There is a lot going on in New York City’s great outdoors! New York Restoration Project (NYRP) and its city and non-profit partners host a wide variety of instructional workshops, arts and cultural events, and fun-filled festivals and activities in NYRP’s parks and community gardens throughout the five boroughs. Come and celebrate the spring planting and fall harvest seasons with family and friends in some of New York’s most beautiful and bountiful green spaces – where NYRP helps explore the nature that exists in our very own neighborhoods.
Gardening Workshop Series
Throughout the spring, summer and fall harvest, NYRP presents a series of garden workshops, lectures and information sharing covering a variety of gardening techniques, ecological practices and environmental trends at several of our community gardens located throughout New York City’s five boroughs. During 2009, five series – each comprising four one-hour sessions – cover a variety of subjects including sustainability, gardening 101, garden-to-kitchen table, tree planting and herbs.
Admission to all sessions is free and attendance is open to the public and the eco-inspired. The productive possibilities are endless, ranging from learning how to build raised planting beds and best practices for growing organic vegetables to rooftop gardening and composting and soil improvement techniques. At each workshop, NYRP representatives are joined by special guests and knowledgeable experts to share the most up-to-date eco-knowledge, gardening insight and interactive experiences in the beautiful and bountiful settings provided by NYRP’s community gardens – each workshop providing a unique opportunity to get outside in nature and dig in!
The Sustainability Series – being launched in NYRP’s Toyota Children’s Learning Garden, located in Manhattan’s Lower East Side – will take place starting at the end of July and extending through August and into September. This series will include lectures and demonstrations from landscape designers, discussions on the benefits of renewable energy and workshops focusing on green roofing techniques, green wall installations, the use of vertical growing space and other ecological gardening practices.
Gardeners’ Gathering
Now serving more than 1,000 gardeners working in 55 community gardens citywide, NYRP continues to create programs to support a growing and diverse community of gardeners. Each year, NYRP’s expanding network of gardening enthusiasts comes together at the organization’s annual Gardeners’ Gathering to discuss best practices, learn about NYRP resources and share experiences and information with fellow NYRP gardeners.
Held in March, at the beginning of the growing season, NYRP’s Gardeners’ Gathering is free and open to all NYRP gardeners and those interested in joining their local NYRP community garden. Attendees meet with representatives of NYRP’s horticulture, education and community outreach departments; learn about resources available from NYRP’s partner organizations; and receive free heirloom seeds, plants and other garden materials as part of the event’s festivities.
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