Children are the future stewards of our environment. By involving them in a hands-on, practical solution that addresses issues around local food, climate change, peak oil and conservation, we put them in a powerful position to control a piece of their own world. Backyard hens open the door for broader understanding of these critical issues. The hens help us think about what we eat, what we throw away, where the rest of our food is coming from, and how a closed-loop system works at the most basic level.
Urban Hens will bring chicken
coops to community settings, design an effective model for easy
backyard hen tending, and provide activities for schools and community
organizations that spark children’s interest in aiding the
environment, raising food for their families and caring for their own
hens.
Our Urban Hens project will develop a sustainable model for
establishing chickens in urban settings. Backyard chickens
can provide a healthy, local food source and bring a not-so-new
dimension to homes, schools, and communities seeking sustainability.
Urban Hens represents a strong community partnership among three
organizations that share a common goal: to strengthen and enhance
communities through collaboration, education, and sustainable solutions
(The Children, Youth and Environments Center at the University of
Colorado, Boulder County Going Local and the Institute for
Intentionally Sustainable Neighborhoods). Urban
Hens is supported by the Foundation for Sustainability and Innovation.