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FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

February 15, 2008

CONTACT

Leeann Lavin: 718-623-7289, leeannlavin@bbg.org
Kate Blumm: 718-623-7241, kateblumm@bbg.org

GreenBridge, the Community Horticulture Program of Brooklyn Botanic Garden, Presents the 27th Annual Making Brooklyn Bloom:

Edible NYC: Green It! Grow It! Eat It!

Saturday, March 8, 10 a.m. to 4 p.m.

With Featured Speakers, Panel Discussions, Workshops, and Hands-On Exhibits; Learn about Neighborhood Greening and Growing Local Fruits and Vegetables

Making Brooklyn Bloom

Photos: (left) Making Brooklyn Bloom features an apple cider press alongside the many exhibitors in the Palm House; (right) the event offers community members an opportunity to meet one another and learn about urban greening. (Photos courtesy Brooklyn Botanic Garden)

Brooklyn, NY—February 15, 2008—Brooklyn Botanic Garden presents Making Brooklyn Bloom, the Garden's annual community horticulture event and spring gardening kick-off day, Saturday, March 8, 2007. For 27 years, BBG has produced Making Brooklyn Bloom—an event that has grown more popular as it has become increasingly resonant to the borough's citizens. The focus this year is community agriculture and the many benefits of urban greening—including growing fresh, organic food. The free event offers hands-on workshops, experienced and passionate speakers who are nationally recognized trailblazers in local food phenomena, and exhibits by regional experts who will present innovative, organic, home gardening techniques. The experts will also provide ideas and techniques for greening urban communities, so that attendees can learn how to grow their own food easily and reap the benefits of a healthier lifestyle. Other experts will describe the community health benefits that derive from cultivating open green space and keeping a focus on local food.

That Webster's 2007 word of the year is locavore is a clear testament to the explosion of interest across the nation in locally grown food and issues of food security and sourcing practices. Making Brooklyn Bloom, which has been educating communities on growing food since 1971, will showcase the pioneering work of organizations and community gardeners dedicated to sustainability and its incorporation into the urban lifestyle.

This year's event features a keynote panel, "From Seed to Table: Building a Healthy Food System," which addresses the strategies and challenges of developing a food infrastructure that makes a healthy diet available to citizens at every socioeconomic level. Participants include Karen Washington, longtime activist for NYC community gardens and key player in the re-funding of the New York State Urban Food Systems Program; food security expert Mark Winne, whose research into public policy and urban food systems will provide a national perspective on the issue; and Kimberly Vargas, senior youth participant at Added Value, a non-profit, community-based organization in Red Hook, who will describe Brooklyn food systems—illustrated by vibrant photographs of Red Hook community food options, which will be on view in the BBG Rotunda.

No preregistration is required for Making Brooklyn Bloom, but it is suggested that visitors arrive at 10 a.m. to register for the day's workshops.

Workshops, many of them hands-on, offer expert guidance and inspiration for greening efforts and food cultivation. In "The Edible Palette," BBG vice president of Horticulture Patrick Cullina will reveal how to landscape using edible plants that are as beautiful as they are delicious. "Raising Chickens and Bees in the City" will demystify the practice of raising these critters within city limits and is taught by Owen Taylor, key member of the City Chicken Working Group and lead author of The City Chicken, and Sarita Daftary of East New York Farms! "Sustainable Watering Practices," taught by Lenny Librizzi, an expert from the Water Resources Group, will introduce visitors to innovative practices in water conservation, including rainwater harvesting and drip irrigation. (For a complete list of workshops, please see below.)

Robin Simmen, director of GreenBridge at Brooklyn Botanic Garden, said, "Making Brooklyn Bloom is an exciting, energizing event that every year sparks ideas, trends, and discussion—and inspires action. A healthy, Brooklyn-based food system is predicated on the sustainable greening practices that GreenBridge has been bringing to communities for 27 years. Highlighting food production in our communities is a natural outgrowth of this work," she added. "By sharing our urban gardening expertise and linking together the many community gardens and neighborhood groups that we have worked with, we hope this year's Making Brooklyn Bloom will be an important part of developing a sustainable urban food system," Simmen explained.

Making Brooklyn Bloom will also present a series of short documentary films that tell the personal, hard-fought stories of new developments in the healthy food system. "Ladies of the Land" is a visual testament to the changing face of the farm community in the U.S., as it documents the lives of four women who begin farming late in life; "Worms in the Big Apple" is a documentary about composting in New York City and the vibrant characters involved in it; and "Women Cycles" depicts the adventures of three women as they cycle from Washington, D.C. to Montreal, visiting community farming projects in both urban and rural areas along the way.

Visitors should register by 10 a.m. at Brooklyn Botanic Garden, 1000 Washington Avenue to secure their first choice of workshops.

Morning and afternoon workshop topics:

Some workshops will be held at 11 a.m. and others at 3 p.m; the schedule will be announced at registration. Attendees will have a chance to choose one workshop from each time block, as long as space permits. Guests will receive a free spring gift bag! For more information, visit www.bbg.org or call 718.623.7209.