News
Help NYC Parks GreenThumb grow as we expand to reach more New Yorkers across social media!
Follow GreenThumb on:
Facebook | Twitter | Flickr | Instagram | tumblr
June is GreenThumb Garden Month
June will once again be GreenThumb Garden Month. We’re asking all of our gardens to plan free community events in the month of June to show neighborhoods across NYC the full benefit of being home to a GreenThumb garden. Let us know here about all of your events so that we can post them on our website.
Membership Updates are Due!
All GreenThumb community gardens should send an updated list of members to their Outreach Coordinator. Submission template.
GreenThumb Harvest Fair and Garden Recognition Awards
GreenThumb’s annual Harvest Fair will be held on Saturday, September 16th in Brooklyn, where we’ll be awarding ribbons to the winners of the annual Harvest Competition and also celebrating the 2nd annual GreenThumb Garden Recognition Awards.
Nominate a garden or gardener for a Garden Recognition Award.
Grants and Opportunities
CRAFT Day at Friends of the High Line
Green Council offers paid job opportunities for local youth aged 14-19 in urban gardening and food justice work. Green Council members learn about horticulture, and work alongside High Line Gardeners, collaborate with other youth on issues of food justice, and partner with organizations to care for green spaces. Once members complete one year in the program, they can apply to be Leaders, developing leadership skills through facilitation and decision making, while also serving as peer mentors for their fellow members.
Date: Tuesday, June 8
Location: 820 Washington Street New York, NY 10014
Time: 9:30 a.m. – 2 p.m.
STEW-MAP is Live!
The STEW-MAP 2017 survey is now live! STEW-MAP is a map and searchable database of stewardship groups designed to help understand and strengthen our civic capacity to take care of New York’s neighborhoods. Your response and input helps support a vibrant, connected, and green NYC. Visit our website for more information about STEW-MAP, and contact stewmap.ufs@gmail.com with any questions.
Home Depot Community Impact Grant
The Home Depot Foundation offers grants up to $5,000 to 501(c)(3) organizations that are using the power of volunteers to improve the physical health of their community.
Deadline: Rolling basis until Sunday, December 31, 2017
More Info: https://corporate.homedepot.com/grants/community-impact-grants
Captain Planet Foundation: Environmental Education Grants
The mission of the Captain Planet Foundation is to give the next generation of environmental stewards an active understanding and love for the natural world in which they live. The Captain Planet Foundation primarily makes grants to U.S.-based schools and organizations with an annual operating budget of less than $3 million. Funding range: $500 to $2,500.
Deadline: September 30, 2017
More Info: http://www.captainplanetfoundation.org/apply-for-grants/
Citizens Committee for New York City: Reuse and Repair Grant
Citizens Committee for New York City is partnering with the Manhattan Solid Waste Advisory Board (SWAB) and Manhattan Borough President Gale Brewer to launch our newest grant initiative: NYC Reuse and Repair. The goal of the grant is to support New York City in reusing, repairing, and refurbishing 100% of all discarded products that can be reused in some capacity, with the balance being recycled.
Deadline: September 12, 2017
More Info: http://www.citizensnyc.org/grants/reuse-and-repair-grant
City Parks Foundation
You can view a listing of grant opportunities and other resources on the City Parks Foundation website.
Workshops
Did you know that ALL our workshops are free and open to the public? You can find soil and lumber request forms at ALL GreenThumb-led workshops.
GreenThumb Workshop Survey
Do you have ideas for GreenThumb workshops? Would you like to host a workshop in your garden, share your skills by teaching other gardeners, or simply let us know which workshops you’d like us to offer? Let us know in this survey!
Tuesday, June 6
Planting Herbs for Health and Wellness
6:30 p.m.–8:00 p.m.
Janiele Lewis, Intergenerational WELLth Educator, Coach, and Community Chef, and GreenThumb
Curious about how you can help your community members naturally increase their resilience to heart disease, cancer, diabetes and other chronic conditions…with what you grow? Then join us, as we explore how to simply and strategically plan and plant medicinal herbs and foods, which support our best health and satisfy our taste for diversity!
Location: Ashford Learning Garden
341 Ashford St., Brooklyn.
Thursday, June 8
A Gardener’s Yoga
6:00 p.m.–8:00 p.m.
Onika Abraham, Director of Farm School NYC, and GreenThumb
Repetitive gardening movements often cause painful knee joints and sore back muscles. Founded by a farmer and Kripalu-trained yoga instructor, A Gardener’s Yoga classes are for gardeners, not gurus. This class will soothe, strengthen and connect students with their intention to grow. We will have a limited number of mats available so please bring your own if you can. Este taller se ofrecerá con traducción al Español.
Location: Two Coves Community Garden
11–01 30th Ave., Queens
Saturday, June 10
The Wonderful World of Caribbean Vegetables
1:00 p.m.–3:00 p.m.
Marlene Wilks, GreenThumb community gardener at New Vision Garden, and Brooklyn Botanic Garden Bitter
Melon, callaloo, Malabar spinach, and dasheen are familiar to many Brooklyn gardeners, yet a mystery to some. Learn hands-on how to source, grow, and use a variety of amazing Caribbean veggies to add a taste of the Islands to your garden. Pre-registration required.
Location: Brooklyn Botanic Garden
1000 Washington Ave., Brooklyn
Living Soil: Soil Fertility for Crop Production
11:00 a.m.–12:00 p.m.
NYC Compost Project hosted by Snug Harbor
Learn how to nourish the soil to support plants in developing our favorite fruiting crops and make this summer’s harvest the best you’ve ever had! Register at snug-harbor.org/compost/
Location: Snug Harbor Compost Demonstration Site, Staten Island
For directions visit www.snug-harbor.org/visit/directions
The Compost Demonstration Site is #23 on the map.
Tuesday, June 13
Plants that Take the Heat
6:00 p.m.–8:00 p.m.
Brooklyn Botanic Garden
Whether you want a lively tree bed, a bodacious window box, or a colorful front yard, it helps to use drought- and heat-tolerant plants. We’ll share some tough beauties and water-wise tips to stop your garden from wilting this summer. Pre-registration required.
Location: Brooklyn Botanic Garden
1000 Washington Ave., Brooklyn
Wednesday, June 14
Making Mosaics
5:30 p.m.–7:00 p.m.
Barbara Cahn, community gardener at LaGuardia Corner Gardens, and GreenThumb
Enhance your garden’s character by creating unique and colorful mosaic stepping stones. We will use recycled tiles, ceramics, and glass. Feel free to bring your own tiles, take-out containers for shaping the stones, friends, family, and creative ideas!
Location: LaGuardia Corner Community Garden
511 LaGuardia Place, Manhattan
Saturday, June 17
Join M’Finda Kalunga Community Garden for its 2017 Juneteenth Celebration! Juneteenth marks the freedom of the last enslaved African Americans in the U.S. For more information, please visit www.mkgarden.org
Location: M’Finda Kalunga Community Garden
Across the street from 177 Chrystie St. in Sarah Roosevelt Park, Manhattan
Thursday, June 22
Drip Irrigation 101
5:30 p.m.–7:00 p.m.
Brooklyn Botanic Garden, East New York Farms!, Grow to Learn, and GreenThumb
Save water and save time by using drip irrigation. This sustainable garden technique transports water directly to the plant so there is no need to water the whole bed. Learn the basics in this hands-on class. Registered community garden groups who attend this workshop may be eligible to pick up rainwater harvesting barrels.
Location: Hands and Heart Community Garden
290 New Lots Ave., Brooklyn
Saturday, June 24
Building a Brick BBQ
1:00 p.m.–5:00 p.m.
GreenThumb
You can’t beat the taste of barbecued food cooked on a grill. Forget rushing to the garden center to buy an expensive barbecue—set aside one day and you can have your own stylish brick barbecue. Learn the basics of keeping it safe and what is allowed in your community garden. This workshop is in collaboration with GreenThumb’s Youth Leadership Council. Este taller se ofrecerá con traducción al Español.
Location: Melrose New Generation Community Garden
377 E. 160th St., Bronx
Tuesday, June 27
Attracting Pollinators and Pest-Controlling Predator Insects with Native Plants
6:00 p.m.–7:30 p.m.
Bronx Green-Up/The New York Botanical Garden and GreenThumb
Learn about the importance of our local pollinators and how to create gardens to attract them. As part of the workshop we will spend time identifying the native plants that host them at New Roots Community Farm. We will also observe and discuss design elements of the pollinator gardens and spend some time caring for the plants.
Location: New Roots Community Farm
670 Grand Concourse Train, Bronx
Wednesday, June 28
Keeping Chickens Part 1: Spring and Summer (Brooklyn)
6:00 p.m.–8:00 p.m.
GreenThumb and Alex LaMond, GreenThumb community gardener at Tranquility Farm
Learn the nuts and bolts of keeping chickens in the city. This workshop will be the first in a two-part series: this summer we’ll cover maintenance for spring and summer, and in the fall we’ll discuss maintenance for fall and winter. Garden groups who attend both sessions will be eligible to receive a book on keeping chickens! Part 1 this summer will be offered in two locations, and Part 2 will be offered in the fall.
Location: Tranquility Farm
267 Throop Ave., Brooklyn
Grow to Learn Spring 2017 Workshop Registration
See the Grow to Learn Spring 2017 Workshop Calendar and registration. They have lots of topics for you to select, and will be adding to this form as the season goes on, check back regularly to the events calendar for more workshops from Grow to Learn and other partner organizations. You must register to attend any Grow to Learn workshop- fill out the information below to sign up for one or more workshops of your choice.
Access all workshop info and more in GreenThumb’s Summer Program Guide
