This week at Avenue C Plaza! Join us for weekday afternoon activities, a Saturday mosaics workshop with The Singing Winds, and a Sunday Plant Workshop with Susan Braverman, including composting information from BigReuse/DSNY!
Summer at Avenue C Plaza starts next weekend! Join ArtBuilt Mobile Studio and community partners in June for free programming, including arts workshops, plants and composting, a concert, kite flying, dance and language classes, games, and more!
Prospect Farm's annual Earth Day celebration will be held on Saturday, April 26th, from 11:00 a.m. to 3:00 p.m.
See what your neighbors are growing, and join in these activities:
This is a free event, although donations to support Prospect Farm are always happily accepted (Venmo @prospectfarmbk). Prospect Farm is a 501(c)(3) non-profit organization; contributions are tax-deductible.
Big Apple is comprised of yard waste and food waste through the Department of Sanitation of New York City. We’re enrolled in the US Composting Council’s Seal of Testing Assurance Program, providing transparent compost analytics to end users.The compost has the Seal of Testing Assurance (STA) from the Composting Council.
The program – created in 2000 – is the culmination of research and discussion by many of the leading compost research scientists in the United States. Currently this is the only compost testing program available providing this.
The East Fourth Street Community Garden is thrilled to join other gardens across the city in welcoming visitors for FREE special programming during Open Gardens weekend:Saturday, June 110am – 12pm. Ukelele WorkshopThe workshop is designed for adults and older kids who are keen to learn or already dabbling in playing the ukulele and would benefit from a supportive community.10am – 1pm. Curbside Composting InfoExpert garden member gives out flyers and provides guidance for the community at large on how to participate in the Curbside Composting program.10:30am – 12pm. Let’s Write TogetherIn this writing group, we will read some poems about the natural world and then write a response to them or from a suggestion offered by the group leader.12pm – 1pm. Intro to Belly Dance/ShariQui WorkoutKris Amez of Iris Goddess Dance will introduce Beginning Belly Dance and Intro to ShariQui Workout techniques.1pm – 3pm. Pollinator Walkabout with the Flatbush GardenerExplore the garden’s plants and flowers, and learn how to see them in new ways with urban naturalist Chris Kreussling (aka the Flatbush Gardener). We'll "hunt" for pollinators, and other flower visitors, around the garden. As we try to identify them, we'll learn about the garden’s biodiversity and ecology.3pm – 4pm. Mostacho XprmntMostacho Xprmnt is a Brooklyn-based jazz-fusion band. Bandleader Andrés MarÃn will be singing a mixture of stripped-down Mostacho originals and some covers alongside Dave Lowenthal and Jesse Fischer. Visit musicdribble.com/mostacho.Sunday, June 210:30am – 11:15am. Self-Compassion-Focused Guided MeditationSelf-compassion mindfulness practices have been shown to reduce stress, anxiety, and depression. The practices focus on offering gentle kindness to oneself through body awareness, words, and imagery.12pm – 2pm. Compost GiveawayBig Apple Compost provides free 40 lb. bags of compost, to be distributed on a "first come, first served" basis until supplies run out. [Up to two bags per household]1pm – 3pm. Intro to Storytelling with David LawsonDavid will begin with a brief lecture on storytelling basics, length to be determined based on how many people are in attendance, to be followed by participants having a chance to tell a 5-10 minute story and possibly get his feedback (depending on how many people participate and how long stories run). For more information, visit David's website: dtlawson.com.3pm – 4pm. Katie CurleyKatie Curley, whose music New York Music Daily has described as “one of the most distinctive sounds in country,” brings her band to the East 4th Street Community Garden. Ms. Curley will be sharing her original music, sprinkled with familiar favorites, to close out the beloved Open Gardens weekend. For more information about Katie Curley, please go to her website: katiecurley.com.
Prospect Farm's annual Earth Day celebration will be held on Saturday, April 20th, from 11:00 a.m. to 2:00 p.m. (not 3:00 p.m.)
See what your neighbors are growing, and join in these activities:
The band Protectors of the Wood will provide live music.
This is a free event, although donations to support Prospect Farm are always happily accepted. Prospect Farm is a 501(c)(3) non-profit organization; contributions are tax-deductible.
The East Fourth Street Community Garden will be open for the spring and summer from April 3rd through October 30th. It will be open to the public on Wednesdays from 4:30 p.m. to 6:30 p.m., on Saturdays from 9:00 a.m. to 1:00 p.m., and on Sundays from 10:00 a.m. to 2:00 p.m.
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NO FOOD SCRAP DROP-OFF
Due to budget cuts, Big Reuse is no longer collecting food scrap drop-off. This means the garden will NOT be collecting food scraps from the public this season. We encourage you to participate in DSNY’s curbside composting program. Watch this video to learn more.
As you may know, GrowNYC received temporary financial support from an anonymous donor allowing us to continue our food scrap collection program beyond this month’s scheduled closure dates. This will allow us to continue important work as we advocate for the restoration of the program in FY25 city budget.Our partners in the NYC Compost Project (Big Reuse, Earth Matter, LES Ecology Center) announced a new philanthropic campaign led by our friends at Mill to support community composting programs impacted by the city’s budget cuts.
$350k in funding has been provided by Mill and other donors. Learn more about how to get involved in this effort at mill.com/nyc or reach out to nyccompost@mill.com!
Why it matters: For decades, the local New York composting community has been hard at work keeping wasted food out of the landfill, supporting our gardens, trees and parks and helping the planet! GrowNYC and others rely on these essential partner sites to process the scraps collected at our collection sites.
We celebrate this temporary reprieve but we want to make it clear: our collective effort to preserve community composting continues until city funding is restored for all community composting initiatives!
Leaf and yard waste separation from trash is now mandatory. Beginning October 2 [2023] in Brooklyn, there is a 3-month warning period before residents are subject to fines.
Separation of food waste and food-soiled paper from trash is now mandatory. The warning period for Brooklyn (and all boroughs as service expands) runs through Spring 2025. Starting Spring 2025, ALL NYC residents will be subject to fines.
If the City does not restore funding for community composting, the East Fourth Street Community Garden won’t be able to offer food scrap collection via Big Reuse next spring. Please sign the petition, if you compost at the garden!
From Big Reuse:
We need your help! Sign our petition to tell the Mayor and city council that we need community composting in NYC! Go to https://www.grownyc.org/blog/save-community-composting to sign.
The city’s harsh budget cuts eliminate the entire NYC Compost Project, including programs at Big Reuse, the LES Ecology Center, Earth Matter NY, GrowNYC, and the four botanical gardens [including Brooklyn Botanic Garden].
These projects divert 8.3 million pounds of organic waste from the landfill every year!
Together we produce and distribute hundreds of thousands of pounds of compost to community gardens, parks, and the public annually.
We need composting for NY’s sustainability and ecology, spread the word!
Join us for some fall fun!
On Saturday, Nov. 4, Prospect Farm is holding Fall Open Garden Day from 11 AM until 2 PM.
There will be arts and crafts for kids and adults, a plant swap, a bake sale (yum), and a music and reading grove. (You can bring an instrument to play, or you can browse our gardening books or read to your child.)
There will also be a compost giveaway along with our food scrap collection (11-12)
See you there! (1194 Prospect Ave., Windsor Terrace, Brooklyn)
Big Apple is comprised of yard waste and food waste through the Department of Sanitation of New York City. We’re enrolled in the US Composting Council’s Seal of Testing Assurance Program, providing transparent compost analytics to end users.The compost has the Seal of Testing Assurance (STA) from the Composting Council.
The program – created in 2000 – is the culmination of research and discussion by many of the leading compost research scientists in the United States. Currently this is the only compost testing program available providing this.