Spring Cleaning on Cortelyou Road

Posted on 2010-03-16 by admin

The daffodils are pushing up along Cortelyou Road and they would be so much prettier if they don’t bloom in the midst of garbage! Join Sustainable Flatbush and your neighbors from the Beverley Square West Association to help clean up the tree beds.

When: Sunday, March 21st
Where: Meet up at 10am in front of the Library, near the Greenmarket tent, at the corner of Argyle and Cortelyou Roads.
If you miss the meet-up, look for us along Cortelyou Road between Coney Island Avenue and East 16th Street.

Bring gloves and rakes if you have them; we will also have some to share. Children are welcome to join us!

Making Brooklyn Bloom at BBG, this Saturday, March 13

Posted on 2010-03-11 by admin

Making Brooklyn Bloom in March 2008

I’m hoping to attend the 29th annual Making Brooklyn Bloom at the Brooklyn Botanic Garden this Saturday. The theme of healthy soils, communities and cities is of interest to me.

via press release

The urban gardening community will kick off the spring gardening season at Brooklyn Botanic Garden (BBG) with the 29th annual Making Brooklyn Bloom, a daylong conference on how to green up the borough, presented by GreenBridge, the community environmental horticulture program at Brooklyn Botanic Garden.

This year’s Making Brooklyn Bloom, “Soil in the City: Growing Healthy Neighborhoods from the Ground Up,” focuses on revitalizing our soil, the foundation of life in the garden. The free event features a keynote address by Dr. Nina Bassuk, director of the Urban Horticulture Institute at Cornell University, developer of Cornell Structural Soil, and author of Trees in the Urban Landscape. Exhibits and workshops on rooftop farming, community composting, and soil testing will be offered—all presented by members of BBG’s horticulture staff or experts from other greening organizations in New York City.

“For 29 years, Making Brooklyn Bloom has introduced urban gardeners to sustainable practices and encouraged ecological awareness in city gardens—whether those gardens are on windowsills, in backyards, or in community gardens,” says Robin Simmen, director of GreenBridge. “Focusing on soil this year addresses an issue that pertains to everyone interested in cultivating green space in the city. GreenBridge is proud to bring together leaders in sustainable horticulture and environmental science to share their knowledge on this critical issue—and in doing so, strengthen the community of Brooklyn gardeners,” she adds.

To celebrate its centennial, BBG is commemorating the renewal of Brooklyn’s urban environment by sharing before-and-after photos of local community gardens. Attendees are encouraged to bring photos of their gardens on the day of the event; BBG staff will be on hand to scan and share them on the web throughout our centennial year. Like many of Brooklyn’s gardens, BBG itself started from scratch, transforming its grounds from a derelict coal ash dump into an emerald gem in the heart of the borough.

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. Entry to BBG is free before noon or with a flyer about the event. For more details on Making Brooklyn Bloom, please call 718-623-7250 or visit bbg.org/vis2/2010/mbb/.

Making Brooklyn Bloom 2010: Saturday, March 13 | 10 a.m. to 4 p.m.

Workshops:
Soils 101: Theory and Practice
John Jordan, Prospect Park Alliance

Building Soil with Mulch and Cover Crops
Luke Halligan, NYC Compost Project in Brooklyn

Advanced Composting: Beyond the Basics
Jenny Blackwell, NYC Compost Project in Brooklyn | T Fleischer, Battery Park City Parks Conservancy

Soil and Stormwater: Lessons from the Bronx River
Dawn Henning, Bronx River Alliance

Digging Up History: Learning About Your Garden Site
Steven Romalewski, CUNY Center for Urban Research | Mara Gittleman, Council on the Environment of NYC

Rats! (And Other Rodents…)
Caroline Bragdon, NYC Department of Health

All the Dirt on Soil Contaminants
Joshua Cheng, Brooklyn College Soil Testing Lab
Marisa DeDominicis, Earth Matter

Choosing a Soil Test and Interpreting the Results
Matt Brown, Central Park Conservancy | Hannah Shayler, Cornell Waste Management Institute

Soil Fertility: An Organic Approach
Lorraine Brooks, Cornell Cooperative Extension

Native Plants for City Soils
Uli Lorimer, Brooklyn Botanic Garden

Dirt Cheap: Starting Seeds Indoors
Solita Stephens, Olympus Garden Club

Rooftop Farming: Soil in the Skies
Jeff Heehs, Community Advocate | Jennifer Nelkin, Gotham Greens | Annie Novak, Eagle Street Rooftop Farm

Revitalize Your Soil with Compost Tea
Karla Chandler, Brooklyn Botanic Garden

Community Composting Projects in Brooklyn
Claudia Joseph, Garden of Union | Kendall Morrison, Earth Matter | Jessica Katz, 6/15 Green
Matt Sheehan, Brooklyn New School

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.; enjoy lunch at the Zagat-rated Terrace Café; and view the exhibition of BBG artist-in-residence Emilie Clark, a conceptually based body of new work inspired by the 19th-century naturalist Mary Treat.

11th Hour for Campus Road Garden

Posted on 2010-02-23 by admin

2010-02-23: Added a brief history of the Garden.

Last Fall, Brooklyn College announced plans to destroy the Campus Road Community Garden, located at the western end of Brooklyn College’s athletic fields since 1997, for a parking lot. This Wednesday, February 24, the Brooklyn Community Board 14 Committee on Education, Libraries & Cultural Affairs is having a public hearing:

When: Wednesday, February 24, 2010, 7 PM
Where: CB14 District Office, 810 E 16th Street, Brooklyn, NY

Agenda:
1. Update on Brooklyn College Garden – Representatives of Brooklyn College and South Midwood Residence Association
2. Presentation on Brooklyn Public Library initiatives – Tambe Tysha-John, Cluster Leader, Brooklyn Public Library
3. Other business

If you would like to speak during any of the public hearings or during the public portion of the board meeting, please call the CB14 District Office at 718-859-6357 to register for time. You may also register to speak on the evening of the meeting.

The “Brooklyn College Garden” is part of Brooklyn College’s greenwashing campaign. On February 3, they posted this announcement (since removed) on their Web site:

Brooklyn College announced today the creation of the Brooklyn College Garden that will serve as the basis for a broad spectrum of academic and sustainability initiatives for faculty and students. Members of the surrounding community will also be welcome to plant on individual plots, which will be assigned to them on a yearly base.

The garden, to be situated at the campus’s Avenue H entrance and bordering the college’s athletic field, is designed to be approximately 2,500 square feet.

which is where the Campus Road Garden, occupying more than twice the area, already exists.

View Brooklyn Community Gardens in a larger map

Brooklyn College’s unilateral announcement is disingenuous, at best. They omit any mention of their plans to destroy the Campus Road Garden, or the parking lot that will take its place. Such is the basis for their “sustainability initiatives.”

Not content with destroying a garden with decades of history in the community, they plan to pick at its bones for their private benefit:

Trees and bushes from a temporary community garden that made use of the area in previous years will be carefully replanted in front of the West Quad Center to create an inviting new garden. The college envisions the new green space as a “serenity garden” with comfortable seating for visitors to linger.

A garden that has been in place for 13 years is not a “temporary” garden.

Once again, the hearing is this Thursday, Wednesday, February 24, at 7pm, at the CB14 District Office at 810 E 16th Street.

[bk.ly]

A brief history

Provided by the Campus Road Garden:

1970s: Brooklyn College Organic Gardening Club starts a garden on a vacant college lot on Campus Road, sustained by community residents and students.
1980s: The City sells the lot at auction and evicts the gardeners. The developer defaults, and the lot remains vacant and overrun by weeds.
1990s: New Campus Road Garden Residents negotiate with the bank holding the property, and successfully recreate the garden. The bank again sells the lot and evicts the gardeners.
1997: Gardeners negotiate with Brooklyn College to relocate the garden to its current location. Then-President Vernon Lattin calls it “Brooklyn College’s gain.”

Links

Stop the Demolition of the Campus Rd Garden, online petition

Education, Libraries & Cultural Affairs Committee, Community Board 14

Land of the Free, Home of the…Cars?, Dassa Gutwirth, Sustainable Flatbush, 2010-02-23 (Illustrated with my photos of Campus Road Garden)
BC issues plan for new community garden, stirring ire, Courier-Life, 2010-02-09
Saving the Campus Road Community Garden from Parking Lot Fate, 2009-10-19
Brooklyn College to pave over popular garden to expand track, Flatbush residents not pleased, Daily News, 2009-10-09

Sunday, 2/21: Greening Flatbush – Garden Where You Are!

Posted on 2010-02-19 by admin

Sustainable Flatbush presents the second annual “Greening Flatbush” on Sunday, February 21.

Join us for a fun-filled & information-packed afternoon. Meet your neighbors and get your hands dirty. “Greening Flatbush: Garden Where You Are” is an afternoon of short demonstrations and hands-on workshops including:

gardening for kids
starting seeds indoors
growing herbs and microgreens on your windowsill
vertical gardening (Windowfarms)
growing sprouts in your kitchen
composting with worms in your apartment
how to join the Flatbush Farm Share CSA
preparing healthy food (cooking demo with a Just Food Community Chef)

… and much more!

Snacks and coffee will be available. Bring your own mug (BYOM)!

Worm composting, at the first Greening Flatbush event, in 2008.

“Garden is a verb,” says Chris Kreussling, Director of Sustainable Flatbush’s Urban Gardens & Farms Initiative, which is sponsoring the event. “It’s not just a place you visit. It’s something you do.” The Urban Gardening and Farming Initiative is centered on modeling sustainable horticulture practices, promoting urban agriculture and food sovereignty, and building community through neighborhood gardening and beautification.

Sustainable Flatbush programs provide opportunities for residents to learn about and get involved in working toward the goal of a sustainable neighborhood, while simultaneously building community and fostering local self-sufficiency.

“Hearing about what others are already doing can inspire people to work with their neighbors to take action,” says Kreussling, who also authors a local gardening blog, Flatbush Gardener. “We want to build community through gardening.”

Snacks and coffee will be available (courtesy of Flatbush Food Co-op and Vox Pop Café). Bring your own mug!

Greening Flatbush is Sunday, February 21, from 2:00 to 4:00pm at the Dorchester Senior Center, 1419 Dorchester Road, located on the corner of Dorchester Road and Marlborough Road. Take the Q train to Cortelyou Road.

$3 suggested donation.

Space is limited. To register go to http://www.sustainableflatbush.org/greeningflatbush
If you have questions about this event, please contact Sustainable Flatbush: email – info@sustainableflatbush.org, phone – (718) 208-0575

A big thank you to our sponsors: Kings County Nurseries, Flatbush Food Co-op, and Vox Pop Cafe

Mulchfest 2010: NYC Recycles Trees

Posted on 2010-01-04 by admin

Updated 2009-01-05: Added a map of Brooklyn Mulchfest locations.

Park Circle Mulchfest 2009

It’s tree recycling season in New York City. Residents can have their trees recycled into mulch for the City’s parks and gardens:

Remove all lights, ornaments, tinsel and tree-stands from your tree.
Leave your tree unwrapped. Don’t put it in a plastic bag.
Leave trees curbside from Monday, January 4, through Friday, January 15, for recycling pickup, OR
Bring your tree 10am-2pm Saturday, January 9th or Sunday, January 10th to one of over 80 locations citywide.

Residents can also pick up free mulch at designated chipping locations. Volunteers from Sustainable Flatbush, including your host, will be helping out at the Park Circle location of Prospect Park.

Map

View Brooklyn MulchFest 2010 in a larger map

In addition, Brooklyn residents are invited to drop off their Christmas trees at Green-Wood Cemetery for mulching, daily from 8 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. and on Jan. 9, from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. Master composters from the Brooklyn Botanic Garden will be on hand to discuss the benefits of using wood-chip mulch. Free wood chips will be available in exchange for those who bring their trees. Sponsored by the Green-Wood Cemetery and Brooklyn Botanic Garden; Green-Wood Cemetery, Fifth Avenue, at 25th Street, Greenwood Heights, Brooklyn, (718) 768-7300; free.

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Links

Parks: MulchFest

Parks Press Release, 2010-01-11t

Flatbush Daffodil Project – 11/14 & 11/15

Posted on 2009-11-13 by admin

11/14 ONLY – CANCELLED due to rain (remains of Hurricane Ida). Join us Sunday, 11/15, for a beautiful day of Daffodil bulb planting!

Join Sustainable Flatbush and your fellow urban gardeners to beautify neighborhood tree beds by planting daffodil bulbs!

The Daffodil Project was originally created to commemorate September 11th; a Dutch bulb grower donates 500,000 bulbs each year to NYC community groups who plant them in neighborhoods all over the five boroughs. This year, New Yorkers for Parks distributed more than 125,000 Daffodil bulbs for planting throughout the City. Sustainable Flatbush received 500 bulbs for planting in tree beds and other public areas in our neighborhood.

This will be Sustainable Flatbush’s second year of co-sponsoring the Daffodil Project locally. If you enjoy gardening, feel like digging in some dirt, or if you just want to delight in the company of your neighbors, join us this weekend!

WHAT: Flatbush Daffodil Project
WHEN: Saturday and Sunday, November 14th and 15th, from 10:00am until 12:00pm
WHERE: Meet in front of Vox Pop Cafe at 9:45, 1022 Cortelyou Road (corner of Stratford Road)

(Please note: rain cancels this event! Call us at 718-208-0575 if in doubt)

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Related Content

Daffodil Project posts

Links

Flatbush Daffodil Project 2009, Sustainable Flatbush
The Daffodil Project, New Yorkers for Parks

BK DECAY: Brooklyn Community Leaf Composting, 11/7&8, 11/14&15, & 11/21&22

Posted on 2009-11-06 by admin

Update 2009-11-21: In just 4 hours over 2 days, the Flatbush CommUNITY Garden diverted 1,740 lbs of leaves from landfill to compost which will enrich the Garden and more of Brooklyn’s urban farms and gardens. As Director of the Urban Gardens and Farms Initiative of Sustainable Flatbush, I want to thank everyone who participated, whether by planning, volunteering, or dropping off leaves.

Cherry Leaves, Brooklyn Botanic Garden, November 2008

Until 2007, NYC collected and composted residential leaves. For the second year, 20,000 tons of leaves will be treated like household garbage, added to the City’s already-overburdened waste stream. Sign the petition to restore leaf composting to NYC.

Stepping into the void left by the City’s abandonment of leaf composting, more than a dozen Brooklyn community gardens, as well as gardens in other boroughs, have banded together in partnership with the GreenBridge Community Garden Alliance of Brooklyn Botanic Garden, Council on the Environment of NYC, bk farmyards, Vokashi, and the Neighborhood Open Space Coalition,

Over the next three weekends, from 11am to 1pm, Brooklyn residents can bring leaves, free of trash, twigs and branches, in clear plastic or paper bags to one of the locations marked with a blue pin on this map. Not every garden is participating on all dates, so check the garden nearest you to see when you can drop-off in your neighborhood.

View larger map

Information will be available at many of the participating gardens about how to make compost in your own garden or apartment and about efforts to encourage the City to reinstate its municipal leaf collection and composting program.

The Flatbush CommUNITY Garden is participating on two dates: this Sunday, November 8, and Saturday, November 21. The drop-off will be at 1550 Albemarle Road, near Buckingham Road (East 16th Street). The Garden is a project of Sustainable Flatbush, part of the Urban Gardens & Farms initiative.

In 2008, a pilot project at 6/15 Green garden in Park Slope, Brooklyn, collected over a 1 1/2 tons of leaves, indicating a deep desire in the community to keep their residential leaves out of the overburdened wastestream and recycle them into rich “brown gold”. NYCLeaves expects to break that record by building a network of gardens that will offer to take in leaves in neighborhoods throughout the City. Bringing bagged leaves to a LeafDrop site will lighten the City’s load of trash, save the City the money it would spend collecting and getting rid of the leaves, and redirect this precious natural resource to its best use – as compost that will enrich the soil of vibrant, active community gardens or the City’s stressed and hungry street trees.

For more information about NYCLeaves: Project LeafDrop, its activities, how to register your garden for Project LeafDrop, a list of participating gardens and specific drop-off dates and times, contact them at their website:www.nycleaves.org or by email: compost@nycleaves.org

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Links

BK Decay, NYC Leaves: Project LeafDrop

Leaf Composting This Sunday, November 8th, Sustainable Flatbush, 2009-11-07
NYCLeaves: Project LeafDrop Are Picking Up Where the City’s Leaving Off, Brooklyn Green Team, 2009-11-04
New Community Garden Coalition Takes Lead in Leaf Composting, GreenThumb NYC, 2009-10-27

bk farmyards
Council on the Environment of NYC
GreenBridge Community Garden Alliance, Brooklyn Botanic Garden
Neighborhood Open Space Coalition
Vokashi

Prospect Park South Halloween Parade 2009

Posted on 2009-11-01 by admin

Slideshow

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We Are the Champion … Trees!

Posted on 2009-10-26 by admin

Via Press Release from the Brooklyn Botanic Garden.

Brooklyn, New York—October 26, 2009—On Tuesday, October 27 at 2:45 p.m., the New York State Department of Environmental Conservation (DEC) will award two trees at Brooklyn Botanic Garden “State Champion” status, affirming that they are the largest of their species on record in the state. The trees, a Kansas hawthorn (Crataegus coccinoides) and a Carolina holly (Ilex ambigua var. monticola) are the first trees in New York City to receive this honor. Only native or naturalized, nonhybrid species are eligible for champion designation. These specimens were nominated by a private citizen and their dimensions verified by the DEC.

At the presentation, which will take place in the shade of one of the champion trees, Brooklyn Botanic Garden president Scot Medbury and DEC regional director Suzanne Mattei will make remarks, and educators from the DEC will lead a group of students from BBG’s affiliated high school, Brooklyn Academy for Science and the Environment, in a workshop on the techniques used to measure big trees.

For more information on the New York State Big Tree Register and champion status, please visit www.dec.ny.gov/animals/5248.html. For more information on big trees at BBG, please visit bbg.org/exp/bigtrees/info/what.html.

NYSDEC RECOGNIZES NEW YORK CITY’S FIRST CHAMPION TREES
Tuesday, October 27, 2009 | 2:45 p.m.
Brooklyn Botanic Garden, 1000 Washington Avenue, Brooklyn
2/3 to Eastern Parkway/Brooklyn Museum or B/Q to Prospect Park

To arrange press credentials for the award ceremony, please contact Kate Blumm, BBG Communications Manager, at 718-623-7241 or kblumm@bbg.org.

Saturday, October 24: Meet the Trees

Posted on 2009-10-17 by admin

Fraxinus americana, White Ash, one of the street trees that will be on the tour.

On Saturday, October 24, Sustainable Flatbush will host its first Fall Street Tree Walking Tour. And I’m looking forward to once again be one of the guides for the tour.

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

Brooklyn, NY October 16, 2009

SUSTAINABLE FLATBUSH FALL 2009 STREET TREE WALKING TOUR
Saturday, October 24, 2009—Rain or Shine

Based on the success of the annual walking tour events in celebration of Arbor Day and spring in bloom, Sustainable Flatbush is now introducing the inaugural Fall Street Tree Walking Tour. The tour guides will be Tracey Hohman, professional gardener, and Chris Kreussling, aka Flatbush Gardener, both neighborhood residents.

Sustainable Flatbush Street Tree Walking Tour, Arbor Day 2009. That’s me in the middle, next to the tree. Photo by Keka

Throughout the tour, your street tree guide will:

identify trees and their characteristics
share interesting facts
explore local tree history
discuss the many ways street trees benefit the environment
explain how to obtain and care for street trees
and much more!

This free event is a perfect opportunity to visit Victorian Flatbush in the heart of Brooklyn and experience the neighborhood’s breathtaking street trees—including some that are more than 100 years old!

Location:
Tours start at Sacred Vibes Apothecary, 376 Argyle Road, just south of Cortelyou Road

View Sustainable Flatbush Fall 2009 Street Tree Walking Tour in a larger map

Directions:

Take the Q train to Cortelyou Road Station and walk west after exiting the station toward Argyle Road.
Buses that stop on or near Cortelyou Road include the B23, B103, B68, and BM1,2,3,4 and x29 express busess.
As a reminder, check the MTA website for schedule and service advisories before you head out.

Time:
Tours depart at 11:00 AM and 12:00 NOON.
Tours take about 2 hours to complete and are 1 mile in length.
This is a rain or shine event – please dress for the weather!

For more information, please contact Sustainable Flatbush

Foliage Report

The New York State Fall Foliage Report for the week of October 14-20 is reporting that NYC is “just changing.”

I can confirm that, with Dogwoods, White Ash and now Locust trees all in full color. Sweet Gum and Oaks are starting to turn. If cooler weather persists through the week, peak colors will probably arrive just in time for Halloween on the 31st. Still, there should be lots of color for us to enjoy on the 24th.

A Japanese Maple on Marlborough Rad in Prospect Park South, part of the tour, November 2007

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Links

Fall Foliage Walking Tour October 24th!, Sustainable Flatbush

Flatbush Gardener

Urban Habitat Gardening with Native Plants

Tag Archives: Events

Spring Cleaning on Cortelyou Road

Making Brooklyn Bloom at BBG, this Saturday, March 13