39th Annual GreenThumbGrowTogether Conference GuideCUNY Graduate Center | April 1, 2023GreenThumb GrowTogether en Español, p. 20
Program Registration 8:15 a.m.–9:15 a.m. C Level Breakfast 8:15 a.m.–9:15 a.m. C Level Opening Ceremony 9:15 a.m.–10:15 a.m. Proshansky Auditorium (C Level) Opening Ceremony 9:15 a.m.–10:15 a.m. Back of the Proshansky en Español Auditorium = .Welcome: Carlos Martinez, Director, NYC Parks GreenThumb = .Remarks: Karina Smith, Assistant Commissioner, NYC Parks Iris Rodriguez-Rosa, First Deputy Commissioner, NYC Parks = .Remarks and Land Acknowledgement: Sue Donoghue, Commissioner, NYC Parks = .Keynote Address: Chief Vincent Mann, Ramapough Lenape Nation = .T-shirt Design Contest Winner: Natasha Osadcija Workshop Session 1 10:30 a.m.–Noon C Level (5th, 6th, 8th, and 9th Floors) Lunch Noon–1:00 p.m. C Level Workshop Session 2 1:00 p.m.–2:30 p.m. C Level (5th, 6th, 8th, and 9th Floors) Workshop Session 3 2:45 p.m.–4:15 p.m. C Level (5th, 6th, 8th, and 9th Floors) Exhibitors / Networking 10:30 a.m.–3:00 p.m. Dining Commons (8th Floor) T-shirt Pickup 11:45 a.m.–3:30 p.m. Segal Theater (1st Floor)CUNY Graduate Proshansky Auditorium, C LevelCenter Room Rooms C201-C205, RegistrationGuide Segal Theater, Recital Hall 1st Floor Rooms 5382, 5383, 5417 5th Floor Rooms 6417, 6421, 6494, 6496, 6596 6th Floor Single Occupancy and Gender Neutral Restrooms 7th Floor Dining Commons, Rooms 8203, 8400, 8402 8th Floor Rooms 9205-9207, Skylight Conference Room 9th Floor Get an Interpreter for any Workshop Stop by the registration table to ask for a Spanish language interpreter to come with you to any workshop of your choosing!2 GreenThumb GrowTogether
GreenThumb Youth and garden leaders participating in the 2023 GreenThumb Youth LeadershipYouth Council are invited to break bread together to kick off the growing season!Leadership Breakfast 8:15 a.m.–9:15 a.m. Grab your breakfast and take it to room C201CouncilKick-off Lunch Noon–1:00 p.m. Bring your lunch back to room C201 Where to Eat The Concourse lobby and classrooms on the C Level (C202-205) will be open during lunch hour. Most other conference classrooms on the 6th and 8th floors will also be open for lunch seating. Please be mindful of workshop facilitators setting up for their workshops, and please throw away all trash so the classrooms are clean and ready to go for the next workshop session. Lunchtime Activities = .Visit the networking tabling area in the Dining Commons on the 8th floor = .Pick up your conference t-shirt in the Segal Theatre on the 1st Floor (available until 3:30 p.m.) = .Attend the International Sunflower Guerrilla Gardening Day Teach-in in C202 Meditation and Prayer Room Room 9201 (9th floor) is available for prayer and meditation. Please be respectful of this space and do not use it for private conversations, phone breaks, eating, etc. Lactation Room If you need private space to pump or breastfeed, please stop by the workshop facilitators registration table on the first floor near the Recital Hall and we’ll get you access. GreenThumb Table Stop by the GreenThumb Table in the Networking area (Dining Commons, 8th Floor), where you can talk to a Community Engagement Coordinator and get all your questions answered. You can also: = .Sign up to host events at Open Garden NYC (Saturday, June 3, and Sunday, June 4) = .View digital archives from GreenThumb’s 45-year history#GTGT2023Follow us on social media to find out about the latest workshops, events, and news at GreenThumb. Share yourday at the 39th Annual GreenThumb GrowTogether Conference on social media and use #GTGT2023. Instagram Facebook YouTube Twitter @GreenThumbNYC @GreenThumbNYC @GreenThumbNYC @NYCGreenThumb GreenThumb GrowTogether 3
Welcome Message from Carlos Martinez,Director, NYC Parks GreenThumbOn behalf of the entire team at NYC Parks GreenThumb, welcome to the 39th Annual GreenThumb GrowTogetherConference! Community gardeners, land stewards, and greening partner organizations from across New YorkCity have been gathering at GrowTogether each spring since 1984 to celebrate the start of the gardening seasonwith a day of learning, networking, and reconnecting with friends and colleagues.For over four decades, community gardeners from all walks of life have revitalized neighborhoods andstrengthened communities across the city. This year marks the 45th anniversary of what has become thelargest community gardening program in the country, sustaining a network of over 550 gardens and more than20,000 volunteers collectively caring for 100 combined acres of open space. GreenThumb takes great pride inpartnering with all of you in cultivating a more livable city.The theme of this year’s GrowTogether is “Learning from the Land: Bounties of Wisdom from CommunityGardens.” Deeply rooted in our urban landscape, community gardens are an essential social and greeninfrastructure – from reducing the urban heat island effect, providing ecosystem services, and increasingstorm water retention to strengthening civic engagement and community building. As we face a climateemergency, the time is ripe to continue learning from these urban oases and the land warriors dedicated totheir protection.Over the last few years, we transitioned to hybrid programming reaching new audiences, but we are thrilledthat you are joining us again in-person for the GrowTogether Conference. As you enjoy this full-day event filledwith speakers, workshops, hands-on activities, and networking opportunities, please take a moment to sayhello and reconnect with the GreenThumb staff and let us know how we can continue to support communitygardening and environmental stewardship in your neighborhood.We hope that you have a wonderful time at GrowTogether, and we look forward to another bountiful gardeningseason - we appreciate your invaluable contributions to our city.In solidarity,Carlos MartinezDirector, NYC Parks GreenThumb4 GreenThumb GrowTogether
Keynote Speaker:Chief Vincent MannChief Mann is the Turtle Clan Chief of the Ramapough Lenape Nation, which encompasses Passaic County, NJ,Warwick, and surrounding areas in New York. He has been at the forefront of the New Jersey environmentaljustice movement, where he has worked to protect the water supply of 4 million people and advocated for thecommunity living in close proximity to the Ringwood mines Superfund site. He is also working on co-creating anorganic farm, known as the Munsee Three Sisters Medicinal Garden, to create local jobs and, more importantly,to bring back food sovereignty to his Clan.Photo courtesy of sasn.rutgers.edu/chief-vincent-mann GreenThumb GrowTogether 5
At a Workshop Session 1 10:30 a.m.–NoonGlance Featured Panels Learning from the Land: Bounties of Wisdom from Black and Indigenous Growers / Proshansky Auditorium (C Level) Film Screenings City Famers / Recital Hall (First Floor) Art in the Garden Aerobic vs Anaerobic: Ways to See the Color Blue / 9205 Create your Own Handmade Paper / C203 Make Your Own Flower Press / 6421 Cultivating Garden Meditation / 8203 Community Gardens As Community Hubs / 6417 Engagement Green Map Making for Organizing and Activating your Community / 8402 Same/Mismo/Menm: Techniques for Translating Useful Words in your Community Garden / C202 Gardening and Cultivating from Cuttings / 5383 Horticulture Irrigating the Community Garden / 5382 Life Cycles of the Segmented and Infamous / 6496 Plant Wonders of the African Diaspora / C201 Street Tree Care is Community Care: How Community Gardeners Can Help Their Block’s Trees / 6494 Urban Chicken Keeping / 6495 Making Things Botanical Skin Lab / 9207 with Plants Pickles for the People / C205 and Herbs The Virtues of Mugwort / 9206 Native Plants Restoring Native Plants in New York City: A Community Effort / C204 and Pollinators Seed Track Seed Exchange and Story Circle / Skylight Conference Room (Ninth Floor) Soil and Composting as Reciprocity / 8400 Composting Soil Safety in a Public Food Forest / 54176 GreenThumb GrowTogether
Workshop Session 2 Workshop Session 3 1:00 p.m.–2:30 p.m. 2:45 p.m.–4:15 p.m.Featured Panels Garden Legends: Get into the Weeds with the Community Gardening in the Age of Climate Change / Proshansky Gardeners who Grew a Movement / Proshansky Auditorium (C Level) Auditorium (C Level) Getting Stuff Done: Building an Equitable & Resilient Urban Agriculture for NYC / Recital Hall (First Floor)Film Screenings Green Streets / Recital Hall (First Floor)Art in the Garden Writing from the Land / 8402 The Handmade Nature Journal / 5382Cultivating Crowdfunding and Collaboration: 7 Years of Growing Bronx Gardeners Meet-up / C201 Community for NYC Green Spaces / 6417Community Brooklyn Gardeners Meet-up / C205 Garden Design Principles for Supporting StudentEngagement Learning / C205 Manhattan Gardeners Meet-up / C203 Queens Gardeners Meet-up / C204 Garden to Farm Pathways and Advocacy / 6494 Staten Island Gardeners Meet-up / C202 Planning Arts Events in Community Gardens / C201 Creating an Accessible Garden During the Pandemic: Positive Youth Development in Community Gardens: Lessons for the Future / 6421 Bridging Intergenerational Connections / 8400 Cultivating Leaders: Develop and Sustain New Leadership in your Community Garden / 6417 Engaging Youth in Gardens / 8402 Finding Your People: Building Community With Volunteers / 8400 Using iNaturalist to Empower Collective Stewardship, “Re-spect” Weeds, and Build Better Gardens / 6494Gardening and Grow your own Mushrooms at Home Highs and Lows of High Tunnels / 6495 (or in the Garden)! / C204Horticulture Rat Academy: Keep Rats Out of Your Garden! / 6495 Tomato Heaven / 5383Making Things Create your own Mint Shower Steamer / C202 Herbs for Stress Relief: Gardeners Edition / 5383with Plants How to Make Soap from Scratch with Herbs Grown in Introduction to Herbalism / 9207 your Garden / 9207and Herbs Leaning into Spring Awakening with Bioregional Soap Making 101 / 9206 Herbalism / 9206 Leaning into the Movement of Spring with Herbal Support / C203 Nature’s Buffet: Recipes for Micro- and Macro-organisms (3 HOURS) / 9205 Nature in a Teacup / 8203Native Plants Design and Develop Your Garden To Create Pollinator Native Seed Production in NYC with the Greenbelt Habitat with Butterfly Project NYC / 6496 Native Plant Center / 5417and PollinatorsSeed Track Seed Saving 101: For the Emerging Present / Skylight Saving Seeds in the City / Skylight Conference Room Conference Room (Ninth Floor) (Ninth Floor)Soil and Constructed Soils for Urban Agriculture Food, Composting, and the Human Gut / 8203 and Beyond / 5417Composting HotBox Composting / 6496 Curbside Composting in NYC / 5382 Dig in to Vermicomposting / 6421 GreenThumb GrowTogether 7
Workshop Featured Panel Learning from the Land: Bounties of WisdomSession 1: from Black and Indigenous Growers / Proshansky Auditorium (C Level)10:30 a.m.–Noon Practices like seed saving, maintaining diverse and resilient crops, and growing with agroecological and restorative values are rooted in Black and Indigenous farming practices. This year’s GrowTogether theme of “Learning from the Land: Bounties of Wisdom from Community Gardens” is a recognition and celebration of the work community gardeners do to foster community amongst their neighbors and a reflection of GreenThumb’s commitment to deepening support for Black and Indigenous growers in NYC. Panelists will discuss planting the crops of their ancestors, holding space for communities to gather, and why they do this work with the land. Moderator: Maya Marie S. (Deep Routes) Panelists: • Alexx Cáceres (ENY Youth Farm) • Danny Chervoni (Friends of BrookParkCommunity Garden) • Heather Warren-Dombrowa (Bissel Gardens) • Kofi Thomas (Good Life Garden) Film Screening City Farmers / Recital Hall (First Floor) Meryl Joseph (Producer and Director, City Farmers) City Farmers (1996) takes a deep and startling look at the community gardening movement in the city. In this collective narrative, the gardeners share stories about life on both sides of the garden fence, from the struggle to remove drug dealers and gangs, to the success of the gardens providing food for the community, as well as empowering and educating neighborhood children. As the gardeners tend their rows, they remember childhood days on farms down South, in Italy or Puerto Rico, while others, who’ve known only pavement under their feet, find new directions for their futures. City Farmers pays tribute to New York City’s pioneering, intrepid gardeners of the 20th century, whose gentle, green revolution ignited the city’s landscape and brought about major healing and much needed change. Film will be followed by a Q & A with the filmmaker.8 GreenThumb GrowTogether
Art in the Garden Gardens As Community Hubs / 6417 Chantel Kemp, DK Kinard, Laura Casaregola, JinkyAerobic vs. Anaerobic: Nogales, and Colleen Graves (GrowNYC Education)Ways to See the Color Blue / 9205Sofia van Leeuwen (Prospect Heights Community Farm) Learn the steps and approaches to fostering genuine community at your community or school garden,Anaerobic reduction of woad (isatis tinctoria) releases drawing from the experience of NYCHA communityindigo, which turns blue with oxygen. We will use garden founders Chantel Kemp and DK Kinard.aerobic and anaerobic dye processes as a mode We’ll explore how to integrate the garden with thefor thinking about art, ecology, and dyeing fiber. neighborhood so folks view it as an active resourceParticipants will learn how to create a woad vat, dye for food justice, intergenerational learning, andfiber, and take home a handmade tapestry loom to communal resilience.finish weaving at their leisure. Green Map Making for Organizing andCreate your Own Handmade Paper / C203 Activating your Community / 8402Nancy Benignus (Community crafting instructor and Wendy Brawer (Green Map System and Siempre Verde)Bean Morris Garden) Introducing an accessible, exciting way to promoteIn this workshop you will learn to make handmade all kinds of local sustainability projects! Organize apaper using shredded office paper, embellished team, then make and share a community Green Map.and enhanced with dried flowers, seeds, and other You might want to chart your garden’s features andbotanicals. The process is easy to learn, does not nearby green space, map a coalition of communityrequire expensive supplies, and can be made outdoors gardens in your neighborhood, team up with eldersin the garden. It is an art enjoyed by both children and to map treasured cultural heritage sites, or workadults, making it a great idea for an intergenerational intergenerationally to highlight environmental andworkshop. Come and learn, and then teach the rest of climate justice—so much is possible! Green Map’syour garden. platform (for online maps), design tools (for print maps), and icons are free to use non-commercially. BeMake Your Own Flower Press / 6421 inspired by local Green Maps made around the world,Elena D’Amanda and Marisa DeDominicis strategize, and build skills for success. Take part in(Earth Matter NY) this global movement and help activate NYC!Capture and preserve the ephemeral nature of abeautiful flower or your favorite garden plant. We’ll Same/Mismo/Menm: Techniques for Translatingteach you to make your own take-home flower Useful Words in your Community Garden / C202press and help you select flora from Earth Matter’s Paul Joseph, Zachary Tan Strein, and Anissa ZiboSoil Start Farm to begin creating your own library (Wyckoff House Museum)(herbarium) of plants and flowers that will delight A guided conversation for growers and farmers toyou forever. effectively communicate with local communities by centralizing the use of different languages namesCultivating Community for crops, tools, and processes. We’ll discussEngagement colloquial terms, challenges when dealing with direct translations, and how one can overcomeGarden Meditation / 8203 them. One can use this conversation to guide theirDr. Eileen J. Ain (LaGuardia Corner Community Garden) organizations to be more community oriented andMeditating in a garden brings new perspectives food justice based. Specific languages covered inand depth to daily life. During this session you our discussion will be dependent on the participantsare invited to learn the history of meditation and in the conversation and what knowledge webreathing practices inherent in meditation. Following collectively contribute to it. We will collect and recordour meditation session and if participants are the language translation information provided bycomfortable, there is an opportunity to share your gardeners present for the conversation and followgardening associations through spontaneous and/or up after the conference via email with a gardenwritten narrative. We welcome all levels of practice. language “dictionary” resource that can be used for reference purposes. GreenThumb GrowTogether 9
Gardening and Horticulture Street Tree Care is Community Care: How Community Gardeners Can Help Their Block’s Trees / 6494Cultivating from Cuttings / 5383 Nina Browne (Brooklyn Botanic Garden)Nick Storrs (Homegrown Nurseries) Street trees do so much to improve our environmentLearn how to propagate plants through cuttings and and they bring people together. Yet how much supportdiscover the biology behind it! Join us as we explore and care do the ones outside the gates of yourmethods for taking and rooting successful cuttings, community garden receive? Learn simple, time-savingand even practice doing stem cuttings to take home. practices for improving the health and resilience ofEnhance your gardening skills and expand your plant your block’s trees. We’ll discuss everything from treecollection by understanding the art of growing new guards and watering to dogs and low-maintenanceplants from leaves, stems, and roots. plantings. You’ll leave prepared to give your garden’s streetscape a horticulturally sound makeover thatIrrigating the Community Garden / 5382 avoids the common “pit”-falls of street tree bedVipin Bharathan (West 123 Street Community Garden) gardening. Bring your questions and take homeLearn how to create a plan, buy supplies, and hook some seeds to try!up a drip irrigation system for your communitygarden. The system installed in the West 123rd Street Urban Chicken Keeping / 6495Community Garden will be used as an example. Gina Carolina Prieto (Urban Farmer and Chicken Keeper)The system needs water under pressure from a fire Keeping chickens adds many benefits to ourhydrant or from a city water supply. The system can community gardens. In this workshop we will learnbe controlled by a timer if the water source is internal the basics of keeping a flock of chickens, includingin the garden. how to know if chickens are right for you, how to care for chicks, how to shelter chickens, what to feedLife Cycles of the Segmented and Infamous / 6496 chickens, and common problems you might face.Sam Anderson (Cornell Cooperative Extension)and Saara Nafici (Red Hook Farms) Making Things withDo you have strong opinions about which bugs youlike and don’t like in your garden? Join two people Plants and Herbswho also have strong opinions for an educational Botanical Skin Lab / 9207and participatory rant about some of the most Gioya DeSouza-Fennelly and Sabrina Fennellyinteresting, wonderful, and despicable arthropods (Herbal skin care educators)we encountered last year. Participants will learn Caring for your skin is necessary for both your overallhow to identify some of the most important and/ health and diminishing signs of aging, but with soor most mysterious arthropods of NYC farms and many new products and wild beauty trends poppinggardens, where to find them, their life cycles, and their up everywhere, finding a simple herbal skincarepredators (or prey). For the pests, we’ll touch on ways routine, let alone sticking to it, seems near impossible.to manage their presence, but the emphasis here is Natural skin care products do not contain chemicalsmore about getting to know these helpful/unhelpful/ or synthetic ingredients. They may also include moreotherwise-interesting arthropods and understanding environmentally friendly herbs, many of which canhow they operate. be found in your garden and kitchen! ParticipantsPlant Wonders of the African Diaspora / C201 will learn recipes and receive samples to try at home,Kimberly Curtis (Howard Garden and By Our Hands) while supplies last.In this workshop we’ll highlight three high-yield Pickles for the People / C205crops with amazing nutritional value from the African Taja D. (The Prodigy House Project)diaspora, such as lab lab and luffa. We’ll learn how to Most of us love a good pickle and find out in life thatsave these heirloom seeds, discuss their ideal growing all pickles are not created equal. In this workshoppractices, and take some to grow on our own. not only are you able to create a brine that suits your taste, but you will create a personal pickle recipe as you go. Participants in this “Prodigy Pickle Project” workshop will take home a small jar of their own creations.10 GreenThumb GrowTogether
The Virtues of Mugwort / 9206 What is important for others to know in caringSung Kim and Raymond Pultinas for them?(James Baldwin Outdoor Learning Center) We will spend most of our time in the circle and haveIn most of the United States, mugwort is a well known time toward the end to exchange with each other.but highly despised invasive plant mostly famous This is not the place to bring as many seeds as youfor its difficulty to eradicate. Elsewhere in the world, can, but rather to intentionally bring specific seedshowever, it is known as a valuable medicinal plant. you have grown that feel most meaningful to you andIn Korea, it is one of the most beloved wild plants, most appropriate to share.typically dried for winter usage and sold in markets.At Meg’s Garden, we have learned to manage mugwort Soil and Compostingin ways that enable us to keep harvesting it until early Composting as Reciprocity / 8400winter. We consider it a treasure. In the workshop, we Echo Hertzberg (Queens Botanical Garden)share our appreciation and love for this virtuous plant A walkthrough of the science behind composting,and knowledge on how to best utilize it for its healing its role in soil remediation and food production, andproperties. Participants will get to sample mugwort composting as an act of reciprocity, gratitude, andtea and other goodies, and make their own mugwort gift giving toward the land. This workshop will coverproducts to take home. the basics of composting, soil science, agroecologicalNative Plants and Pollinators principles, and closed-loop systems.Restoring Native Plants in New York City: A Soil Safety in a Public Food Forest / Room 5417Community Effort / C204 Nathan Hunter (Bronx River Alliance) and Dr. PerlEmily Dickinson and Jessica Kaplan (Madison Square Egendorf (NYC Compost Project hosted by EarthPark Conservancy) Matter NY)Madison Square Park Conservancy staff manage How does a public food forest in an industrial corridoran effort to support local wildlife by planting and ensure safety for guided public foraging? Follow alongprotecting native plants. Staff prioritizes the planting with the Bronx River Foodway team as they shareof native species when an area needs redesigning or their experience learning about historic contaminantsplants age out in the park. This also allows the team in urban soils and how important it is to follow bestto monitor the plants’ impact and encourages NYC management practices to stay safe.residents, professional land managers, and home Lunchtime Workshop:gardeners to plant species with the most significantecological impact. In this workshop, presenters willwalk participants through the Conservancy’s Guide toRestoring Native Plants in NYC, explain the speciessupported by native plants, and share success stories 12:15 p.m.–12:45 p.m.that their team has made happen in Madison SquarePark. Participants will identify native plants that can International Sunflower Guerrillawork in their unique outdoor spaces. Gardening Day teach-in (C202) Gil Lopez (Smiling Hogshead Ranch and Green Guerillas)Seed Track Many of the community gardens we see today were started with “seed bombs” packed with fertilizer,Seed Exchange and Story Circle / Skylight seed, and water. On May 1st, guerrilla gardeners willConference Room (9th Floor) plant sunflower seeds in cities and towns across thelex barlowe (Seedkeeper) northern hemisphere. Come learn how Green GuerillasJoin us to exchange seeds, along with sharing the can support your participation in this day of action andstories that these seeds carry with them. This is a how your garden can host seed packing parties andparticipatory session for people who have seeds to seed distribution events leading up to May Day.share—seeds that you yourself have grown in recent Bring your lunch for a short presentation andseasons. Please come ready to share the stories of hands-on activity.these seeds with us, as much as you are able, and tolisten deeply to the stories of others.Stories may include: where do these seeds comefrom? Who do they come from? Why did you choose togrow and save them? How do you care for them? GreenThumb GrowTogether 11
Workshop Featured Panel Garden Legends: Get into the Weeds with theSession 2: Community Gardeners who Grew a Movement / Proshansky Auditorium (C Level)1:00 p.m.–2:30 p.m Hear from the community gardeners who were there from the beginning, cleaning up vacant lots and turning them into the community spaces we know and love today. GreenThumb invites longtime gardeners to share their stories, histories, and what keeps them going. Moderator: Nancy Ortiz-Surun (La Finca Del Sur and South Bronx Farmers) Panelists: • Cindy Nibbelink-Worley (Joseph Daniel Wilson Memorial Garden, Manhattan) • Ena McPherson (Tranquility Farm and T&T Vernon Community Garden, Brooklyn) • Shana Gladden (Dunton Community Garden, Queens) • Zonia Ortiz (La Isla Youth Community Garden, Bronx) Film Screening Green Streets / Recital Hall (First Floor) Maria J. DeLuca (Filmmaker, Green Streets) This award-winning film visits 35 community gardens in the ’70’s and ’80’s in all five boroughs. Shown to enthusiastic audiences in 15 countries, in festivals, and on U.S. national TV, Green Streets explores all aspects of community gardening through the filmmaker’s interviews with socioeconomically and racially diverse gardeners and garden leaders. Experience the early decades of community gardening in NYC, how these gardens can teach us about today, and how they inspire us for tomorrow, in this tumultuous world where nature is fighting for its balance to survive. Film will be followed by a Q & A with the filmmaker.12 GreenThumb GrowTogether
Art in the Garden Garden to Farm Pathways and Advocacy / 6494 Farm School NYC and Christopher WillsWriting from the Land / 8402 (Farm Service Agency)Regina Bernard, Ph.D. (Associate Professor of YouthStudies at the School of Professional Studies, City Farm School NYC (FSNYC) is working to increaseUniversity of New York and Editor of Sunday Custard access for urban growers to access programsLiterary Journal) and Molly Riggs (Assistant Editor of provided by the Farm Service Agency (FSA). In thisSunday Custard Literary Journal) workshop an FSA representative will explain their role, provide a high level overview of the programsThis workshop will encourage and inspire urban that are most relevant to urban growers, and highlightfarmers, gardeners and activists to recall their work pathways for involvement in FSA activities andon the land and how it inspires their storytelling. decision making. We will have a Q&A with FSA, aTogether we will read a short excerpt on ontological member of the current FSA Urban County Committeerelationships between farming, gardening, and in NYC, and FSNYC alumni or staff. This workshopknowledge of how to plant and grow and then reflect invites participants to understand resources availablein our own pieces that we compose together during for a garden to farm pathway and the avenuesthe workshop. Participants in this workshop will be available to support them in the process.invited to submit their edited pieces for publicationin the Sunday Custard Literary Journal and to narrate Planning Arts Events inthem for our upcoming podcast. Community Gardens / C201 Robin Schatell (Mov!ng Culture Projects)Cultivating Community What is an arts event? How can you hold one in your garden? Let’s review your ideas and plans. We’llEngagement discuss why to have an arts event, when to have theCrowdfunding and Collaboration: 7 Years of Growing event, how long it should last, who should be involved,Community for NYC Green Spaces / 6417 what are the event logistics, what success can lookFareen Islam (Partnerships for Parks) and like, and what issues to be prepared for.Amanda Rodriguez (ioby) Positive Youth Development in Community Gardens:Over 60 green space projects have expanded their Bridging Intergenerational Connections / 8400community-driven funding through a unique program Claudia Urdanivia (Hudson County 4-H Youthwith Partnerships for Parks’ Crowdfunding Challenge. Development - Rutgers Cooperative Extension)Participants build skills to raise community donations Community gardens are incredible resources for youthfor new projects in their community gardens. to learn life skills, serve their community, and developPartnerships for Parks doubles donations to approved relationships with their peers and caring adults.participants to incentivize community participation The Youth Urban Farm Club program coordinated byin civic philanthropy, and expand on environmental Hudson County 4-H in partnership with communityjustice, funding access, and resident leadership gardens throughout Hudson County utilizes theinitiatives. Join us to learn from a panel of garden framework of positive youth development to createleaders who will speak to the skills and relationships engaging informal education programming wherethat they’ve grown through practicing crowdfunding youth learn by doing. This workshop will share lessonsskills with this match program. Our partners at learned from this program and provide tools on howioby.org/PFP will join us to speak to civic crowdfunding community garden groups can create a successfulstrategy. garden program for youth.Garden Design Principles forSupporting Student Learning / C205Adam Walker (The Battery Conservancy)Gain concrete ideas for simple changes to your gardensite that will improve accessibility, simplify groupmanagement, and help students of all ages engagewith the space in self-directed ways. Applicable toboth school gardens and community gardens. GreenThumb GrowTogether 13
Gardening and Horticulture Making Things withGrow your own Mushrooms at Home Plants and Herbs(or in the Garden)! / C204 Create your own Mint Shower Steamer / C202Corey Blant (New York Restoration Project) Marshalla Ramos-Inde (Patchen Community SquareJoin NYRP’s Urban Agriculture Team to learn about Garden and Bubbly Moon Naturals)different ways to grow edible mushrooms in a Learn to create your own shower steamer using localcommunity garden (or even under your kitchen sink!). mint and/or essential oils. Shower steamers are aThis hands on workshop will include a brief overview great alternative to bath bombs as the steam fromof the culture and science of growing mushrooms your shower releases the scent. We’ll go through the(Mycology 101) followed by a hands on activity where properties of each ingredient and the aromatherapyeach participant will have the chance to create their essential oil benefits as each participant makes theirown mushroom cultivation systems to take home. own mint shower steamer to take home.Rat Academy: How to Make Soap from Scratch UsingKeep Rats Out of Your Garden! / 6495 Herbs Grown in your Garden / 9207Martha Vernazza, Sarah Webster, and Carmen Negrón Leslie Costa (A Continual Unfolding)(NYC Department of Health) Learn the basics of soap making as our ancestors did.This workshop aims to introduce and detail methods Participants will learn the math behind creating theirby which to exclude rats from our living spaces and own soap recipe, discuss strategies for adding someto reduce their access to the byproducts of our of the herbs and herb flowers that they grow, andlives, which include community gardens. We will make a small bar of soap to take home.share integrated pest management techniques andprovide an overview of traps, baits, and other control Leaning into Spring Awakening withmeasures like Burrow Rx and dry ice (carbon dioxide). Bioregional Herbalism / 9206Other topics encompass rat biology facts, behavioral J Wortham (Herbalist, The New York Times Magazine,tendencies and proclivities, and the telltale signs and co-host of the podcast “Still Processing,”)of their presence. Participants will also learn about and Arvolyn Hill (Herbalist, Manager of the Everettgardening and composting styles that do not invite or Children’s Adventure at the New York Botanical Gardensupport rat activity and infestation. and member Robert L. Clinkscales Community Garden) Learn to work with herbs based on the seasonality ofTomato Heaven / 5383 the year that are local to your bioregional area. ThisMaureen O’Brien (6/15 Green Community Garden) and method of herbalism asks gardeners, growers, andLinda F. Viney (Fred McCleod Community Garden) herbalists to pay attention to what is happening inCherokee Purple, Brandywine Slicing, Amish Paste, the present moment. Join Herbalist Arvolyn Hill andand Black Cherry are just a few of the amazing variety J. Wortham as they share tips for working with herbsof tomatoes that grow successfully in New York City. based on the season and what’s locally available. AtLearn hands-on how to successfully start your own the end of this workshop attendees will be able totomato seeds. make their own spring tonic. Leaning into the Movement of Spring with Herbal Support / C203 Simone Davis (Sacred Vibes Apothecary) and Angelica Vargas (Herbal Underground) This workshop offers insight into ways we can support the body and mind through ritual and medicinal plants as we transition into spring. We will have a hands-on opportunity to craft oxymels (vinegar/honey-based herbal extraction) and discuss common imbalances associated with springtime along with ways to encourage wellbeing as we emerge from winter. Themes to be explored include liver and lymphatic support, spring allergies, and demystifying the detox mentality.14 GreenThumb GrowTogether
Nature’s Buffet: Recipes for Micro-and Macro-organisms / 9205 Seed TrackJae Youn Lee, Natalie Peart, Bernadette Mitchell, Seed Saving 101: For the Emerging Present /Yahya Sigidi, Barbara Ausburger, Viviana Niebylski, Skylight Conference Room (9th Floor)and E. Shig Matsukawa (Phoenix Community Garden Ñawi K. Flores (Urban Agriculture Educator & Scientist)and Down to Earth Community Garden) Save seeds from this year’s fruits, veggies, and herbsNature’s buffet and catering for the whole crowd! This to plant next season and year again. Learn basicthree-hour session will cover recipes for everything techniques for saving seeds using both wet and dryfrom compost to bokashi, from kimchi to herbal teas techniques. We’ll discuss planning, timing, storage,and tonics. In this workshop, we will learn how to and more.combine ingredients in simple ways to feed microand macro organisms in our stomachs, on our skins, Soil and Compostingand in our soil. We can find beauty, joy, and well- Constructed Soils for Urbanbeing through feeding and healing the macro- and Agriculture and Beyond / 5417microorganisms inside and outside our bodies Dr. Zhongqi (Joshua) Cheng (Brooklyn College) and Dr.This three-hour workshop will run for both Session 2 Sara Perl Egendorf (NYC Compost Project hosted byand Session 3, ending at 4:00 p.m. Earth Matter NY) One of the constraints for expanding urban agricultureNature in a Teacup / 8203 is the availability of clean soils. As many soils containWenting Zhang and Enmy Uribe (Tea Arts & Culture) varying levels of contaminants such as lead, it isA good cup of tea can bring us to nature. This important to use clean soils to build beds to reduceworkshop will tickle the mind of the participants the health risk. The NYC Clean Soil Bank has anto see the amazing world of nature from one single abundant supply of clean sediments, which can beplant’s perspective—tea. More than ever, we need mixed with compost to generate constructed soils.to ground ourselves to reflect on how we can move We had experimented with these constructed soils forforward and how to make sustainable changes. food growing and tree planting in the city, with veryExperience tea together through a multi-sensory promising results.mindful experience where we will drink tea, slow Curbside Composting in NYC / 5382down, and connect with our own senses. Learn the Kelly McCabe and Vivian Carter (Big Reuse inbasic vocabulary for tea tasting, the basics of tea partnership with DSNY)brewing, and processing techniques. Join the Curbside Composting outreach associatesNative Plants and Pollinators for an afternoon chat about the citywide curbside announcement, current composting options forDesign your Garden to community gardens, and ways to help spreadCreate Pollinator Habitat / 6496 awareness in your communities.Ursula Chanse (Bronx Green-Up of The New YorkBotanical Garden, Butterfly Project NYC), Chrissy Word Dig in to Vermicomposting / 6421(City Parks Foundation, NYC Pollinator Working Group Chloe Hirschhorn, Eve Brown,and Butterfly Project NYC), and Dina Garcia (New Roots and Aubrey Santistevan (GrowNYC)Community Farm, Butterfly Project NYC) Meet the worms! In this workshop, we willFocusing on the capacity of community gardens demonstrate how to build your own worm bin. You willto provide habitat for beneficial insects, learn and learn how to source materials and understand basicdiscuss elements of design, habitat requirements, maintenance to keep worms happy, including how toand options for native plants for an effective pollinator feed and how to create an ideal environment. Lastly,garden. Participants will enjoy a brief overview of participants will learn how to introduce the worm binpollinators in NYC, learn design tips for structuring to students of all ages. This will be a hands-on activitya pollinator garden with horticultural and habitat with a live worm bin demonstration!recommendations, and see examples of successfulpollinator gardens. GreenThumb GrowTogether 15
Workshop Featured Panels Gardening in the Age of Climate Change /Session 3: Proshansky Auditorium (C Level) Climate change is one of the most pressing issues2:45 p.m.–4:15 p.m. of our time. Learn about the role that community gardens play in addressing climate change through biodiversity and sustainable gardening practices. Hear from community gardeners and local partners about ways that your community garden can introduce design principles, green infrastructure, native plants, and other strategies to enhance climate resiliency. Moderator: Council Member Shekar Krishnan (Parks Committee Chair, NYC City Council) Panelists: • Rachel Garber Cole (Artist, The Warmest Years on Record: An Oral History) • Jackson Gilkey (La Plaza Cultural-Armando Perez) • Ray Pang (462 Halsey Community Farm) Getting Stuff Done: Building an Equitable & Resilient Urban Agriculture for NYC / Recital Hall (First Floor) There exists a significant history of urban agriculture, land stewardship, and community power in NYC, yet the city has never had a comprehensive urban agriculture plan. The creation of the Mayor’s Office of Urban Agriculture and its mandate to develop one offers the administration—and community—the chance to figure out what it would take to build a bold, resilient, and equitable plan. Join NYC Urban Agriculture Director Qiana Mickie, NYC Parks GreenThumb Director Carlos Martinez, and other urban agricultural government leadership to hear our efforts to identify and address gaps, opportunities, and solutions in our urban agriculture landscape and share how community can help inform and shape the city’s first urban agriculture plan. Moderator: Qiana Mickie, Director (Mayor’s Office of Urban Agriculture) Panelists: • Carlos Martinez, Director (NYC Parks GreenThumb) • Blake Glover, State Conservationist, (United States Department of Agriculture Natural Resources Conservation Service (USDA NRCS)) • Caitlyn McFadden, Urban Agriculutral Education FFA Specialist (College of Agriculture and Life Sciences)16 GreenThumb GrowTogether
Art in the Garden Engaging Youth in Gardens / 8402 Janaira Ramirez, Ivan Iciano, Zoey Tagoe, JacobThe Handmade Nature Journal / 5382 Taveras, Annelisse Mendez, and Satnam ChaundharyLori Kent (Vamos a Sembrar) (The Brotherhood SisterSol and Frank WhiteGardens change throughout the seasons. There Memorial Garden)are nature’s cycles and a metaphoric garden of How do we engage and keep the young peoplememories and folk knowledge. This workshop guides enrolled in our programs? We will answer this questionparticipants through journal making and offers together with the help of the young people presentingways to fill the pages with a record of gardening this workshop. This workshop is for teachers, youthexperiences. Binding, stamping, folding, cutting, and facilitators, and gardeners looking to recruit and keepdesign using natural and upcycled materials offer young people, other youth leaders, and anyone lookingeach participant the opportunity to create a unique to engage youth to programs, projects, or spaces.garden journal. Creating an Accessible Garden During the Pandemic: Lessons for the Future / 6421Cultivating Community Carrie Banks (Inclusive Services at Brooklyn PublicEngagement Library) and Julie Zimmerman (Brooklyn Public Library)Borough Meet-ups for Community Gardeners Brooklyn Public Library’s Washington Irving branch created an inclusive garden in the middle of theConnect with fellow community garden members pandemic, bringing community members together inin your borough! In these networking meet-ups, a safe, outdoor space on the East New York/BushwickGreenThumb Community Engagement Coordinators border. It became a community anchor. Unhousedwill facilitate introductions, resource sharing, and people stopped by for food, finicky toddlers grew andmutual support efforts. Join in to let your borough ate mint, school-age children picked their own saladsknow what your community garden needs and what it and ate them enthusiastically. Join us on our journeycan offer. and learn how adaptable gardening really is! Create• Bronx Gardeners Meet-up / C201 gardens for people with and without disabilities in any Tenisha Morrison and Ijendu Obasi (NYC Parks environment. Bring communities together to address GreenThumb) their needs. Leave with a checklist for including all• Staten Island Gardeners Meet-up / C202 community members. Let’s grow together! Vanessa Cabrera (NYC Parks GreenThumb) Cultivating Leaders: Develop and Sustain New• Manhattan Gardeners Meet-up / C203 Leadership in your Community Garden / 6417 Alex Munoz, Lillian Reyes, and Cynthia Guerra Chelsea Watson (Climate justice organizer and Warren (NYC Parks GreenThumb) St. Marks Community Garden)• Queens Gardeners Meet-up / C204 Leadership is key to the success of any community Erinn White (NYC Parks GreenThumb) garden. Leaders keep garden projects moving, solve• Brooklyn Gardeners Meet-up / C205 problems, facilitate decision-making, and sustain Gregory Anderson, Eric Thomann, K.C. Alvey, and engagement from garden members. However, too Bill Pape (NYC Parks GreenThumb) often we hope that leaders will just appear overnight. Instead, we should develop a practice of coaching and mentoring garden members so that they may grow into leadership roles. Through coaching, knowledge and experience can be passed on, members can become leaders, and responsibilities can be shared equitably. In this workshop, we will develop the skills required for effective leadership development, try on specific models of coaching, and practice with each other! GreenThumb GrowTogether 17
Finding Your People:Building Community With Volunteers / 8400 Gardening and HorticultureJimmie Costello and Kyleen Sanchez (NYC Compost Highs and Lows of High Tunnels / 6495Project Hosted by the LES Ecology Center) Claudia Navas, Cyn Medina, and Rayland Van BlakeThe NYC Compost Project Hosted by the Lower East (Farm School NYC)Side Ecology Center will share best practices for Growing in transparent tunnels is an ancient practicebuilding and retaining your group’s core team and that extends the growing season, lowers soil erosion,volunteers. We will share stories of how Manhattan- reduces certain pest pressure, improves plant andbased community composting sites used community soil quality, and offers more abundant locally grown,programming to grow their teams. Workshop culturally relevant produce to communities that needparticipants will learn about resources and best it most. Find out what materials, tools, and resourcespractices they can use to find long-lasting success you need, including grants that can help coverbuilding community and growing their garden groups. your costs.Using iNaturalist to Empower Collective Stewardship, Making Things with“Re-spect” Weeds, and BuildBetter Gardens / 6494 Plants and HerbsTohmi Barrett (The New York Botanical Garden - Herbs for Stress Relief:EcoFlora Project), Chris Kreussling (NYC Pollinator Gardeners Edition / 5382Working Group - Steering Committee Member) Emilyn Sosa (Folk Mondaze)Community gardens have a huge impact on the Together we will explore the spiritual and medicinalhealth of our urban communities. How can we expand aspects of herbs that can support gardeners and theirtheir value to contribute to a more ecologically work in the garden. We will focus on what herbs cansustainable future? In this workshop we will discuss teach us about ourselves, our relationship to work,the importance of local, non-cultivated plants, how and how we can better manage gardening work-to identify them, how they can be incorporated into related stress through everyday herbal preparations.our gardens, and why we must re-spect (look againat) weeds as potentially important, remnant species Introduction to Herbalism / 9207worthy of protection and nurturement. iNaturalist is Noreen Kelly (La Plaza Cultural-Armando Perez)a community/citizen science platform where anyone This workshop will provide a basic overview ofcan record their observations—photos or audio herbalism, concentrating on folklore, traditional uses,recordings—of any living thing anywhere in the world. and modern science. We will discuss the basics ofCommunity gardeners and visitors can use iNaturalist plant identification and how to make teas, tinctures,to document and keep records about their gardens, and salves for home use. Participants will make theirsuch as flowering and fruiting times; identify and keep own herbal tea blend to take home.track of common weeds; and identify insect visitors,whether pests, predators, or pollinators. Soap Making 101 / Room 9206We encourage people planning to attend this Marcia Denson (Phoenix Community Garden)workshop to download the iNaturalist app on to Make your own soap using an easy melt-and-pourtheir phones in advance. Everyone is welcome to method with herbs and flowers from your garden.participate or observe either way. This workshop is the ultimate guide to making colorful natural soaps. Participants will take home their own bar of herbal soap.18 GreenThumb GrowTogether
Native Plants and Pollinators Soil and CompostingNative Seed Production in NYC with the Greenbelt Food, Composting, and the Human Gut / 8203Native Plant Center / 5417 Kimberlie Wilson, DACM (Jing Essence Acupuncture)Seth August and Sam Bachert (Greenbelt Native and QiHui Jin, MSAC (The Force Acupuncture)Plant Center) The dynamics of composting are both similar to andThe Greenbelt Native Plant Center (GNPC) is a city- interdependent upon human digestion. Dr. Wilsonrun nursery that provides native plants for projects and Mr. Jin view this interdependency in a holisticin New York City. The Seed Increase Program (SIP) at approach from the lens of Chinese medicine. TheGNPC farms seed for distribution to restoration and quality of compost produced creates nutrient-community-centered projects around the city. For this rich plants, which then support the physical andworkshop, join SIP staff to learn how different species mental health of the human body directly due to thetravel by seed from wild population to farm increase phenomenon known as the gut-brain connection.plot to restoration project, and what this process In this presentation, we are going to discuss thelooks like within New York City. similarities between composting, fermentation, and the human digestive system, and how compostingSeed Track relates to our internal and external environments.Saving Seeds in the City / Skylight Conference HotBox Composting / 6496Room (9th Floor) Nando Rodriguez (HotBox Composting)In this session you will hear from people involved in The HotBox is a composting system designed in Newsome community seed saving and sharing projects York City that has been thriving in a few communityacross the city. We will share about what it looks like gardens for over 30 years and counting. Our systemto save seeds and share them across community has little to no maintenance and has proven to keepgrowing spaces, whether that is through seed libraries rats out. Learn about how these systems work andor other methods, and how different parts of the which materials work best.process look and feel.In the second half of the session, we will discussaltogether what seed saving will look like for us in thecity this coming season, and we invite others to sharewhat it will look like for you as well, if you have a seedsaving project or just intentions to save seeds. We willalso share opportunities to get involved. If you are aseed saver, please come join us!Panelists:• lex barlowe (Seedkeeper)• Renee Keitt (Farmer and Seedkeeper—Chenchita’s Garden, Lydia’s Magic Garden, La Finca del Sur, New Roots, Kelly Street Garden, and Seeds to Soil)• Alexx Cáceres (Urban Farmer—East New York Farms!)• DK Kinard (Urban Agriculturalist, Culinary Instructor, and Food Advocate - New Roots Community Farm) GreenThumb GrowTogether 19
Programa Registro 8:15 a.m.–9:15 a.m. Nivel C Desayuno 8:15 a.m.–9:15 a.m. Nivel C Ceremonia de apertura 9:15 a.m.–10:15 a.m. Proshansky Auditorium (Nivel C) Ceremonia de apertura 9:15 a.m.–10:15 a.m. Parte Trasera del en español Proshansky Auditoriorium (Nivel C) = .Bienvenida: Carlos Martinez, Director, NYC Parks GreenThumb = .Observaciones: Karina Smith, Assistant Commissioner, NYC Parks Iris Rodriguez-Rosa, First Deputy Commissioner, NYC Parks = .Inauguración y Reconocimiento de la Tierra: Sue Donoghue, Commissioner, NYC Parks = .Discurso principal: Chief Vincent Mann, Ramapough Lenape Nation = .Ganador del concurso de diseño de camisetas: Natasha Osadcija Sesión 1 del taller 10:30 a.m.–mediodía Nivel C (pisos 5, 6, 8 y 9) Almuerzo Mediodía–1:00 p.m. Nivel C Sesión 2 del taller 1:00 p.m.–2:30 p.m Nivel C (pisos 5, 6, 8 y 9) Sesión 3 del taller 2:45 p.m.–4:15 p.m Nivel C (pisos 5, 6, 8 y 9) Expositores/Intercambio 10:30 a.m.–3:00 p.m Cafetería (piso 8) de contactos Entrega de camisetas 11:45 a.m.–3:30 p.m Segal Theater (Primer piso)CUNY Graduate Proshansky Auditorium, Nivel CCenter Room Rooms C201–C205, RegistrationGuide Segal Theater, Recital Hall Piso 1 Rooms 5382, 5383, 5417 Piso 5 Rooms 6417, 6421, 6494, 6496, 6596 Piso 6 Baños de ocupación individual y de género neutral Piso 7 Dining Commons, Rooms 8203, 8400, 8402 Piso 8 Rooms 9205-9207, Skylight Conference Room Piso 9 Obtenga un intérprete para cualquier taller Pase por la mesa de registro para pedir un intérprete de español que lo acompañe a cualquier taller de su elección!20 GreenThumb GrowTogether
Inaguración Jóvenes y líderes de jardines que participan en este año del Consejo de Liderazgodel Consejo Juvenil de GreenThumb son invitados a compartir juntos para inaugurar la temporada de jardineríade Liderazgo Desayuno 8:15 a.m.–9:15 a.m. Traiga su desayuno alJuvenil de salón C201GreenThumb Almuerzo Mediodía–1:00 p.m. Traiga su almuerzo al salón C201 Dónde Comer El pasillo del vestíbulo y las aulas en el Nivel C (C202-205) estarán abiertos durante la hora de almorzar. La mayoría de las otras aulas de conferencias en los pisos 6 y 8 también estarán abierto para el almuerzo. Por favor sea considerado con los facilitadores cuando están preparando los talleres, y por favor tire toda la basura para que las aulas estén limpias y listas para la próxima sesión. Lunchtime Activities = .Visite el área de conexiones en el Salón Comedor en el 8o piso = .Recoge tu camiseta de la conferencia en el Teatro Segal en el 1er piso (disponible hasta las 15:30 horas) = .Atienda la Charla del Día Internacional de Jardinería Guerrillera de Girasoles en C202 Salón de Meditación y Oración Salón 9201 (piso 9o) está disponible para la oración y meditación. Por favor sea respetuoso de este espacio y no utilice para conversaciones privadas, llamadas telefónicas, comer, etc. Salon para la Lactancia Si necesita un espacio privado para extraer leche materna o amamantar, por favor diríjase a la mesa de registro de facilitadores de talleres en el primer piso cerca al auditorio y nosotros facilitaremos acceso. Mesa de GreenThumb Pase por la Mesa de GreenThumb en el área de conexiones (Salón Comedor, Piso 8o), donde puede hablar con un Coordinador Comunitario para responder a sus preguntas. Usted también puede: = Regístrese para organizar eventos para el Open Garden NYC (sábado, Junio 3 y domingo, Junio 4) =Vea los archivos digitales parte de los 45 años de historia de GreenThumb#GTGT2023Síganos en las redes sociales para enterarse acerca de los talleres, eventos, y noticias de GreenThumb.Comparta su día en la 39a Conferencia Anual de GrowTogether de GreenThumb en las redes sociales yutilice el #GTGT2023. Instagram Facebook YouTube Twitter @GreenThumbNYC @GreenThumbNYC @GreenThumbNYC @NYCGreenThumb GreenThumb GrowTogether 21
Mensaje de Bienvenida de Carlos Martinez,Director, NYC Parks GreenThumb¡En nombre de todo el equipo de NYC Parks GreenThumb, bienvenidos a la 39a Conferencia Anual deGrowTogether de GreenThumb! Los jardineros comunitarios, protectores de la tierra, y organizacionesambientales de todos los rincones de la Ciudad de Nueva York han estado reuniéndose cada primavera enel GrowTogether desde 1984 para celebrar el inicio de la temporada de jardinería con un día de aprendizaje,conexiones, y reuniones con amigos y colegas.Por más de cuatro décadas, los jardineros comunitarios de todos los ámbitos de la sociedad han revitalizadobarrios y fortalecido comunidades a lo largo de la ciudad. Este año marca el 45 aniversario en lo que se haconvertido en el programa de jardinería comunitaria más grande del país, sustentando una red de más de 550jardines y más de 20,000 voluntarios cuidando colectivamente en conjunto 100 acres de espacios abiertos.GreenThumb se enorgullece en colaborar con todos ustedes al cultivar una ciudad más habitable.El tema del GrowTogether de este año es “Aprendiendo de la Tierra: Generosidades de Sabiduría de losJardines Comunitarios”. Profundamente arraigados en nuestro paisaje urbano, los jardines comunitarios soninfraestructura social y ambiental esenciales – desde reducir el efecto de la isla de calor urbano, ofrecerservicios ecosistémicos, y aumentar la retención de aguas pluviales hasta el fortalecimiento de la participacióncívica y la construcción comunitaria. Al enfrentarnos a una emergencia climática, el tiempo es el indicado paracontinuar aprendiendo de estos oasis urbanos y de los guerreros de la tierra dedicados a su protección.En los últimos años, transicionamos a una programación híbrida llegando a audiencias nuevas, pero estamosemocionados que nos acompañan de nuevo en persona para la Conferencia GrowTogether. Al disfrutar estedía entero lleno de expertos, talleres, actividades prácticas y oportunidades de conexión, por favor tome unmomento para saludar y reconectar con el personal de GreenThumb y déjenos saber cómo podemos continuarapoyando la jardinería comunitaria y el cuidado ambiental en su barrio.Esperamos que pasen un tiempo maravilloso en el GrowTogether, y les deseamos otra temporada de jardineríamuy provechosa – apreciamos sus contribuciones invaluables a nuestra ciudad.En solidaridad,Carlos MartinezDirector, NYC Parks GreenThumb22 GreenThumb GrowTogether
