The Rooftop Farm at Capitol Hill Urban Cohousing

We are talking about more than a few raised planters on the roof. We envision a working, year-round urban farm. We are working with the Seattle Urban Farm Company who setup our lower rooftop and is maintaining it for us. Lark is excited to be reaping 90% of our produce for their nearby restaurant. Eventually we hope to install photovoltaic solar panels on the upper rooftop.

We are also working in partnership with Seattle Central Community College on the Urban Farm. We imagine our rooftop as a first seed in the garden of sustainable urban agriculture in Seattle. We would like to establish a growing environment geared towards year-round production, and use our working urban farm as an example of, and for, urban agriculture. We imagine educational outreach programs that can bring school-age children and other garden enthusiasts onto our roof so they can learn about the possibility of hyper-local food production in an urban environment. We hope that our success with off-the-ground urban farming will encourage others to do the same, and that our example will facilitate the beginning of a neighborhood food network. This network of rooftop working farms around Capitol Hill could supply organic produce to the neighborhood, reduce the environmental impact of food transport, and truly demonstrate community-supported agriculture.

We will also reserve a section of our planting area for our own private community use. We plan to garden these areas with our children so they can learn to plant, tend, and harvest their own crops and grow up understanding where food comes from, and what it takes to bring it to the table.

Why did we hire a farmer? Why don’t we do it ourselves? Because we all have full-time day jobs. Members of CHUC will be as involved as we choose to be – we currently have a garden team that will be working closely with our resources to develop a plan that mutually works for us.