Calendar

Each season greenthumb sends out a news letter, 
here's the copy for summer 2022. You can also find the PDF version here

We hope your garden group had a great summer solstice! GreenThumb’s program guide is back just in time for summer programming! Click here for a digital copy and to request future paper copies in the mail. 

A note on our emails: Only the designated primary/secondary garden contacts receive these emails. Please be sure to always share these updates with your garden group and add our email address to your “safe senders” list or your contact list to avoid them ending up in your spam/junk folders! 

A quick note for gardens on NYC Parks property: please don’t forget to request approval for your garden’s upcoming events through our event request approval form here, it is required! 

New: This email is now also translated into Spanish below for any Spanish speaking gardeners in your group!  Por favor, desplácese hacia abajo si desea leer esto en español. 

Conflict Transformation Circles for Community Gardens   

Next Session: Wednesday, July 20, 2022, 6:00 p.m. – 7:30 p.m.  

Organized by GreenThumb   

This month’s theme is: How can we hold space for and resolve conflict within our groups? 

Conflict is natural and can happen even in the most well-organized garden group or with the best of friends. How can we hold space for and resolve conflict within our groups? In these monthly sessions, mediators Skye Roper-Moses and Michelle Jackson will facilitate discussion circles for community gardeners to bring their challenges to the group and collectively generate solutions. The facilitators will model skills for holding space that gardeners can bring back to their own groups to begin to develop a practice for addressing and transforming conflict in the garden. The sessions will consist of an introduction, modeling of conflict transformation, and listening to issues arising in gardens while practicing the conflict transformation techniques.   

This will be a confidential space that is not recorded. Register here to join.   

Queens Waterfront Garden Bike Tour  

Saturday, July 16, 11:00 a.m. – 2:00 p.m.  

Rain Date: Sunday, July 17, 11:00 a.m. – 2:00 p.m.  

Join us on City of Water Day for a breezy ride along the Queens waterfront! On this easy 3.5-mile ride, we’ll be biking to GreenThumb Community gardens in LIC and Astoria. Along the way, we’ll visit gardens that have transformed traditionally industrial waterfront areas into vibrant green spaces where nature, culture, and community thrive. Riders will experience varied garden spaces: from urban farms with a focus on social justice to relaxing botanical gardens dotted with works of art. Please RSVP on Eventbrite. 

GreenThumb Workshops are Back! Both In-Person & Virtual 

To learn more about and RSVP for upcoming GreenThumb workshops, please visit our website at the link above! Upcoming workshops, with direct links, include: 

• Creating a Pollinator Friendly Garden Habitat, Wednesday July 6, 6:00 p.m. – 7:30 p.m. 
• Field Trip: Foodway at Concrete Plant Park, Tuesday July 12, 6:00 p.m. – 7:30 p.m. 
• Bringing the Green: Crowdfunding for Community Gardens, Thursday July 14, 12:00 p.m. – 1:00 p.m. 

• Participatory Design in Community Gardens, Tuesday July 19, 12:00 p.m. – 1:00 p.m. 
• Creating and Maintaining Shade Gardens, Tuesday July 26, 6:00 p.m. – 7:30 p.m. 
• Soil Health Basics, Wednesday July 27, 12:00 p.m. – 1:00 p.m. 
• Herbal Limbers: Boricua Popsicles, Thursday July 28, 6:00 p.m. – 7:30 p.m. 

Apply for the Fall 2022 Compost and Farm Apprenticeship with Earth Matter 

Dates: 10 full-day Saturday sessions from September 10 – November 19. There will be no class on Saturday, Sept. 24, the date of the GreenThumb Harvest Fair. 
Location: Soil Start Farm, located on Governors Island. 

Apply by August 1 to join the Fall 2022 cohort of the Compost and Farm Apprenticeship with Earth Matter NY! This training offers GreenThumb gardeners the opportunity to work with Earth Matter and learn hands-on practical skills to grow plants on a small-scale urban farm, with a focus on composting. You will learn how to make “Gold Standard” compost in a variety of urban environments (e.g., community gardens, urban agriculture enterprises, multi-unit apartment buildings). Space is limited.  Finalists may be called for an interview with Earth Matter. As with other GreenThumb trainings, this training is free of charge. 

Save the Date for the NYC Parks GreenThumb Harvest Fair  
Mark your calendars for the 43rd Annual GreenThumb Harvest Fair on Saturday, September 24, 2022 at Friends of Brook Park Community Garden in the Bronx! Join us to celebrate GreenThumb gardeners as the community gardening season comes to a close with workshops, greening partners, and more! Stay tuned to our website and social media channels for more information.   

As you work on your community garden this season, please keep the GreenThumb Harvest Fair Competition in mind. Whether you grow vegetables, flowers, or are growing ingredients to include in your favorite dish, there is a category and entry for you. Guidelines to submit your images virtually will be shared on our website soon, so keep those veggies growing! The competition is open to anyone that gardens in a registered GreenThumb community garden. Winners will be announced on Saturday, September 24th during the 43^rd Annual GreenThumb Harvest Fair at Friends of Brook Park Community Garden.  

Open Garden Day Feedback Wanted 

Thank you for helping GreenThumb celebrate our 5th annual Open Garden Day. We are so grateful for the everlasting hard work and dedication of the community gardeners and want to give a huge thanks to everyone who participated, in any and all forms. If you haven’t done so already, please fill out the satisfaction survey to help improve Open Garden Day NYC for upcoming years. And check out our Open Garden Day highlights on Instagram. 

An Update Regarding GreenThumb Soil/Compost/Woodchip/Lumber Requests 

Due to current constraints, including vehicle maintenance, alternate side parking regulations, and staff shortages, NYC Parks GreenThumb is working its way through existing requests of bulk materials and looking to complete these deliveries as soon as possible. While we have continued improving the delivery times of these materials in the last few years, we sincerely apologize for the inconvenience. If you no longer need your requested materials or would like to change or reduce your request, please contact your Outreach Coordinator.       

Delivery of Community Garden Improvement Program Special Items 

NYC Parks GreenThumb gardens submitted requests for special items through the Community Garden Improvement Program Item Order Form this past winter. Requested items included wheelbarrows, folding tables, tomato cages, composting tools, and other exciting materials. We regret to inform garden groups that benches are not available due to supply chain issues.  

Direct deliveries of all other requested items will begin in August-September. Please be reminded that some items (from Section 4: Items in Limited Quantities) are only available in extremely limited amounts. Garden groups may receive only 0-1 of items they requested in that section. Garden Contacts will receive an email from GreenThumb’s Operations team when their delivery is scheduled. Please be advised that we cannot accommodate any changes to requests. In order to ensure we can complete the delivery, please be sure to inform your Outreach Coordinator if your garden’s locks or combinations have changed. Funding for this program was made possible through the advocacy efforts of the Play Fair for Parks campaign. 

Did you know the spotted lanternfly is an invasive species?   

These invasive insects are a threat to agricultural crops, including grapes, apples, blueberries, and stone fruits. Learn more about the spotted lanternfly on the NYC Parks website. They were first discovered in the city in July 2020 and now we need your help to slow the spread! Please note harming NYC City’s wildlife is prohibited, but if you see a spotted lanternfly, please squish and dispose of this pest in order to help slow the spread. Report any findings to NYC Parks by emailing Forest.Health@parks.nyc.gov. Please include photos, location of infestation, and details of property damage. Please also report the finding to NYS Department of Agriculture and Markets.   

GreenThumb Resources At a Glance   

• For gardens on NYC Parks property seeking required event approval, click here!  Please submit events at least two weeks in advance when possible to ensure timely approval. You can start submitting your event requests for the 2022 garden season. 
• For gardens that would like to request standard materials available from GreenThumb including soil, compost, and lumber, click here or reach out to your Outreach Coordinator.  
• GreenThumb’s YouTube channel is a wealth of information available 24/7! 

• GreenThumb’s Gardeners Handbook is your first stop for policy answers and recommendations for a variety of gardener issues. It is available in a variety of languages at the link. 

Updates and Resources from Partners  

What’s Bugging You? Cornell New York State Integrated Pest Management’s Monthly Webinar 

Each month, experts will share practical information and answer questions on using integrated pest management (IPM) to avoid pest problems and promote a healthy environment where you live, work, learn and play. We’ll end with an IPM Minute, and cover a specific action you can take in the next few days to help you avoid pest problems.  Click here for more information and to RSVP. 

2022 Urban Design Forum Forefront Fellowship: New Loops 

Forefront is an annual professional fellowship by the Urban Design Forum dedicated to cultivating emerging leaders in urban design, development, policy, and advocacy. The seventh fellowship, New Loops, is focused on taking on waste to design for cleaner and healthier communities. In the fellowship, you will research how multifamily residential buildings currently manage waste streams and then will work in interdisciplinary teams to explore how to build a more circular waste system. To learn more and apply for this fellowship, please click here. Applications are due Thursday, July 21. 

Natural Resources Defense Council (NRDC) Seed Series Webinars 

The NRDC Seed Series, launching on July 6, introduces participants to key topics and issues in the world of discard studies; a growing, transdisciplinary field that centers how waste impacts our world. From the role of waste in pop culture to the lifesaving labor of sanitation workers to the relationship between the after-deathcare industry and waste inequity, and so much more. This 10-part webinar series serves as a point of departure for participants to learn more about how they can take steps in their own lives towards climate justice, anti-racism and rethinking waste. Click this link to learn more about the series and RSVP for the various webinars. 

ioby & NYSDEC Environmental Benefit Project Matching Program 

ioby is matching donations, up to $5,000, for neighborhood sustainability and environmental justice projects with their partner, New York State Department of Environmental Conservation. To apply for this match program, visit the ioby website here.  

Safe in the City Grant  

This grant offers funding opportunities designed to support community-based actions and activities that will make neighborhoods safer. Applications are being accepted on a rolling basis. Learn more.