Remediation at 707 Culbertson: "Alluvial soil + 200 years of industry = polluted sludge."

Here is what I've gleaned from weekend conversations, as previously discussed here: Urban Fusion update: Soil remediation necessary at 707 Culbertson.

Apparently Michele Finn will be pulling the Urban Fusion Community garden from its projected home at 707 Culbertson and looking elsewhere for a site.

At the same time, Keep New Albany Clean and Green will proceed with remediation (leads, toxins) at the original site.

Last week, NAC reader Gina had an excellent comment on this remediation work, which is applicable whether Urban Fusion remains there or not.

I think this is a great opportunity to raise residents' consciousness about the alluvial soil we live on. It's the perfect Bicentennial project, too.

Q: How do you restore soil that has been contaminated by 200 years of industry to a quality that food could be produced from?

This is a real world challenge, one each of us who owns an urban yard should think about. Alluvial soil + 200 years of industry = polluted sludge, probably two feet thick under our feet. Yum! Do you want to eat tomatoes grown in arsenic and lead? There are also many strong electro-magnetic fields that affect gardens and trees in New Albany.

I say: Let's keep going with Fusion Garden at Culbertson, and have the Phase I part be about REMEDIATION of toxins. What great knowledge to spread; the whole city is a toxic waste dump. Our goal should be actual native life-forms in the Falling Run creek as we clean the upstream watershed.

We have been "abating" our property at Main & 7th for five years now, and we are just getting to wormy good soil, although I still won't eat out of it. But bees and birds and bunnies are back, and this is a good sign.

Again, I think the city has a challenge we shouldn't miss to show how far forward, over time, a city lot can go with the right organic processes.