if rainfall is especially high, the surge of water into a traditional stormwater system can cause overflows. this is especially problematic as in many cities, including syracuse, stormwater is combined with sewage water. when these stormwater systems overflow, both sewage and stormwater is spilled into nearby creeks and lakes. between the months of january and august in 2017, the city of syracuse boasted 50 combined sewer overflows.

this likely doesn’t come as a surprise to those familiar with syracuse’s environmental history. the city has struggled with issues of water pollution and environmental justice for decades, a situation complicated by formidable social and economic issues facing the city.

a place called skunk city

skunk city is one of many places commonly affected by combined sewer overflows.  located on the west side of syracuse, the neighborhood received its unique name from the abnormal number of skunks in the area. skunk city has long been defined as a working-class neighborhood, but recent economic hardships and suburbanization have depleted the population and left the area largely disenfranchised. a profile of the neighborhood published by the city listed median household income as less than $20,000, far below the median for both the entire syracuse metro area and onondaga county.

the report additionally notes that the vacancy rate has been “growing for decades,” mirroring a greater trend in the syracuse area. a 2012 survey found more than 3,500 vacant parcels in the city of syracuse, many located in disadvantaged neighborhoods like skunk city. as well as being visually displeasing, vacant lots can lead to decreased property values in the area and may be targeted as sites of crime and arson.

beyond the social issues faced by skunk city, the stormwater management practices in the area have long been unsatisfactory. sewer overflows are common and many residents note that their roads and household basements are more prone to flooding than other areas.

the green infrastructure project

stormwater management and vacant lots may seem unrelated, but a study being conducted at syracuse university and the state university of new york college of environmental sciences and forestry (suny-esf), in conjunction with atlantic states legal foundation is linking the two issues. the team has focused their attention on the recent greenifying of city infrastructure, in particular, more environmentally sustainable ways to manage increased stormwater runoff. over the next few months the team, which includes elizabeth vidon, mary collins, christa kelleher, lauren tarr, and crystal burgess, will be studying how the installation of rain gardens affect the biophysical and social conditions of skunk city.

traditionally, “gray infrastructure” has been used in syracuse to manage stormwater. this method includes traditional wastewater treatment plants and water storage facilities and often has created environmental justice issues for disadvantaged communities.

“having a sewage plant next to you — it gives off a smell and it just gives neighborhoods, especially disadvantaged neighborhoods, a lower quality of life,” says burgess, a graduate student working on the project. “green infrastructure is working toward having a more natural system, a more beautifying system that also treats water.”

green infrastructure seeks to create solutions by mimicking natural processes. rain gardens capture rainwater before it enters drains and pipes, decreasing the probability of a sewer overflow. in addition, chemical reactions taking place in the soil clean the water of many pollutants before it is cycled back into creeks and lakes.

beyond water

“everything that happens in the city is very directly related to human impacts and human values. and, so it doesn’t make sense to have environmental projects that don’t consult the humans that are a part of this environment,” says tarr, a doctoral student working on the project. the green infrastructure project reflects this perspective and distinguishes itself from similar ecological engineering projects by combining a traditional biophysical research approach with a social science perspective.

“the goal is to create an adaptive management approach,” tarr says. she has been conducting surveys with community members in skunk city. “that way, as the project goes on, it can be changed based on what’s working for the actual people living next to (the rain gardens).”

the researchers hope that the project will foster a voice that outlives their presence in the community.

“this may be like a jumpstart,” burgess says. “they get involved in these rain gardens, they’re going to want to be involved in the new store being built down the street. it just lets them know that they can have a say, a voice over what happens in their community.”

tarr agrees: “i would hope that…the community can feel like they’re being heard and see the impacts, see their voice represented in what’s happening in these lots, so that even if the community itself no longer legally owns the lot, it still is reflexive of what their values are.”

while the green infrastructure project addresses the area of hydrology, it also directly addresses the environmental justice issues that have plagued syracuse for generations and paves a sustainable path for the future of syracuse and other metropolitan areas.

it ends with a community

the green infrastructure project is still in its beginning stages, but the results already are promising. the first rain gardens are currently scheduled to be installed in april of this year, and both tarr and burgess are enthusiastic about the future of the project. with any luck, the coming spring showers will encourage the growth of these new rain gardens, and allow skunk city, and the realm of stormwater management to grow with them.

1. climate change is already happening.

east africa already is experiencing the effects of climate change. average annual temperatures have increased by 0.7 degrees celsius, and rainfall also has become more variable as the timing of the long and short rainy seasons has shifted. a recent study by sharon nicholson tracks these changes, including a steady decline in the length of the long rainy season as well as the extension of prolonged drought periods throughout east africa.

while rainfall changes may be difficult to pinpoint without precise measuring devices, mount kilimanjaro, the tallest mountain in africa, provides tangible evidence of climatic changes in the area. the summit was previously covered with snow, but the numerous glaciers on the mountain are beginning to recede, leaving less snow at the peak, a fact that many scientists and residents attribute to climate change. if current climate trends continue in the region, these 10,000-year-old glaciers could completely disappear within the next two decades, giving a painstakingly clear image of the severity of climate change impacts in the region.

2. those most affected are not causing the problem.

as with many of the regions hit hardest by anthropogenic climate change, those in east africa are receiving a disproportionate amount of the negative effects. many east africans continue to live by traditional means, and even those whom have westernized as a result of globalization and tourism often live in a more sustainable fashion than their counterparts in more industrialized nations.

in 2013, the average united states citizen consumed about 97.164 btu compared with an average east african energy consumption of less than .2 btu. as such, the typical east african has a much more sustainable lifestyle, in terms of energy usage, and a much more negligible impact upon anthropogenic climate change. however, despite their minor role in the cause, these people are unfortunately not immune from the effects of climate change, as evidenced by the rapid changes overtaking the area.

3. it is affecting the livelihoods of those who live here.

in the spring of 2017, a late start to the long rainy season, coupled with an early end, threw much of the region into a prolonged drought. the repercussions of this lack of rainfall are still being seen months later as livestock and wildlife populations have slowly begun to recover, the planting of several crops has been forestalled, and the yield of many other crops has additionally been reduced. while the origin of this most recent drought is not entirely known, the increasing prevalence of drought in the area, along with increasing temperatures, threatens the viability of life in the region.

in a survey of farmers in the rural village of kilimatembo, in tanzania, nearly 90 percent of farmers stated that there had been decreases in crop yields over the past ten years as a result of climatic changes. indeed, it is such small-scale agriculturists that will be the hardest hit by climate change. a majority of the population in kenya, ethiopia, somalia, and tanzania continues to rely on subsistence agriculture, either by means of pastoralism, as is practiced by the maasai, or by means of agro-pastoralism, which is practiced by several other local tribes including the iraqw, chagga, and manga’ti. this can be especially challenging as these small-scale agriculturists often lack the resources and knowledge to implement helpful mitigation strategies.

4. positive steps are being taken.

luckily, steps are already being taken across east africa to combat the effects of climate change and provide alternatives for those who will be hit hardest. at the forefront for small-scale agriculturists are a variety of conservation agriculture techniques that are rapidly spreading throughout east africa. these techniques, which include terracing, crop rotation, intercropping, and cover cropping, are aimed at preserving the soil quality of cultivated land and increasing crop yields for farmers.

as climate change continues to alter weather patterns in the area, these techniques can provide some much-needed relief for small-scale agriculturists. in the karatu highlands of tanzania, many farmers are adopting terracing, intercropping, and cover cropping as a means of improving crop yields and preserving the quality of the soil, and, as educational outreach improves, many are additionally seeing the benefits of these techniques as a means to combat climate change.

while climate change proves to be a demanding challenge for east africa, the steps already being taken provide hope for the people whom call this corner of the world home. armed with these valuable mitigation strategies, the people of east africa are standing resolutely in the face of a rapidly changing climate, ready to forge a new path into the coming decades and centuries.

kilimatembo — which translates to “hill of elephants” — is far from the only village struggling with issues of human-elephant conflict. crop-raiding by elephants has become a pressing issue in areas bordering protected land, leading to reduced crop yields, a negative perception of elephants in local communities, and, in some cases, injuries and deaths of both humans and elephants as farmers are forced to confront these giants head-on.

bees may be the shockingly small and simple solution to this problem. while tiny in stature, these insects pack quite a punch, especially where elephants are concerned. elephants tend to avoid areas where bees are prevalent, seemingly because the sensitive skin around their eyes, ears, and trunk gives them a nasty predisposition towards painful stings. jumping off from this idea, lucy king of save the elephants, an ngo devoted to minimizing human-elephant conflicts, developed a beehive fence for use in african farmsteads, which is quickly being adopted throughout africa and asia.

the need for bees

with more land coming under cultivation, solutions to wildlife conflicts, such as those posed by elephant crop raiding, are more needed than ever. one study conducted by catrina mackenzie and peter ahabyona in a village in uganda near kibale national park found that farmers lost an average of 1.5% of their household capital asset wealth over the course of six months from elephant crop raiding. this can be especially troubling for small-scale subsistence agriculturists like julius, who rely directly upon their crops for food throughout the year.

some areas in kenya, such as kimana sanctuary, have employed electric fences to keep elephants and other potentially destructive wildlife within protected areas and away from human settlements. however, this method of fencing wildlife in, can be destructive to migratory wildlife, and is thus unsustainable in many areas. on the other hand, bordering farmland with electric fencing is not cost effective for the typical small-scale agriculturist, especially as much of the rural population in east africa and southeast asia, where wild elephants still roam, lack access to electricity.

beehive fences provide a sustainable solution for many agriculturists. bee boxes can be constructed from a variety of local materials such as wood and old tires, and thus tend to be a more a cost-effective approach to wildlife conflict mitigation. save the elephants estimates typical start-up costs as low as $150 per 100 meters of fencing. in addition, once bees move into the bee boxes, farmers may accrue additional food or income from the collection of honey and honeycomb as well as increased crop yields associated with the presence of more pollinators.

how it works

to construct a beehive fence, empty bee boxes are strung on a wire surrounding the field of interest. within a few months, wild bees typically move into these boxes to create a living, breathing fence. if an elephant attempts to enter the field, they will likely jiggle the line connecting the boxes, which, in turn, shakes the beehives along the outskirts of the field. it is likely that the would-be crop thief will rush back into the safety of the forest even before the jostled bees swarm, forced into flight by the fearful noise of their most tiny, ferocious enemies.

looking forward

preliminary trials in kenya have proven that bee box fences are more effective than traditional thorn bush barriers or western-style fencing at keeping elephants at bay, with a success rate of over 80%. while more trials are needed, these results prove promising for the future of farming within east africa and southeast asia, especially as beehive fences are relatively cheap and easy to implement.

beehive fences have already been employed in thirteen different countries throughout africa and asia, including tanzania, and the practice is continuing to spread.

in kilimatembo, julius still speaks of the devastation that an overnight visit by an elephant can cause to his or his neighbor’s fields. however, beehive fences have become more common in the area, appearing in neighboring villages as the practice becomes better known. with any luck, bees will soon become regular inhabitants of kilimatembo as well, increasing the food security of rural families like julius’s.

it just goes to show: sometimes to solve big problems, you have to think small.

today’s food often journeys far from where it is initially grown, to factories where it is combined with other foods, packed into plastic, and shipped to urban centers before finally making it into the hands of the consumer, a hundred calories denser and soaked through with extra sugar and unhealthy additives. in large part due to this flood of cheap, processed food, obesity rates have skyrocketed, with a 2010 study reporting obesity rates of over 30% in both male and female adults. hidden behind this flat rate are significant disparities between socioeconomic and ethnic groups, with people of color and people of low socioeconomic status possessing a greater risk for obesity and other diet-related illnesses.

such disparities arise in large part due to the proliferation of food deserts in urban areas. despite the clear importance of diet, most urban spaces are not constructed in a way that adequately incorporates food access as a concern. for example, a 2010 report to congress estimated that 5.7 million households without a personal vehicle lived over a half mile from a grocery store. access to food, however, extends beyond being able to easily reach a grocery store. as ann fellows, professor of food studies at syracuse university, explains, “access is the process of allowing and helping people to help themselves…access to water, access to training, access to credit; all of those things are part of access, if access is defined in terms of producing your own food.”

one organization working to close the gap in food accessibility in austin, texas is the happy kitchen/la cocina alegre. started in the 1990s as a spanish-only organization, the happy kitchen has since grown into a bilingual, multiethnic group that focuses on teaching participants how to obtain and prepare healthy and inexpensive meals.

“we’re all about food access, touching everything that happens from seed to plate.”  recounts program director, molly costigan. “we focus on growing, sharing, and preparing, and the happy kitchen is mainly focused on preparing.”

offering twenty-four cooking series a year, the happy kitchen opens its doors to all but especially targets communities of low-income and of high-risk for diet-related illnesses. rather than simply giving out food, as a typical food bank does, the happy kitchen engages participants in expense-free lessons concerning how to shop for and prepare healthy food options on a budget. students commit to one ninety minute class a week, often held in nearby, easily-accessed churches, schools, and community centers. over six weeks, facilitators engage their students in an interactive learning experience through cooking demonstrations, conversations about food labels and healthy, fresh alternatives, and the opportunity to bring free groceries home to practice.

“participants are really thinking of themselves more of as cooks because of that model.” costigan adds. “you know, folks can go home and make the recipe for their families and add chicken to the vegetable rice because their husband wanted meat on the plate or they can add nuts to their muffins to make them more filling.”

past participant and current facilitator, lindsay upson, agrees. upson decided to take part in the happy kitchen after moving to austin in an attempt to meet new people and expand her culinary skill-set. she quickly found much more than that. “while participating in the happy kitchen,” upson relates, “one finds that it is a gateway to local farmers markets, gardening co-ops, additional cooking lessons, and agricultural legislation…we all know we should eat healthier, but, for each of us, there is a barrier that prevents us from doing so. the happy kitchen tries to remove those barriers.”

from tiny roots, the happy kitchen has become a driving force of change in central texas. with over 90% of participants reporting back that that they use food labels to make healthier food choices, eat more fruits and vegetables, eat less sodium, and eat more lean proteins after completing a program, it’s clear that the happy kitchen truly has lived up to its name.

“we’re very much a central texas, austin-area organization.” costigan pronounces proudly. “we feel that that’s where we can best connect with communities and where we can best reach people, but we have worked with other grassroots, community-based organizations to implement our curriculum in their communities.”

this deep-rooted connection can be seen through the happy kitchen’s longstanding collaboration with local farmers markets, as well as the regional and cultural finesse of their lessons. by placing an emphasis on seasonal foods and by offering bilingual programs, the happy kitchen truly encapsulates the needs of the austin community.

most importantly, the happy kitchen succeeds in forwarding discussions of food accessibility to a demographic often excluded from such conversations. “we need more spaces where people can have a conversation about the problems and become engaged in the answers.” dr. fellows states. “becoming engaged in the answers means becoming engaged in helping your own particular community.”

the happy kitchen does just that by opening a forum through which participants can converse and engage in discussions of food accessibility and work towards solutions on both an individual and a community level. by investing participants in their own diet and forging connections between students and their food, the happy kitchen is slowly closing the gap of food accessibility by taking steps backwards, past the plastic packaging and distant farms to a time when people were deeply rooted in the land. it is a return to those environmental connections that sustained us for years and will continue to carry us into future generations.