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Brooklyn Botanic Garden 2006 Annual Report
Brooklyn GreenBridge Community Outreach
Brooklyn GreenBridge, the Garden's community horticulture program, celebrated the 11th year of its Greenest Block in Brooklyn contest, coordinated in partnership with Brooklyn borough president Marty Markowitz and sponsored by the Independence Community Foundation and Lowe's Companies, Inc. More than 1,000 blocks throughout Brooklyn have entered the contest since it was founded in 1994, and an estimated 500,000 residents have participated in this borough-wide beautification and greening effort.
Brooklyn borough president Marty Markowitz announces the winners of the Greenest Block in Brooklyn contest, including the Landings at Spring Creek, Phase II, Louisiana condo complex, winner of the residential category.
This past year brought the largest number of participants ever: 244 residential and commercial blocks, comprising an estimated total of more than 100,000 people. The winning residential block for 2005, the Landings at Spring Creek, Phase II, Louisiana, a cul de sac condominium apartment complex in Canarsie, had almost 100% participation from residents and featured beautifully designed front areas, colorful containers on the steps, and even bountiful planters in the parking lot. The commercial winner was Hoyt Street between Atlantic Avenue and State Street, in the Boerum Hill section of downtown Brooklyn. The first place for Greenest Storefront went to Brownstone Books, on Lewis Avenue in Bedford-Stuyvesant, and first place for Window Boxes went to Argyle Road, which was sponsored by the Prospect Park South Association. As part of the competition, nearly 400 window box kits were distributed to neighborhood groups, and street clinics were held in ten different locations. Lowe's Companies, Inc., joined founding sponsor Independence Community Foundation to help expand the contest.
BBG's 25th annual Making Brooklyn Bloom event kicked off the spring gardening season in March 2006 with the theme "Keeping It Fresh! City Gardeners Grow Food." Numerous workshops, exhibits, and speakers served the largest crowd ever for this day of learning and renewal.
Brooklyn GreenBridge continued to extend its reach to community centers with the Sustainable Gardening Project, Phase II. This partnership, funded in part by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, aims to teach community members not only how to garden sustainably but also how to develop talent within their own organizations in order to sustain their leadership as environmental stewards. Working in East Flatbush, Crown Heights, Bushwick, Prospect Heights, and East New York, the program paired a select group of community-based organizations with community gardens. This enhanced the role of each partner in educating local residents about current horticultural-conservation methods, including native plant and butterfly gardening, the use of irrigation systems, and composting. Topics were selected by the local groups based on their interests and needs, and 15 workshops were held with 160 residents from five neighborhoods. A final wrap-up session brought all the participants together in December.
Gardeners dig Brooklyn GreenBridge's compost "givebacks," offered with the assistance of certified master composters and the NYC Department of Sanitation.
Through the GreenBridge Registered Garden program, BBG continued to provide technical assistance and gardening resources, particularly for responsible conservation, to about 100 community gardens. The gardens also received donated plants from BBG's Auxiliary and annual recycled tulip bulb giveaway, as well as various nurseries. GreenBridge continued its work with GreenThumb, the Brooklyn–Queens Land Trust, and other organizations toward the long-term preservation of these valuable community spaces.
The Urban Composting Project extended its reach with funding and programming support from the NYC Department of Sanitation (DSNY). A major component of the program is the compost "giveback" (the public supplies leaves for composting, and the DSNY gives back the resulting compost). The summer's first giveback, at the DSNY's Spring Creek facility in Brooklyn, drew 959 participants, and more than 2,500 attended the giveback during the last weekend of October. Over 250 compost bins were sold at the October event, and, for the first time, electronics and clothing recycling were added to the program. Seventeen participants, selected from nearly 100 applicants, completed the Garden's six-week intensive Master Composter program and were awarded certification.
The Garden's Therapeutic Horticulture Network organized a holiday gathering that included a presentation by residents of the Kingsboro Psychiatric Institute's garden program. In the spring, the network sponsored a presentation by author Thomas Ogren, who spoke of his work with youth in a California high-security prison as well as his provocative book Allergy-Free Gardening. Therapeutic horticulture is the practice of using horticulture to advance physical, mental, and emotional development. It also brings plants into the lives of people to whom they would otherwise be inaccessible. Past projects include work with the children at the United Cerebral Palsy Children's Center in Brooklyn. In 2006, BBG will begin a new program at the Quincy Senior Residence in Bedford-Stuyvesant, sponsored by the Bridge Street AME Development Corporation.
Brooklyn Gardener, GreenBridge's newsletter, was provided free of charge to more than 14,000 community residents and organizations this year. The biannual newsletter features gardening information, tips, and a calendar of upcoming BBG workshops and events, and introduces the world of BBG to many new constituents.