acidic soil conditions. But it must be smaller to increase the edges that microorganisms can chomp on and hide between. You’ll find this breaks down quite quickly.


Eden’s Ghost Application

Eden’s Ghost Application

I wanted to provide an update on Eden’s Ghost application. If you are unfamiliar with Eden’s Ghost, see my bioreactor update from summer 2021. Eden’s Ghost is an amazing fertilizer I produce here at Mezzacello.

Fertilizer 101

Eden’s Ghost is a powerful fertilizer. It was developed when I was experimenting with the compost reaction in the bioreactor. The first year, during COVID19 Lockdown. I didn’t drain the liquid from the bioreactor and it collected there.

Test and Test Again

I tested it and in the proper dose, it is amazing. My first few applications it was disastrous. Then I stopped using so much and it was paradise.

Eventually I learned it was 1 cup to 2 gallons of water. That seems to be the magic dose. I can also add 1 liter to to a sprayer that sprays 100 liters of water.

It’s the ratio that matters. That’s why I call it Eden’s Ghost. It brings death or paradise.

Why It Works

The nitrogen and phosphorous are really strong in Eden’s Ghost. It is a synthesis of the compost, the added ammonia, beer, and soda. I also add coffee grounds, eggshells, and banana peels.

All of this is to balance out the soil matrix. The soil at Mezzacello is heavy in clay, and the Eden’s Ghost adds a lot of nutrition and nutrients to the soil. The rich mineral composition also attracts life up from below.

This is essential. If there is no life to support the subterranean ecosystem, the plants will not thrive. If the plants thrive, Eden’s Ghost will keep it sustainable.