GreenThumb GrowTogether 2021 Design Contest
Submit your design for the 2021 GrowTogether Conference! While there will, unfortunately, be no GrowTogether t-shirts this year, GreenThumb is still hosting its annual GreenThumb GrowTogether 2021 Design Contest! Artists can submit up to three designs relating to the conference theme of “Gardens of Resilience”. The winning design will be used as a downloadable stencil for a DIY screen printing webinar during the conference and will also be featured during the conference. Please see here for more information about design specifications. Designs can be submitted for consideration to: greenthumbinfo@parks.nyc.gov. The application deadline is Friday, December 11, 2020. Designs will be disqualified if guidelines are not met.
In Memoriam
GreenThumb will be celebrating the lives and legacies of the community gardeners we lost in 2019 and 2020 during the 2021 GrowTogether conference. Please help us honor these gardeners by sending us their names, garden, photos, and brief statement about their lives as gardeners to: greenthumbinfo@parks.nyc.gov.
COVID-19 Policy Update Reminders:
GreenThumb Programming Updates
GreenThumb GrowTogether Workshop Proposals 2021
Due to COVID-19, the GrowTogether will be fully virtual this year, and spread out over multiple days. We’re inviting a wide range of workshop/webinar proposals about community gardening, seeds, composting, biodiversity, ecology, resilience, food and racial justice, herbalism, group development, community organizing, native plants, climate change, intergenerational gardening, garden/crop/movement histories, and more. We’re grateful for your offer to share your knowledge at our 37th annual conference, in an ongoing tradition of uplifting and celebrating community gardening in NYC since 1984.
The conference will take place Saturday, February 20 through Saturday, February 27 in a virtual format. Due to budget constraints during the pandemic, we are sadly unable to provide workshop materials or t-shirts this year.
Please complete this form no later than Wednesday, December 9, 5:00 p.m.
GreenThumb Growing Food Toolkit
GreenThumb supports community gardeners in growing food through educational workshops and materials. In the GreenThumb Growing Food Toolkit, you will find most of our workshop handouts and webinar recordings, as well as many resources from partnering organizations, on topics related to food production. We will continue to add to this page and update our educational resources as time and capacity allows.
GreenThumb Composting Toolkit and COVID-19 Compost Safety Guide
Many GreenThumb gardens host volunteer-run community composting operations or host food scrap drop-off sites. Due to COVID-19, curbside organics collection by the NYC Department of Sanitation is temporarily suspended and some food scrap drop-offs are currently closed. Because of these changes in the composting landscape, GreenThumb gardeners are seeing a growing public interest in composting at community gardens. The COVID-19 Compost Safety Guide provides guidance to existing compost sites on best practices for preventing the spread of COVID-19 during compost drop-offs or during use of the compost area. Gardens that are curious to learn more about the art and science of composting can refer to the Compost Toolkit, a compilation of webinars, videos, and publications from partners and compost experts.
GreenThumb Webinars
Join us for an ongoing series of online workshops to dig in, grow food, and keep your community garden going while following health and safety protocols.
Did you miss some of our past webinars? Webinar recordings are all available to watch online here: bit.ly/GreenThumbWebinars
Upcoming webinars include:
Please click the link to RSVP and receive information on how to join the webinar.
Documenting and Preserving Garden Legacies: Part 2
Wednesday, December 2, 5:30 p.m. – 7:30 p.m.
Join GreenThumb for our two part workshop series on oral history and community archiving. Community gardeners have shaped the history of New York City and it is critical that their experiences and legacies are preserved for future generations. Part 2 will focus on methods to archive and make community garden stories accessible using digital platforms such as wikimedia, social media, and online web exhibits. Participants will be provided with an introduction on how to conduct a community archive project design, identify record organization strategies and sharing their garden’s legacy with the greater public.
Troubleshooting for Advanced Composters
Tuesday December 8, 12:00 p.m. – 1:00 p.m.
Are you passionate about composting in your garden but not quite sure how to speed up your processing effort? Not sure how to compost beyond using tumblers? Have questions about composting in the off-season? Share your questions with GreenThumb staff who will assist you with some troubleshooting basics to improve your composting skills.
The Ultimate Houseplant Starter Guide For Beginners
Wednesday December 16, 5:30 p.m. – 6:30 p.m.
Bring the garden home with you this winter! This workshop will teach all eager houseplant learners basic houseplant care, such as lighting, watering, and humidity. Explore 10 of the best houseplants for beginners that we don’t usually see on a typical beginner houseplant list. Participants will get the best tips and tricks to ensure houseplant growth success.
Facilitated by Cristian Gilces, student at the Agriculture Program at John Bowne High School in Queens, NY, who has accumulated over 25 houseplants in his indoor greenhouse.
Organizing for Garden Success: Group Structure (Part 1 of 2)
Thursday, December 17, 5:30 p.m. – 7:30 p.m.
This two-part workshop series is designed to help your garden group build a strong foundation for your group’s leadership and decision-making structures. In this webinar, we will discuss different styles of group structure and share examples with one another around the good, the bad, and the ugly of garden governance issues.
This webinar will be interactive and we encourage everyone’s participation. We will not be recording.
Updates and Resources from Partners
The Urban Farmer-to-Farmer Summit
Saturday December 5, 10:00 a.m. – 6:00 p.m.
RSVP at this link for full details
The growing of food is an act of resiliency and sustainability, often led by People of Color, specifically Black, Indigenous, and Latinx communities. We acknowledge that during this current health pandemic, issues of food access, sovereignty, justice and inequity have been exacerbated.
The Urban Farmer-to-Farmer Summit has been created in solidarity to provide more structure for the NYC Urban Farm Community to come together. In community and collaboration, we aim to share resources, reflect on misadventures, strengthen connections, and highlight new opportunities to rise to the challenges of our times. Our hope is to make this an annual farmer-driven event with a low barrier to participate.
CitizenNYC Live: Neighborhood Chat
RSVP at this link for full details
Join CitizensNYC’s CEO, Dr. Rahsaan Harris in an open discussion on quality of life issues faced by New Yorkers. This new series provides an opportunity for grantee partners, nonprofit partners, funder partners, and elected officials to come together to discuss how they can be all in for rebuilding New York City.
Department of Health & Mental Hygiene Rat Academies
Rat Academies have gone Virtual! Attend a session to learn more about safe and effective rat prevention techniques. Upcoming sessions require RSVP at these links:
- Wednesday, December 2nd, 1:00 p.m. – 3:00 p.m.
- Tuesday December 8, 5:00 p.m. – 7:00 p.m.
- Tuesday December 15, 5:00 p.m. – 7:00 p.m.
- Wednesday, January 13, 5:00 p.m. – 7:00 p.m. – special gardener focused edition!
- Tuesday January 26, 5:00 p.m. – 7:00 p.m.
- Tuesday February 9, 5:00 p.m. – 7:00 p.m.
ThriveNYC’s COVID-19 Community Conversations: Mental Health, Equity and Resilience
A 60 minute informational virtual presentation on potential mental health impacts, relevant coping skills and available resources. This session will cover topics such as grief, trauma, coping and resilience in addition to mental health tips.
To RSVP for any of the upcoming sessions, please click here.
Partnerships for Parks Webinars & Volunteer Opportunities
Partnership for Parks provides support to neighborhood volunteers to advocate and care for parks and green spaces. They are offering a variety of webinars that may be of interest to community gardeners and have many opportunities to volunteer in your local parks. Details about upcoming webinars and volunteer opportunities are available here.
Distance Learning from our Partners
GrowNYC’s Education programs are providing weekly reads and activities using upcycled, easy-to-access materials for children and adults at home. Learn how to build your own tiny greenhouse in your apartment, a tasty recipe for mugwort, and more by visiting: https://www.grownycdistancelearning.org/
New York Restoration Project is also posting webinars on their YouTube page on different topics including climate change, green infrastructure and soil health.
Food and Agriculture Anti-Racism Resources
FoodTech Connect compiled this list of resources to help with better understanding systemic racism in the food system. They also included Black-owned farms, businesses and organizations to support. Learn more.
LES Ecology Center has Compost Available
The LES Ecology Center has free compost available for community gardens! Delivery options are available to sites in the Lower East Side. All other gardens would need to coordinate a pick-up from the Ecology Center’s compost site in East River Park in the Lower East Side. Fill out their Compost Request Form to request compost and learn more.
