30 Years of Making Brooklyn Bloom: Let’s Garden Together!

Saturday, March 12 | 10 a.m. to 4 p.m.

Release Date: March 1, 2011

Brooklyn, New York—Long before “green” became a part of every Brooklynite’s vocabulary, GreenBridge, the community environmental horticulture program at Brooklyn Botanic Garden (BBG), was sharing expert knowledge with Brooklyn’s citizens on how to make their neighborhoods healthier and more sustainable. In 2011, hundreds of borough residents will welcome in the spring season with the 30th annual presentation of Making Brooklyn Bloom, a daylong conference on how to enliven Brooklyn—and the communities within it—by gardening.

This year’s Making Brooklyn Bloom, “Let’s Garden Together,” focuses on the ways gardening can build communities and strengthen relationships among neighbors, schools, service organizations, and beyond. The free event features the first annual Wilbur A. Levin Keynote Address, which will be made this year by Ellen Kirby, coordinator of the Food Bank Community Garden in Winston-Salem, North Carolina and founding director of GreenBridge, entitled “Play It Forward: What’s Our Vision for the Future?”.

Fifteen workshops—covering topics in urban sustainable horticulture including rooftop farming, citizen science, and caring for street trees—will be offered, all presented by community leaders in urban greening, members of BBG’s horticulture staff, or experts from other environmental organizations in New York City. Plus, a program of short films will explore gardening and the natural world.

No preregistration is required for Making Brooklyn Bloom, but it is suggested that visitors register by 10 a.m. on Saturday at BBG’s Palm House to secure their first choice of workshops and access to the keynote address. Entry to BBG is free before noon or with a flyer about the event (available at bbg.org/greenbridge). For more details on Making Brooklyn Bloom, please call 718-623-7250 or visit bbg.org/greenbridge/mbb.

Making Brooklyn Bloom is sponsored by Con Edison. Brooklyn Botanic Garden gratefully acknowledges support for GreenBridge programs from Brooklyn Community Foundation, the Institute for Museum and Library Services, and the NYC Department of Cultural Affairs.

MAKING BROOKLYN BLOOM 2011

Films
Sister Bee (30 minutes; 2006)
Sister Bee is a lyrical documentary about six beekeepers who find beauty and wonderment in their work with honeybees. Beekeeping is more than a hobby for the beekeepers of Sister Bee. It’s a source of laughter, learning, and connecting with the natural world.

Homegrown Revolution (16 minutes; 2009)
In the midst of densely urban downtown Pasadena, radical change is taking root. For over 20 years, the Dervaes family has been transforming their home into an urban homestead: harvesting three tons of organic food annually from their .1-acre garden while incorporating back-to-basics practices, solar energy, and biodiesel.

Of Forests and Men (7 minutes; 2011)
What first appeared on the earth 380 million years ago, is home to more than half the planet's species, and still covers almost one third of the planet's total land area? Forests and woodland. 2011 marks the UN’s Year of Forests; explore the history and current state of Earth’s forests through aerial images taken from hot air balloons and helicopters. The images speak for themselves, showing the dramatic range of lands: from exotic tropical forest beds to utterly clear areas of felled trees.

Workshops (commence at 11 a.m. and 3 p.m.; the schedule will be announced at registration)
Celebrate Diversity with Native Plants
Uli Lorimer, BBG Native Flora Garden and Steve Glenn, New York Metropolitan Flora Project

People, Plants, and Politics in the City
New York City Community Garden Coalition

Selling Your Vegetables: Opportunities to Share Your Harvest
Nadia Johnson and Jen Griffith, Just Food

Farming in Brooklyn
Annie Novak, Eagle Street Rooftop Farm and David Vigil, East New York Farms

The Basics: Starting and Revitalizing a Community Garden
Ena McPherson, Vernon & Throop Community Garden and Rasheed Hislop, GreenThumb

The Basics: Starting a Community Compost Project
Louise Brooks, Compost for Brooklyn; Matthew Sheehan, Brooklyn New School and Jenny Blackwell, NYC Compost Project in Brooklyn

The Basics: Starting a Street Tree Stewardship Project
Sam Bishop, Trees New York and Mike Mitchell, GreenBridge MillionTreesNYC Fellow

How to Grow the Greenest Block in Brooklyn
Phoebe Blake, East 25th Street Block Association

Open the Gates: Neighborhood Partnerships with School Gardens
Dylan House, Hester Street Collaborative; Mirem Villamil, Edible Schoolyard Brooklyn and Susannah Laskaris, Brooklyn Food Coalition

Keep It Cheap: Making Plants with Neighbors
Solita Stephens, Olympus Garden Club

NetRoots: Using Web Tools for Garden Projects
Emily Bell Dinan, NYC Compost Project in Brooklyn

Citizen Science: Growing Greener Communities through Research and Action
Mara Gittelman, Farming Concrete and Liz Barry, TreeKIT

Digging Up Dinner: Building Garden Partnerships with Food Pantries
Melony Samuels, Bed Stuy Campaign Against Hunger

Our Hearts in the Garden: Therapeutic Horticulture Projects
Susan Braverman and Joyce Jed, Urban Oasis

Networking Brown Bag Lunches
Bring a bag lunch to take part in these conversations:

• Advocating for School Gardens
• Therapeutic Horticulture
• Street Tree Stewardship

Visitors to Making Brooklyn Bloom will also have an opportunity to take a free Seasonal Highlights tour at 1 p.m.; check out BBG’s Gardeners Resource Center for texts, tips, and tricks; and view exhibits from over 20 city greening organizations. Plus, each visitor gets a spring gift bag to take home!

About GreenBridge
GreenBridge, the community horticulture program of Brooklyn Botanic Garden, shares the knowledge and resources of BBG with the neighborhoods of the borough. Working with block associations, community gardens, community centers, and other groups, GreenBridge promotes conservation and community through gardening and environmental stewardship activities.