Annual Report 2024: Urban Agriculture

The following blog post is an excerpt from our 2024 annual report.

Since 2021, NYRP’s Urban Agriculture program has helped our citywide gardener network grow to their greatest potential. This community includes over 1,175 gardeners who engage with the program as either public program attendees, volunteers, portfolio garden members, or partner garden members.

Thanks to generous grants from the United States Department of Agriculture’s Natural Resources Conservation Service (USDA-NRCS), the New York State Department of Agriculture and Markets, and other supporters, NYRP provided 190 food production classes, skill shares, and hands-on technical consultations in 2024 alone (the team translates materials as needed). Our team also hosted 12 community volunteer days and distributed nearly 10,000 seedlings to growers in all five boroughs.

The season kicked off with our first-ever Winter Academy, which included a series of workshops and classes to help prepare gardeners for the growing season. In addition to learning how to make a crop plan and propagate seeds among other best practices, the experience for Urban Agriculture Manager Genevieve Harding was a great way for fellow New York City gardeners to connect.

“Having everyone in the same room was a great reminder that no matter where someone might be trying to grow something in the city, there’s probably another person out there facing similar challenges,” she says. “Being together is a great opportunity to explore these needs as a united and supportive group.”

The relationships forged as part of Winter Academy grew throughout the season, with our partners finding new opportunities for collaboration between their different groups. Gardeners exchanged mushroom logs, rooftop farming knowledge, and pest treatments among other learned skills. They also connected with some of NYRP’s expert partners who specialize in different aspects of urban agriculture production.

“In 2024, we could really feel the momentum we’ve built with our gardener community since the program first began in 2021,” describes Director of Urban Agriculture Corey Blant. “NYRP is uniquely positioned to bring different groups together for mutual benefit. Thanks to our programming this past year, we witnessed how fruitful these connections can be.”