Dear gardeners,
Please see updates from Greenthumb below. We *highly* recommend that as many of you as possible listen in on the rat academy on January 13th. The link to register is below. Keeping the rats at bay is a massive maintenance job and all of us need to be trained.
Thank you!
🌻🌻
Deadline Extended! 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 Monday January 11, 2021. 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 a brief statement about their lives as gardeners to: greenthumbinfo@parks.nyc.gov.
GreenThumb Programming Updates
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.
Rat Academy: Keeping the Garden Rat-Free
Wednesday, January 13, 5:00 p.m. – 7:00 p.m.
Learn Integrated Pest Management (IPM) strategies for keeping rats from wrecking your garden. In this workshop with the Department of Health and Mental Hygiene, participants will learn proper rat prevention measures, how to look for signs of rats, and how to correct the conditions that attract rats.
Tuesday, January 26, 12:00 p.m. – 1:00 p.m.
Grow more vegetables by planning ahead. Learn how to map out more than one season of bountiful harvests using planting calendars, knowledge of plant families, plant spacing charts, and more.
Make it Rain: Grants for your Green Space
Thursday, January 28, 5:30 p.m. – 7:00 p.m.
Are you working to improve your local NYC park, community garden, street trees, or other green space in your neighborhood? Come hear from Citizens Committee for NYC and Partnerships for Parks, who provide grants of up to $3,000 for NYC-based community green space projects. Learn about the financial resources they offer and tips to secure funding for your 2021 projects.
This webinar will focus on grant opportunities available only to green spaces in NYC.
Updates and Resources from Partners
Civic Engagement & Leadership Development Virtual Workshop Series
The Civic Engagement & Leadership Development course is a free professional certificate program sponsored by the CUNY School of Labor & Urban Studies. Due to wide interest, those interested must apply for this popular series of Saturday morning sessions, held over seven weeks in January through March 2021. Each session features CUNY faculty and veteran practitioners with years of experience and expertise in civic leadership, electoral politics, the history of mass movements and policy making at the local, state and national levels of government. More information is available here.
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, 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.
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.
