Jodie Colón is the Compost Project Manager at The New York Botanical Garden.
When it comes to organizing your closets, the latest trend is to only keep items that spark joy. Many gardeners in Bronx Green-Up gardens apply that principle to their compost bins. But often they happily keep every leaf, branch, weed, and kitchen scrap out of the landfill. When an overflow of joy accumulates, they know who to call—our NYC Compost Project. We swoop in to help reorganize compost bins, tame piles of plant materials, and give sites a fresh start. Yet, just like on those reality shows, the clutter inevitably creeps back.
Ursula Chanse is the Director of Bronx Green-Up and Community Horticulture at The New York Botanical Garden.
Ready for a new Bronx-made and inspired taste?
The New York Botanical Garden’s Bronx Green-Up is excited to be part of an exciting new food initiative, The Bronx Canasta. This innovative food production and economic empowerment project aims to build self- reliance of Bronx communities to grow their own food and create, market, and distribute value-added products based on crops grown in the Bronx. The Bronx Canasta, which secured four years of funding through the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) Community Food Project grant, grew out of Bronx Green-Up’s long- standing food, farming, and community gardening partnerships with The Mary Mitchell Family and Youth Center, Brook Park Youth Farm, International Rescue Committee, La Familia Verde Community Garden Coalition, Morris Campus Educational Farm, and Small Axe Peppers.
“To grow your own food gives you power and dignity. You know exactly what you’re eating because you grew it. It’s good, it’s nourishing and you did this for yourself, your family and your community.” —Karen Washington
Since 1985, Karen Washington has strived to make the Bronx and NYC at large a better place to live, spending decades promoting urban farming as a way for all New Yorkers to access fresh, locally grown food—and inspiring countless people as she’s grown into an advocate and leader in the field. Now, filmmaker Kate Walker is working to document Washington’s story and its connection to the larger social justice movement.
As part of #plantlove at NYBG, we’re talking with people from all over the Garden about what inspires their passion for plants. Today, meet Anais Garcia, a Summer Youth Employment Program Intern with Bronx Green-Up and the NYC Compost Project at The New York Botanical Garden.
At a young age, I was exposed to plants while living with my grandmother. I may not have quite the green thumb she does, but I sure do like to have plants in my household—it just brings a calm aura to everything I do at home.
I’m glad I chose this internship because it opened my eyes to plants I wouldn’t normally see in my neighborhood. I have experienced the beauty of various community gardens and how they thrive, and not only did I get hands-on experience in these gardens, but I also obtained new job skills throughout my time in the program. Some of these skills included managing inventory, using various software in support of our initiatives, tabling at events, and much more.
One of many experiences I really enjoyed was building a garden bed at Morris Campus Educational Farm. It was fun working alongside the students as a team to build the bed from scratch. By the end of the program, I felt proud that I had taken part in this activity because it’s something most people my age haven’t experienced.
From meeting new plants to meeting new people, working with these two amazing teams—Bronx Green-Up and NYC Compost Project—has left me in awe of everything they do in the City. When I first met everyone, I realized that they are not only a team, but a family, always ready to make a big impact on this world.
As part of #plantlove at NYBG, we’re talking with people from all over the Garden about what inspires their passion for plants. Today, meet Kadeesha Williams, Community Horticulturist and Urban Agriculturist with Bronx Green-Up at NYBG.
I’m lucky to have grown up surrounded by plants. My parents come from farming backgrounds in South Carolina, so it was natural to raise their own food when they moved to NYC. I often think of my family’s community garden, Taqwa Community Farm here in the Bronx, as the place where I first had my experiences with plants. It isn’t, though.
When I was three or four, my father and grandfather kept a garden in our backyard, and I remember how lush it always was. There was a rose of Sharon bush that grew to the size of a small tree, two Persian silk trees, and forsythia along the fence. In the middle they grew tomatoes, cucumbers, collard greens, and cabbage. I felt tiny walking through that garden, like a fairy princess in a magical forest. I dream about that place often, even as an adult, because of how it shaped the world I desire. I don’t think I’ve ever shaken that dream, and I want to share the experience with everyone.
Being in a garden should remind us of how small we are, and that is a beautiful thing.
This Saturday, May 11, NYBG’s Bronx Green-Up is excited to present the School Gardens and Farms Bus Tour, highlighting three unique Bronx school gardens and farms that demonstrate a bounty of learning and growing.
Ursula Chanse is the Director of Bronx Green-Up and Community Horticulture at The New York Botanical Garden.
Bronx Green-Up Community Horticulturist/Urban Agriculturist Kadeesha Williams highlights NYBG’s partnership in the production of The Bronx Hot Sauce at the annual Harvest Festival at New Roots Community Farm.
NYBG’s Bronx Green-Up is excited to be part of a new collaboration called The Bronx Canasta, an innovative food production and empowerment program in the Bronx. The Bronx Canasta aims to build self-reliance of Bronx communities to grow their own food and create, market, and distribute value-added products. To support these efforts, The Bronx Canasta secured four years of funding through a USDA Community Food Projects Competitive Grant and is now seeking input on the first value-added product—a Bronx salad dressing and marinade recipe!
Ursula Chanse is the Director of Bronx Green-Up and Community Horticulture at The New York Botanical Garden.
What do rubble-strewn vacant lots, asphalt-covered playgrounds, tiny tracts of land wedged between intersections and train tracks have in common? Each is a perfect location for creating a community garden and urban farm. For 30 years Bronx Green-Up, NYBG’s community gardening outreach program, has worked together with our community partners to create vibrant gardens in the most unlikely spaces.
Ursula Chanse is the Director of Bronx Green-Up and Community Horticulture and Project Director for NYC Compost Project hosted by The New York Botanical Garden. For more information about these programs and upcoming workshops and events, please visit Bronx Green-Up.
Photo: Ryan Struck
This past June, Bronx Green-Up, the Botanical Garden’s community gardening program since 1988, led a major transformation in the Crotona neighborhood of the Bronx. In partnership with In Good Company (an alliance of like-minded companies founded by Clif Bar), La Familia Verde, and the Mary Mitchell Family and Youth Center, the Garden of Youth underwent a much-needed revitalization.
This was Bronx Green-Up’s sixth In Good Company collaboration and past projects have included creating a rain garden at Brook Park, a chicken coop at Taqwa Community Farm, and a complete renovation of the Neighborhood Advisory Community Garden.
A newly released video—which you can watch below—tells the story of our exciting week and highlights the hard work, determination, and commitment of volunteers, staff, and community members to transform this corner lot into a flourishing garden.
Zakiya Tyehimba was an intern with Bronx Green-Up, the community gardening outreach program of The New York Botanical Garden.
This summer I worked as a SYEP (Summer Youth Employment Program) intern for Bronx Green-Up. I’ve been working closely with both Bronx Green-Up and NYC Compost Project hosted by The New York Botanical Garden for the last six weeks. I’m sad to know my time with them is over.
I have had so many exciting, eye-opening experiences while working with Bronx Green-Up. One of my most memorable experiences is taking part in the Pepper Project. Bronx Green-Up collaborates with Small Axe Peppers and community gardens throughout the Bronx to create Bronx Hot Sauce, and I was put in charge of keeping track of how many pounds of peppers we received. Because of this task, I was crowned the “Pepper Queen.” On my last day, I was even awarded a pepper crown!
