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Saturday, February 26, 2011

Some Fun Pictures of Community Gardens




Crows lined up on a cable from the Brooklyn Bridge
repurposed into a railing in the 
Brooklyn Bear's Pacific Street Garden 



A steel plate remnant from a stamping factory 
now artwork in the Creative Little Garden



Glass bottles embedded in a pathway
 in the Diaz y Flores Garden



Rose and DEP water meter in the 
Brooklyn Bear's Pacific Street Garden
Water bill paid in Roses?



Rocking chair planter in 
a garden in St.Paul, Minnesota
(photo from 2006)



Eyes on the Street!?
Sculpture in
United We Stand / Sunflower Garden

Friday, February 18, 2011

Gardening Time is Almost Here! ...But

The snow here is almost all gone. I can see the soil, the leaves that have been covered for almost 2 months, even collards left from last season that somehow survived being buried in the snow. So the physical gardening time is upon us. Almost time to start seeds indoors for the tender plants and outdoors for the snow peas and greens.....


Of course for community gardeners the planning, fundraising, meetings and discussions have been ongoing  - not hibernating for the winter. A few related items have come to my attention over the past few days.


The New York City Community Garden Coalition is sponsoring a forum on Saturday March 19th,  Making Gardens Permanent: Long Term Solutions . Hopefully this forum will continue the dialogue to find the type of land protections that will ensure longevity and sustainability for NYC community gardens that has been ongoing for  at least the past year. I have discussed this subject at least 3 times in this blog on March 5, 2010 ,  July 26, 2010 and August 18, 2010 .


Unfortunately I won't be able to be there, I am leading a winter tree walk for Staten Island OutLoud at the same time.  I hope there are some new well thought out ideas, maybe a municipal land trust or  deed restrictions.  There is a new resource that has come to my attention, Community Garden Legal Toolkit  published by Public Health Law and Policy that includes information about methods used in other cities. A good read for background but the New York City situation is unique and requires a solution tailored to this case in particular. I'll report on the discussion next week.


Another somewhat disturbing announcement this week was that President Obama announced cuts to the Community Development Block Grant Program. New York City's GreenThumb Program receives 100% of it's funding from this federal program. Up to this point GreenThumb has escaped past cuts to this program but here's another possible threat to resources for  community gardeners.

Yes, Community Gardening is impacted by political, social and economic forces but the sun and warmth of a late February thaw draws one to the feel of seeds and soil in your hands in the spring with the hope for fresh fruits and vegetables in those same hands in a few months. 





Tuesday, February 1, 2011

New York City Community Gardening Resources


New York City Community Gardening Resources

There is a wealth of information on-line about urban gardening.

For New York City Community Gardeners, there are a number of public and
private organizations that provide a variety of services to community gardeners.

GreenThumb
Established in 1978, GreenThumb (GT) remains the nation's largest urban gardening program, assisting 500 gardens and nearly 20,000 garden members throughout New York City. Their mission is to foster civic participation and encourage neighborhood revitalization while preserving open space.
Today, the GT program, by providing materials and technical assistance, continues to support neighborhood volunteers who manage community gardens as active and attractive community resources.
GT gardens are located in all five boroughs of New York City. The majority of GT gardens are located in economically disadvantaged community planning districts that receive federal financial support through a complement of open space, affordable housing, and economic development. Active garden sites create a stable force in the community and serve as anchors for other re-development initiatives.


Individual Community Garden Websites


6BC Botanical Garden http://6bc.org/

6th and B Garden http://www.6bgarden.org/


Brooklyn Bear’s Gardens http://brooklynbears.wordpress.com/

Clinton Community Garden http://www.clintoncommunitygarden.org/

Creative Little Garden  http://www.creativelittlegarden.org/

The Floyd Bennett Garden Association http://www.fbga.net/


Greene Acres Community Garden http://greeneacres.interactivist.net/

Hattie Carthan Community Garden http://www.hattiecarthangarden.com/





M’Finda Kalunga Community Garden http://www.mkgarden.org/

Prospect Heights Community Farm http://www.phcfarm.com/welcome/

Red Hook Community Farm http://www.added-value.org/the-farms

Red Shed Community Garden  http://www.redshedgarden.com/




West Side Community Garden http://www.westsidecommunitygarden.org/


GrowNYC
Formerly known as Council on the Environment, GrowNYC is a hands-on non-profit which improves New York City’s quality of life through environmental programs that transform communities block by block and empower all New Yorkers to secure a clean and healthy environment for future generations. GrowNYC's Open Space Greening (OSG) program empowers neighborhoods to build, manage, and sustain community gardens and other open spaces in New York City.

OSG has also taken the lead in bringing rainwater harvesting to community gardens.  We've built or trained people to build rainwater harvesting systems in gardens in all 5 boroughs.  Rainwater harvesting is much more convenient for gardeners and reduces demand on the public water supply system.  It also helps mitigate rainstorm runoff, which can overload storm drains and pollute the waters surrounding the city.

GrowNYC has completed an inventory of community gardens for the interactive, searchable GIS map Open Accessible Space Information Systems (OASIS), available at

Green Guerillas
Green Guerillas uses a unique mix of education, organizing, and advocacy to help people cultivate community gardens, sustain grassroots groups and coalitions, engage youth, paint colorful murals, and address issues critical to the future of their gardens.

New York State Community Garden Program
The Community Gardens Program was created to support the thousands of New Yorkers who are building greener, healthier cities through community gardens, school gardens and educational farms.
State law defines community gardens as “public or private lands upon which citizens of the state have the opportunity to garden on lands which they do not individually own.” There are well over 1,000 registered or permitted community gardens in New York’s cities and many more cases where residents have rescued derelict private or public lots in an effort to build more livable neighborhoods.

Over 100 community gardens in NYC are now privately owned as part of a Land Trust.
Two organizations either own or manage these sites, the Trust for Public Land and New York Restoration Project. The Trust for Public Land gardens are managed by the Manhattan Land Trust, Bronx Land Trust and the Brooklyn Queens Land Trust

Trust for Public Land
The Trust for Public Land now owns 69 community gardens throughout New York City. 64 gardens where saved from a city auction and eventual destruction, and an additional 5, the city subsequently donated to TPL for preservation. TPL works side by side with dedicated community gardeners to transform vacant lots into vibrant spaces where nature and community thrive.

Manhattan Land Trust – 14 gardens 
Bronx Land Trust – 16 gardens
Brooklyn Queens Land Trust – 34 gardens

New York Restoration Project
New York Restoration Project (NYRP) is a non-profit organization dedicated to reclaiming and restoring New York City parks, community gardens and open space.
The cornerstone of New York Restoration Project’s mission and work continues to be the restoration, re-design, maintenance and programming of the organization’s 55 community gardens located throughout New York City’s five boroughs.


Two of NYC’s botanic gardens Brooklyn Botanic Garden through Brooklyn GreenBridge and the New York Botanical Garden through Bronx Green-Up provide services to community gardeners in their respective Boroughs.

Brooklyn GreenBridge
GreenBridge, the community environmental horticulture program of Brooklyn Botanic Garden, promotes urban greening through education, conservation, and creative partnerships. Working with block associations, community gardens, and other service groups, GreenBridge is building a vibrant network of people, places, and projects dedicated to making Brooklyn a greener place.
All Brooklyn community gardens are invited to join the GreenBridge Community Garden Alliance (GCGA). The alliance's focus is on promoting sustainable gardening practices to support healthy communities of people, plants, and wildlife.
The Brooklyn Urban Gardener (BUG) certificate program is an eight-week course of interconnected workshops that cover the basics in urban gardening and community greening.

Bronx Green-Up
Bronx Green-Up, the community outreach program of The New York Botanical Garden, provides horticultural advice, technical assistance, and training to community gardeners, school groups, and other organizations interested in improving urban neighborhoods in the Bronx through greening projects.
Bronx Green-Up offers horticulture certificate programs and workshops for community gardeners throughout the year. It also hosts a number of events such as the Harvest Festival, which brings community gardeners together to celebrate their bounty, share information, and learn from each other.
http://www.nybg.org/green_up/

Additional sources of information and assistance for NYC community gardeners and others interested in community gardening.

Citizens Committee for NYC
Citizens Committee for New York City stimulates and supports self-help and civic action to improve the quality of life in New York City and its neighborhoods. Citizens Committee supports community gardeners’ efforts by offering workshops, grants, training, networking events, helpful publications, a lending library, a meeting space and one-on-one assistance.

Just Food
Just Food is a non-profit organization that works to develop a just and sustainable food system in the New York City region. The City Farms Program trains, connects, and empowers New York City community gardeners to spread knowledge about growing, selling, and giving more food in their neighborhoods.

Gardeners keep chickens all over the city providing fresh eggs, fun and education for children, fertilizer for the garden, aerated soil, kitchen and garden scrap recycling.  City Farms is working with experienced chicken keepers in NYC to create model projects from which gardeners can learn how to keep happy, healthy, and productive chickens.


Coalitions of gardeners unite community gardens, provide strength in numbers and opportunities to spread the word about community gardening

New York City Community Garden Coalition
The mission of the New York City Community Gardens Coalition is to promote the preservation and creation of community gardens and community-developed open space in the five boroughs of New York City, to educate the public about the value of gardens and the benefits they confer on New York City residents and to serve as an effective resource for providing information and technical support to community gardeners. They work to raise the profile of community gardening among elected and appointed officials, the media, the environmental community and the general public and to foster networking and communication among the NYC garden communities.

La Familia Verde
La Familia Verde is a coalition of community gardens in the Crotona, East Tremont, and West Farms neighborhoods in the Bronx. Formed in 1998, our mission is to sustain the environment and culture of our neighborhood through education, community service, and horticulture.

East New York Farms
The mission of the East New York Farms Project is to organize youth and adults to address food justice in our community by promoting local sustainable agriculture and community-led economic development.


Web based community gardener groups provide opportunities for networking, finding answers to problems or broadcasting information about a community garden event. You have to sign up to join these groups.

Brooklyn Community Gardeners Group

NYC-Gardens Coalition

New York State Community Garden Listserv
E-mail to get sign up directions-  GARDEN-L@listserv.health.state.ny.us

Community Garden Listserv
Post questions and information to the list and have immediate access to the collective knowledge of all the other subscribers, including the Board members of ACGA and hundreds of knowledgeable, experienced community gardeners from all over North America. Discussion topics range from fund raising to soil improvement to keeping gardeners motivated. The subscription is free and available in regular or digest version.

Community Gardening Blogs

Bed Stuy Blog

Community gardening

Farming Concrete

History and Research

A History of New York's Community Gardens 1970-2000

2010 Survey of NYC Community Gardens including history to 2010

The Effect of Community Gardens on Neighboring Property Values

Eco-tipping Points

Children, Gardens, and Lead Fact sheet on lead in the urban environment

Soil testing web site with instructions on how to get your soil tested.

Community Development through Gardening: State and Local
Policies Transforming Urban Open Space


How to……

How do I start a Community Garden?
For information about starting a community garden:

How to: Find a Community Garden in New York City

How to: Seed Saving

How to: Composting

How to: Garden Organically

How to: Community Garden Rules and regulations
In order for a garden to operate effectively it is important that everyone is aware of their responsibilities.
Here are 3 examples of garden rules to use as guides.

How to: Beekeeping


Community gardening is an activity that takes place the world over. To find out about community gardening beyond New York City visit the sites below.

American Community Gardening Association
The American Community Gardening Association (ACGA) was founded in 1979 to help gardening programs share their limited resources, and benefit from each other's experience and expertise.
Through its networking, publications (the annual Community Greening Review, quarterly newsletter The Community Gardener, etc.), slide show and an annual conference held in a different part of the country each year, ACGA: promotes the formation and expansion of national and regional community gardening networks, develops resources in support of community gardening and greening, encourages research on the impact of community greening, and conducts educational programs.
For information about community gardening in the US and Canada:

City Farmer
This site, "Urban Agriculture Notes" (www.cityfarmer.org), which has been running continuously since 1994 with its hundreds of pages of urban agriculture information, will remain online and will be updated when necessary with corrected e-mails, URL’s, etc. It is still a gold mine of information.

Since January 1, 2008, new articles have been posted to the new City Farmer News site.

More Links