Happy New Year, Gardeners!
Let me begin with a huge THANK YOU on behalf of the entire GreenThumb team for all of your tremendous efforts in 2016. Once again, GreenThumb gardens and gardeners outdid themselves across the five boroughs – growing food, hosting events, beautifying neighborhoods, connecting neighbors, and strengthening communities.
It was a very big year for GreenThumb! We welcomed 41 new permanent community gardens into the GreenThumb family, hosted the first annual Garden Recognition Awards at the Harvest Fair, grew our Youth Leadership Council to over 100 students, and partnered with Building Healthy Communities to offer grant opportunities to increase food production in GreenThumb gardens, to name just a few accomplishments.
Our team has grown, too, as we’ve brought on several new folks who are excited to join GreenThumb. We are in the midst of realigning GreenThumb internally to better serve our gardeners, and once completed we will have an expanded Outreach Team that is able to work more closely with gardens, a larger Field Operations Team to make deliveries and complete special projects, and a new Planning & Projects Team to oversee several exiting new initiatives.
My plan to see all 600 GreenThumb gardens in 2016 was perhaps a bit too ambitious (what was I thinking!?), though I did manage to see nearly 200. In doing so, I was able to meet many of you, and I’m looking forward to seeing many more gardens and meeting many more gardeners in the coming season. I continue to be amazed at your passion, dedication and ability to have such a profound impact in your communities. It goes without saying that a neighborhood with a GreenThumb garden is one that is greener, healthier, more united, and ultimately stronger.
Planning is well underway for the 33rd annual GreenThumb GrowTogether Conference on March 25th at Hostos Community College. We have some amazing t-shirt design contest submissions, and the winner will once again be unveiled at the Conference. In the meantime, check out the 2016-17 Winter Program Guide for ways to stay involved.
Many of you have reached out this past year with great ideas on how GreenThumb can support gardens and gardeners, and I encourage you to continue doing so. Invite us to your events, offer to host a workshop, or just drop us a line to let us know how things are going. Our gardens are important and special places that serve so many purposes, and they continue to thrive because of your hard work, so we want to know how we can best support you in your efforts.
As we look forward to the season to come, here are just a few exciting new things on the horizon at GreenThumb:
Strategic Action Plan – We’ll be drafting a 10-year strategic action plan in cooperation with our gardeners to expand the reach and impact of GreenThumb gardens.
Workshop Series Overhaul – We’ll be taking our lead from you as we completely overhaul our workshop series. Mara Gittlemen – our new Special Programs Coordinator – will be reaching out soon as we begin that effort.
New Toolkits – Are you considering getting some hens? Interested in a pollinator garden? Do you want to install a bat box, or begin keeping bees? We’ll be doing some research and putting together toolkits on how these activities and more can be done safely in GreenThumb gardens.
Meet & Greets – We’ll be hosting Borough-wide meet and greets so that gardeners have an opportunity to interact and exchange ideas with other gardeners, greening partners, and community stakeholders across their respective boroughs.
Free Compost – We are expanding our partnership with our friends at the Department of Sanitation and NYC Compost Project to offer more opportunities for gardens to get free compost for your gardens.
There is much that we can do in the coming year to continue to expand the benefits of urban gardening to more New Yorkers. We at GreenThumb are excitedly looking ahead to the season to come, and I know that you all will continue to amaze us as you cultivate open and inclusive community spaces in neighborhoods across New York City.
Together, we will make 2017 the year of the gardens!
My best,
Bill LoSasso
Director, GreenThumb
2016 Highlights
Forty one new gardens are now a part of NYC Parks GreenThumb.
Our first annual Garden Recognition Awards were a terrific recognition of all our gardeners hard work and years of service to the community.
GreenThumb received additional support from the City through increased staffing and resources.
GreenThumb brought the seasonal supply distribution to the gardeners in each borough.
We held our first ever GreenThumb Garden Month.
New GreenThumb Staff
Mara Gittleman is our Special Programs Coordinator.
Bobbie Dunnington is our Project & Operations Coordinator.
Isak Mendes has a new role as Project & Design Coordinator.
Eric Thomann is our new Outreach Coordinator.
Greg Anderson is our new Outreach Coordinator.
Diana Pedi and Zubeida Lipi are managing the Youth Leadership Council.
New heavy duty Land Restoration Project crew members are:
Louis Bristole
Jose Guartan
Billy Hall
News
Garden Groups Reminded to Clear Snow
Garden groups are reminded to keep sidewalks, walkways, and curbs inside and adjacent to the garden clean and free of snow and ice as per the GreenThumb Handbook and license agreement.
GreenThumb GrowTogether 2017 Workshop Submission
Are you interested in offering a workshop at this year’s GrowTogether Conference on Saturday March 25th, 2017 at Hostos Community College? Submit your proposal by Friday, January 13th for consideration and if you have any questions, please contact our Special Programs Coordinator, Mara Gittleman, at mara.gittleman@parks.nyc.gov or (212) 602-5318.
GreenThumb GrowTogether 2017 Networking Form
We are happy to share this opportunity to network and connect with community gardeners around the issues of urban agriculture, food justice, sustainability, youth, community organizing and much more. We invite you to complete this form in order to obtain table space at our lunchtime networking event. Download the form here: GreenThumb GrowTogether
2017- Networking Event Table Form
Please complete and return this form no later than February 17th, 2017. Confirmation letters with conference information will be sent out within the first week of March.
GreenThumb Youth Leadership Council 2017
GreenThumb is launching its third year of the Youth Leadership Council. It is a free program designed for high school youth 14-21 years old and college students to volunteer in a GreenThumb community garden located throughout the five boroughs. The program will take place during the spring/summer of 2017.
GreenThumb GrowTogether Conference 2017
Come celebrate the official kick-off of the community gardening season in New York City. The day will be packed with 30+ workshops on garden related topics including: food systems education, kids’ activities, vegetable growing techniques, and designing your community garden for the present and future. Please get your tickets HERE
Alcorn State University: Research on African American Farmers
The Socially Disadvantaged Farmers and Ranchers Policy Research Center, which is located at Alcorn State University, is a national center that was created to assist socially disadvantaged farmers and ranchers and to improve their success. They are conducting a research study on the participation of African American farmers in programs, which are sponsored by United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) programs. This study desires to explore the involvement of African American farmers in USDA programs to understand the factors that contribute to their participation.
COMMUNITY BOARD APPLICATIONS ARE NOW AVAILABLE FOR THE 2017-2019 TERM
Please see the links below if you’re interested in learning more or applying:
Bronx
Brooklyn
Manhattan
Queens
Staten Island
As hand-on volunteers with deep community ties, GreenThumb gardeners are great candidates to serve on boards, which play an important advisory role on neighborhood issues including land use, city budgets, local service provision, and other community issues.
Community boards are consulted when new gardens are begun, and they identify funding priorities in neighborhoods every year during the City budget process.
Learn more about Community Boards
Grants
Citizens Committee: Neighborhood Grants
Citizens Committee awards micro-grants of up to $3,000 to resident-led groups to work on community and school projects throughout the city. They prioritize groups based in low income neighborhoods and Title I public schools.
Deadline January 23, 2017
Partnerships for Parks – Capacity Fund Grants
Partnerships for Parks makes small grants of up to $5,000 to strengthen the outreach, membership, and program-planning capacity of community groups who care for their neighborhood parks in all five boroughs of New York City. This initiative is made possible by City Parks Foundation thanks to the Parks Equity Initiative of the New York City Council under the leadership of Speaker Melissa Mark-Viverito.
Deadline February 1, 2017
Borough President Capital Grant Funding
Borough President Capital Grant Funding applications are available. Every year the Borough President’s provide funding in support of various important capital projects throughout the city. This funding is available to city agencies, nonprofit organizations, cultural institutions, and public schools for projects serving New York City purposes. Please follow the links below for your respective borough.
Deadline February 14th
City Council Capital Grants
New York City Council offers capital funding requests for non-profit organizations. Submit your application through CapGrants.
Deadline March 24th
Workshops
Tuesday, January 10, 2017
GreenThumb Workshop: Funding Your Garden, Park, or Green Space
5:30 p.m.–7:00 p.m.
The Partnerships for Parks (PfP) Capacity Fund Grant program provides small grants of up to $5,000 to strengthen the outreach, membership, and event-planning capacity of community groups who care for their neighborhood parks, gardens, and street trees across all five boroughs of New York City. Meet the PfP Grants Team at this information session and learn how this grant, and other fundraising opportunities, can support your community garden work for the year ahead. Refreshments will be provided.
Location: Pelham Fritz Recreation Center (in Marcus Garvey Park), Manhattan
Cost: Free
Please RSVP here.
New Year’s Resolution: Learn How to Compost
6:30 p.m.–8:00 p.m.
Make 2017 the year to adopt more environmentally-sustainable habits! Join us for an introductory workshop on composting your food scraps in New York City. We’ll be covering what compost is, why it is important, and the many ways that all NYC residents can compost their food scraps.
Location: Sixth Street Community Center, Manhattan
Cost: Free
Please RSVP here.
Thursday, January 12, 2017
GreenThumb Workshop: Funding Your Garden, Park, or Green Space
5:30 p.m.–7:00 p.m.
The Partnerships for Parks (PfP) Capacity Fund Grant program provides small grants of up to $5,000 to strengthen the outreach, membership, and event-planning capacity of community groups who care for their neighborhood parks, gardens, and street trees across all five boroughs of New York City. Meet the PfP Grants Team at this information session and learn how this grant, and other fundraising opportunities, can support your community garden work for the year ahead. Refreshments will be provided.
Location: Brooklyn Community Foundation, Brooklyn
Cost: Free
Please RSVP here.
Saturday, January 21, 2017
GreenThumb Workshop: Organizing for Garden Success: By-Laws
11:00 a.m.–1:00 p.m.
Part 2 of 3: Disorganization Creates Dysfunction
This three-part workshop series is designed to help your garden group build a strong foundation to deal with the many issues that arise in a community space. In this workshop we will be discussing garden rules and procedures that assist in decision making.
Location: GreenThumb Office, Manhattan
Cost: Free
Please RSVP here. Please bring a photo ID.
Friday, January 27, 2017
GreenThumb Field Trip: Tour the Queens County Farm Museum
2:00 p.m.–3:00 p.m.
Join GreenThumb on a free field trip to the Queens Country Farm to learn about winter farming practices and to view the view greenhouse, low-tunnel, and high-tunnel house construction.
Location: Queens County Farm Museum (in Queens Farm Park), Queens
Cost: Free
Please RSVP here.
