In 2008, due to budget cuts, the NYC Department of Sanitation discontinued its program to collect fall leaves for composting, instead taking them to landfills as garbage. A group of community gardeners felt that this was both an outrage and an opportunity, as anyone who composts knows that leaves are a valuable resource and shouldn’t be wasted! Residential leaves represent both a major addition (20,000 TONS) to the city’s waste management burden and a missed opportunity to create free, high-quality gardening fertilizer for NYC residents and community gardens.

In 2009 a citywide coalition called NYC Leaves was formed to keep fall leaves out of the waste stream by composting them at local community gardens through a program called Project LeafDrop. Locations to “recycle” leaves can be found all over the city. So don’t put your leaves on the curb where they’ll become trash; bring them to the nearest Project LeafDrop site, where the gardeners will thank you for your gift!

Sustainable Flatbush joined the NYC Leaves coalition in 2009, and since then we’ve diverted many tons of leaves from the landfill. Join us for Project LeafDrop 2011 at our new community garden project, the Church Avenue Communal Garden, located at the historic Flatbush Reformed Church! Our Community Composting program at the garden is growing, so we need your leaves!

Fun with leaves at the Church Avenue Communal Garden

We’ll accept leaves brought by neighbors and collect leaves from the church property, run as many as possible through a shredder, and store these carbon-rich “browns” for our winter compost collections.

WHAT: Project LeafDrop at the Church Avenue Communal Garden
WHERE: East 21st Street at Kenmore Terrace, Brooklyn (map)
WHEN: Saturday November 19th from 11am until 2pm

We welcome volunteers for this project!

Project LeafDrop is a great opportunity to get your hands dirty at the garden and learn more about compost, gardening, and urban soil remediation. If you’d like to volunteer, contact us at volunteer@sustainableflatbush.org or 718-208-0575.

Here are some additional Project LeafDrop sites in Kensington, Prospect Lefferts Gardens, and Windsor Terrace:

Compost for Brooklyn
Newkirk Avenue at East 8th Street
Sunday November 20th
2-5pm

East 4th Street Community Garden
East 4th Street between Caton Avenue and Fort Hamilton Parkway
every Saturday and Sunday through November 20th
10am-12pm

High School for Public Service Youth Farm
600 Kingston between Rutland Road and Winthrop Street
Saturday November 19th
11am-4pm

Prospect Farm
Prospect Avenue below the Seeley Street Bridge
Saturdays through December 3rd
11am-1pm

“The planet has been stuck for too long with governments doing nothing about the biggest problem we’ve ever faced: the climate crisis,” said Bill McKibben, founder of 350.org, the international climate campaign coordinating Moving Planet. “This is the day when people will get the earth moving, rolling towards the solutions we need.”

For this global day of climate action Sustainable Flatbush will focus on local solutions, by providing opportunities to learn and participate in a more sustainable future right here in our own neighborhood!

WHAT:
Moving Planet Sustainable Flatbush

WHERE:
Church Avenue Communal Garden at the Flatbush Reformed Church
East 21st Street and Kenmore Terrace, Brooklyn (map)

WHEN:
Saturday, September 24th 2011, 11am – 3pm

This event will take place rain or shine! If it’s raining hard we will keep the outdoor portions very brief and move inside the church house building (located in the center of the property).

Come join us, as we:

Kady and the composters (photo by Jocelyn Cohen)

Bump up the Compost!
Jump into hands-on education with Master Composter Kady Ferguson. We’ll collect and shred leaves (“browns”) for our 3-bin system, harvest finished compost, and add mulch to the garden beds. Learn how YOU can compost at home or here at our community compost site!

WHY COMPOST? Composting reduces waste by recycling organic matter that would otherwise be  considered garbage (food scraps, yard trimmings, etc.) into a nutrient-rich soil amendment through natural decomposition. That means fewer methane-producing landfills, fewer pollution-spewing garbage trucks, and more locally-generated rich fertilizer for NYC community gardens!

Blue Wood Aster (photo by Flatbush Gardener)

Go Native… native plants, that is!

Chris Kreussling (aka Flatbush Gardener) will lead a tour of our native plant garden, explain the benefits of gardening with native species, and teach us how to identify native plants (and distinguish them from weeds).

WHY NATIVE PLANTS? Native plants provide food and shelter for birds, butterflies, and other desirable wildlife, even in urban settings. Native plants save water and energy (including your energy!). Because they have adapted to local conditions, once established they are hardy and require no additional watering or maintenance. That means no need for fossil-fuel-based fertilizers and pesticides!

SunBike! (photo by Keka Marzagão)

Show Renewable Energy in Action with the SunBike!

The Sustainable Flatbush SunBike is a mobile off-grid solar energy system that travels around on a cargo bike. We use it to provide power for outdoor events and activities – from street fairs to garden work days! The SunBike shows that clean, renewable energy can be a reality right now.

WHY SOLAR?
Renewable energy sources are a crucial tool in the fight against climate change. In New York City, solar could potentially provide 49.7% of the current estimated daytime peak demand and about 14% of the city’s total annual electricity use (NY Times). That means a significant reduction in NYC’s greenhouse gas emissions!

Spring Celebration potluck (photo by Keka Marzagã

Finish the day with a Potluck lunch!
Bring something tasty to share. Potlucks are a great way to meet your neighbors and build a resilient community.

WHY A POTLUCK?
It’s fun!

We will also have a photo and graphic display including information about 350.org and Sustainable Flatbush’s work, and an exhibit of climate-themed photos by Diane Lent.

About 350.org
350.org is an international climate campaign named after the safe upper concentration of carbon dioxide in the atmosphere, 350 parts per million. Right now, the atmosphere contains 392 ppm of CO2. Scientists say immediate action is necessary to address the crisis.

These first three pictures are from my first event with Sustainable Flatbush.  Here we are introducing the kids in our gardening program at the Church Avenue Communal Garden to the site.  We had them draw pictures about what they would want to see in their ideal garden, and we all had a pretty good time envisioning the future garden and we also had some kids in the media department filming!  I picked these three pictures because apart from being appealing visually, they show the energy and spirit of the kids putting their time and effort into the garden.

The next two pictures are my favorites from our first composting day at the Church Avenue garden.  That day we started building the compost bin and getting leaves together for compost.  The reason I chose the first picture is because I love love love when kids come to help.  They make everything more fun and these girls were no exception! I’m also likin’ the pose.  The reason I chose the second picture is because it’s one of my only pictures of Keka and Anne at work! They really work so hard to put all of these different projects together and this is a good picture of them in action!

The next three pictures are from a day at the garden where the kids decorated planters that were designed by fellow intern Lou Wright.  It was a lot of mess but a lot of fun and I especially liked this detailed football field painted bin.

art

This picture is one of my favorites from National Grid Earth Day because this girl is pretty adorable and interested in our picture album.  It makes me hopeful when I see kids getting interested in sustainable practices at a young age.

This last picture is at the Plant Swap, where there were all kinds of plants to get and this guy got a pretty cool looking one!

These events show how easy it is to bring people together while making a difference environmentally, and making a difference in our future by getting kids involved.  I hope all of you can get involved at some point!

~Sarita Jaccard

On Wednesday, June 15th, Prospect Farm and Sustainable Flatbush are proud to present Brooklyn Dirt: Monthly Talks on Urban Farming and Gardening.

Dirt Talk Five: Permaculture

With Speakers Dan Miner and Olga Kuchukov

June 15th, 2011

7 – 9:30 pm

Downstairs @ Sycamore Bar and Flowershop, 21+

1118 Cortelyou RD, BK (Q train to Cortelyou)

$5 suggested donation (proceeds benefit Sustainable Flatbush & Prospect Farm)

——-

Dan Miner has been involved with a variety of urban sustainability projects as a volunteer organizer with Post Carbon Institute and the Peak Oil NYC Meetup, and as past Chair of Sierra Club NYC. He wrote a 2008 report about how NYC can expand support for its climate change initiatives by preparing for higher and more volatile energy prices, and recently promoted the City’s white roof painting project in western Queens, referring 15 buildings to the program. At his day job, he assists Queens businesses as SVP of Long Island City Partnership. Dan completed a Permaculture Design Certificate program at Hancock Permaculture Center. He will discuss how the Transition movement’s organizing model and permaculture can be applied to NYC, and next steps in urban agriculture.
www.beyondoilnyc.org.

Olga Kuchukov has lived 34 plus years in NYC wondering why things are the way they are and how can they be better. As a massage therapist and solo sustainability warrior, she understands that change will come with a deep integration of thoughtful intention and habit, along with a healthy dose of practical new skills. After tuning in to the reality of our oil-dependent life, she traveled to Australia to help her friends who are building a transition town situation on their 6-acre property an hour north of Melbourne. She also visited the 2.5 acre food forest home of the co-originator of permaculture, David Holgrem. She will present her impressions along with viewings from the instructional DVD, Establishing a Food Forest with Geoff Lawton.

Sustainable Flatbush brings neighbors together to mobilize, educate, and advocate for sustainable living in their Brooklyn neighborhood and beyond.
http://sustainableflatbush.org/

Prospect Farm is a community group in Windsor Terrace, Brooklyn that is working together to grow food in a formerly vacant lot, with the mission toward creating a Community Supported Agriculture (CSA) Farm that can feed and serve our community.
http://prospectfarm.org

Proud Gardeners at Church Avenue Streetscape (photo by Flatbush Gardener)

This Saturday, June 4th, from 11am-4pm, Sustainable Flatbush will greatly expand the native plant gardens already underway at the Church Avenue Communal Garden at the Flatbush Reformed Church.

Native Columbine (photo by Flatbush Gardener)

Not only is this a rare chance to break ground on a native plant garden that will benefit the Flatbush community for decades to come (learn why here), it’s an opportunity to learn about plants native to our area, the many benefits they provide, and how they can be used in gardens.

Thanks to a very generous donation from the Greenbelt Native Plant Center, City of New York Department of Parks and Recreation, this week we’ll be receiving more than 390 individual plants of over a dozen species propagated from wild populations around NYC. We will need a BIG turnout on Saturday to clear weeds, prepare planting beds, and get the plants in the ground! That means, we need YOU!

Chris Kreussling (aka Flatbush Gardener), Director of our Urban Gardens and Farms Initiative, will be there to share his abundant knowledge of native plants and their important role in New York City’s ecosystem. So this is a great opportunity to get your hands dirty, help beautify a historic site in the heart of Flatbush, AND gain some knowledge about our urban environment. You know you don’t want to miss this one!

WHAT: BIG Native Planting Day at the Church Avenue Communal Garden!
WHEN: Saturday, June 4th, 11am-4pm
WHERE: Church Avenue Communal Garden at the Flatbush Reformed Church
890 Flatbush Avenue (enter at East 21st Street and Kenmore Terrace)

Hope to see you there!

Brooklyn Dirt: Monthly Talks on Urban Farming and Gardening.

Talk Four: Native Plants

with Speakers Mariellé Anzelone (Executive Director, Founder, NYC Wildflower Week) and Chris Kreussling (aka Flatbush Gardener)

May 18th, 2011 from 7 – 9:30 pm Downstairs @ Sycamore Bar and Flowershop, 21+

1118 Cortelyou RD, BK (Q train to Cortelyou)

$5 suggested donation (proceeds benefit Sustainable Flatbush & Prospect Farm)

——-

Mariellé Anzelone, Executive Director, Founder of NYC Wildflower Week

Marielle Anzelone is a botanist, urban conservation biologist and native plant landscape designer. The idea for NYC Wildflower Week was born of her desire to share her love of flora and create an posse of passionate plant people. Prior to this, she was the Plant Ecologist for NYC Department of Parks’ Natural Resources Group for nearly 7 years. Her op-ed on the extinct flora of New York City was recently featured in The New York Times.
http://nycwildflowerweek.org/about.html

Chris Kreussling (aka Flatbush Gardner)

Chris Kreussling is a garden coach with more than 30 years gardening experience in NYC. Chris is also the Director of the Urban Gardens and Farms initiative of Sustainable Flatbush and a community member of the Healthy Soils, Healthy Communities advisory board, a project of the Cornell Waste Management Institute.

Over the past 6 years, Chris has transformed a dusty, weedy backyard into a garden oasis of over 60 species of native trees, shrubs, ferns, grasses and wildflowers. He’s documented the process on his gardening blog, Flatbush Gardener.
http://flatbushgardener.blogspot.com/

Sustainable Flatbush brings neighbors together to mobilize, educate, and advocate for sustainable living in their Brooklyn neighborhood and beyond.
http://sustainableflatbush.org/

Prospect Farm is a community group in Windsor Terrace, Brooklyn working together to grow food in a formerly vacant lot, with the mission toward creating a Community Supported Agriculture (CSA) Farm that can serve the commmunity.
http://prospectfarm.org

Serviceberry bush on Church Avenue

Brooklyn Native Plants Tour May 15th, Spring Planting at the Garden May 21st, and Celebration with Flatbush Farm Share CSA June 8th!

Thanks to all who came out for our first spring planting at the garden on April 30th! We were able to score some beautiful native plants from the 12th Annual Wildflower and Native Plant Sale at Westchester Community College for the first installation of the Church Avenue streetscape, including a beautiful Serviceberry (Amelanchier) bush. The edible garden also looks great, and we’ve now planted okra, cauliflower, collards, cherry peppers, green beans, and more in sub-irrigated planters created from reclaimed materials!

There are several exciting events in the works for the garden over the next month, please save the dates! Events will take place at the backyard space of the Flatbush Reformed Church, at Kenmore Terrace and East 21st Street, unless otherwise noted.

Sunday, May 15th, 12-3pm

special off-site event: Native Plant Garden Tour

As part of NYC Wildflower Week, our own Chris Kreussling (aka Flatbush Gardener), Director of Sustainable Flatbush’s Urban Gardens and Farms Initiative, will partner with Compost for Brooklyn to provide a tour of two native plant gardens in the neighborhood. The self-guided tour begins at Compost for Brooklyn, Newkirk Avenue and East 8th street, and continues to Chris’s home garden.
Register here for this free event (and for directions).

Planting the Church Avenue streetscape

Saturday, May 21st, 11am-4pm

Spring Planting and Potluck: Native Plants Edition!!!

Join us for a special spring planting day and potluck meal!

This is our second installation of spring planting days at the the Church Avenue Communal Garden. We’ll focus on beautifying the Church Avenue streetscape and preserving our urban ecosystem with plants that are native to the New York City region.

Enjoy a beautiful day outdoors at the historic Flatbush Reformed Church! A composting demonstration and workshop will be held from 11-12. Bring food or drinks to share with your fellow gardeners.

Wednesday, June 8th, 4-8pm

Spring Planting Celebration and Potluck with the Flatbush FarmShare CSA!
Join us for a potluck social at the Church Avenue Communal Garden to celebrate our spring plantings and the first day of the season for the Flatbush Farm Share CSA! We’ll have info tables, wine tastings, live music, and more. Bring finger food and/or drinks to share.

See you at the garden!

(photos courtesy of Alexandra Corrazza)

The Church Avenue Communal Garden is a new community garden located on the grounds of the historic Flatbush Reformed Church property at Church and Flatbush Avenues. The project is a partnership between Sustainable Flatbush and the Flatbush Reformed Church, and will include a rain garden and community space, an edible garden, and a native plant streetscape along Church Avenue. As we begin our first planting season this spring, the garden will become a community space for Flatbush residents to participate in workshops and events around nutrition, composting, container gardening, native plants, and local food, including special activities for youth. For more information email emily@sustainableflatbush.org or call 718.208.0575. Come get your hands dirty with us!

Choosing Seeds (photo by Alexandra Corrazza)

Join us on June 8th for a Spring Festival and Potluck Social at the Church Avenue Communal Garden to celebrate our new spring plantings and compost system, and the Flatbush Farm Share CSA‘s first produce distribution of the season!

After just a few months our newly-established community garden project at the Flatbush Reformed Church has a lot of accomplishments to celebrate: planning meetings and workdays that have engaged dozens of community and church members; an after-school gardening program for youth; the beginnings of a native plant streetscape on Church Avenue; a vegetable garden growing in containers made from recycled materials; and a 3-bin compost system we’ll use to create our own soil amendments as well as for community composting education.

Now that the school year is ending and the CSA season is beginning, we wanted to create an opportunity for youth (as well as other neighbors) to learn about the CSA and CSA members to learn about the garden; so we’re co-hosting a Spring Festival and Potluck with lots of fun activities. We’ll have ice-breakers and nametags to help mingling, and Sustainable Flatbush and CSA core-volunteers will be there to host.

Everyone is welcome to this family-friendly community event, come celebrate with us!

WHERE:
Flatbush Reformed Church backyard
East 21st Street at Kenmore Terrace
Brooklyn, NY  11226

WHEN:
Wednesday, June 8th (not June 1st as originally announced!)
4 – 8pm

ACTIVITIES:
–Info tables and workshop topics will include community gardening, composting, recycled art, CSA volunteering and more!
–Wine tasting provided by CSA wine supplier T.B. Ackerson Wine Merchants
–Live music (to be announced)

WHAT TO BRING:
–Please bring some finger food and/or drinks to share. Any cups, plates, utensils, or napkins as needed would be welcome.
–A picnic blanket might be helpful to set up your goodies.
–If you choose to make something, you might like to include a recipe card and info on whether the food is vegetarian/vegan/gluten-free etc.
–CSA members, don’t forget your grocery bags and egg cartons, since you’ll be picking up your veggies/extra shares too.

Come for a tour of the garden, check out the CSA (it’s not too late to join!), and make new friends!