Listen to a preview of Gaitambó here!

4:45 to 5:30 pm: Live music and appetizers! Enjoy Afro-Colombian rhythms and songs of the musical ensemble Gaitambó. According to their bio — they seek to maintain and perpetuate the oral and acoustic folklore of a music which was born through the fusion of African, Colombian, Indigenous and European ancestry.

5:30 to 7 pm:  Join your neighbors for a delicious healthy vegetarian meal lovingly prepared by local community chef David Cohen, Barry Schwartz (of Barry’s Tempeh), 718 Collective, Margaret Dunn-Carver and Jeff Campoli, and our group of volunteers. Continue the lively discussions and interactions that resulted from your participation in the day’s events. Meet new neighbors and say hello to old ones. And share, learn, and build relationships around sustainable living in our communities.

Here’s a sneak peek at what’s on the menu (subject to change without notice):

Main Course:

Ginger Rice
South Indian Dahl
Roasted Herb Mushrooms
Rosemary Roasted Potatoes

Barbecue Tempeh

Salads:
Massaged Kale Salad with Grated Carrot and Sesame Seeds
Red Cabbage Slaw

Dessert:
Homemade ice cream
Fig and Date Bars

Drink:  Cool Ginger Mint Herbal Tea

WHEN: Sunday, March 25 at the Flatbush Reformed Church!

See you there!

For the first time, at Greening Flatbush 2012  Sustainable Flatbush will honor an organization that we believe embodies the theme of the event — Garden Where You Are. The 300 East 25th Street Block Association, aka The Greenest Block in Brooklyn, will be the recipients of this year’s Greening Flatbush award.

One of 300 East 25th Street's three Greenest Block awards

The Greenest Block in Brooklyn is an annual contest of Brooklyn Botanic Garden’s (BBG) GreenBridge, promoting streetscape gardening, tree stewardship, and community development in Brooklyn. Flatbush’s East 25th Street (between Avenue D and Clarendon Road) was named the greenest residential block in the borough for the 3rd time in 2011, having previously won this award in 2004 and 2006.

This block, and the group of neighbors who garden there, is an inspiration to the Flatbush neighborhood and to all Brooklynites. They successfully demonstrate how to use gardening to create a beautiful urban environment and to bring neighbors together to build a close-knit community.

In addition, the group will conduct a workshop at this year’s event, titled “How to Create a Thriving Block Association Through Gardening”. Like their previous workshop presentations at Making Brooklyn Bloom, this will be engaging, inspiring and should not to be missed.

Look forward to seeing you all on Sunday, March 25 at the Flatbush Reformed Church!

Over 30 groups/organizations (more than half of them from our own Flatbush neighborhood!) will be present with hands-on activities/demos to talk about their projects or simply share a skill with you! (See a partial list below.)

We’re also super-excited to be honoring the 300 East 25th Street Block Association, aka The Greenest Block in Brooklyn!

300 E25th Street aka The Greenest Block in Brooklyn!

Sustainable Flatbush will give workshops on Gardening with Native Plants, Urban Composting, and Solar for Community Gardens and Backyards. Come and learn something new with us!

Here are just a few of the amazing folks who are coming, and what they’ll be presenting:

BK Farmyards – Urban Chickens Guessing Game
596 Acres- Your Vacant Land
Freegan Gardening – Waste Not, Want Not: free and almost free ways to improve your diet
Compost for Brooklyn – Composting with Worms
Newkirk Cares Collaborative – DIY Tree Guards
Tsuh Yang Chen – The Houseplant Doctor is IN!
Flatbush Food Coop – Special Diet Foods and Sustainable Household Products
718 Collective – preview of “Salt & Vinegar: A Food Preservation Series”
The POOP Project – Turning Waste to Resource: Brown is the New Green
Crown Heights Farmshare – Fast Food vs. Healthy Food
Flatbush Farm Share CSA – Spend Your Money Wisely
Office of NYC Councilmember Jumaane Williams – Participatory Budgeting in the 45th District

We’ll finish the day with live music from Gaitambo and a delicious vegan Community Meal cooked by local chefs!

Don’t miss this one! We’ll see you there!

Greening Flatbush is free, with a suggested donation of $10 for the event and the community meal.

WHEN:

Sunday, March 25, 2012
2pm–7pm (Community Meal starts at 5)

WHERE:
Flatbush Reformed Church
890 Flatbush Avenue [map]
(corner of Church and Flatbush Avenues)

Let us know you’re coming! Please RSVP!

Greening Flatbush is back, Sunday March 25th. Get involved!

Sustainable Flatbush will host our 4th annual Greening Flatbush: Garden Where You Are, on Sunday, March 25th at 2pm.

The event will be held at the historic Flatbush Reformed Church, host of our compost and gardening initiatives, located on Flatbush and Church Avenues.

This year, Greening Flatbush promises to be better than ever — an event the entire family can participate in and enjoy. Our annual extravaganza celebrating community gardening, neighborhood greening, and urban agriculture will feature, from 2 – 5pm, hands-on workshops, interactive demos, DIY projects, creative arts, and live entertainment, presented by Sustainable Flatbush and a curated roster of community-based groups. The day will culminate in a delicious Community Meal from 5 until 7pm.

What’s New at Greening Flatbush 2012

In addition to interactive displays from a wide variety of community organizations (check out info and photos from last year’s event!), Sustainable Flatbush will offer workshops on Gardening with Native Plants, Composting, Community Engagement, and Solar for Community Gardens.

There will be live entertainment and a delicious meal prepared for the whole community. Like our first Community Meal on January 28, which attracted over 120 people, this is an opportunity for neighbors to meet neighbors and to share, learn, and build relationships around sustainable living in our communities.

Why We Do It

Greening Flatbush: Garden Where You Are engages and empowers people from all over Brooklyn and beyond to participate in creating sustainable urban neighborhoods. Our goal is for YOU to discover (or create!) a project within walking distance of your home where you can get involved in making your community greener — whether it’s by learning to compost, joining a CSA or community garden, adopting a tree, or growing flowers on your windowsill!

While bringing more visibility and participants to sustainable neighborhood-based projects, Greening Flatbush will also be a great opportunity for all of us to get acquainted with like-minded organizations and people, form partnerships, and strengthen the growing network of environmental stewardship in Brooklyn.

You can be part of this event!
Click here for information on how to get involved as a volunteer or sponsor.

Greening Flatbush is free, with a suggested donation of $10 for the event and the community meal.

Details

WHAT:
Greening Flatbush: Garden Where You Are
WHEN:
Sunday, March 25, 2 – 7 pm
WHERE:
Flatbush Reformed Church
890 Flatbush Avenue (corner of Church and Flatbush Avenues) [map]

Let us know you’re coming! Please RSVP here.

Partner with us – Become a Sponsor

We offer a range of sponsorship opportunities that helps your business or organization gain enhanced visibility, brand awareness, and access to potential customers from all over Brooklyn.

Join the Party – Be a Volunteer

Volunteers are the heartbeat of what we do and we all have fun together. Join us for a rewarding experience and amazing networking opportunity.

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)

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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!

Last year's abundant tables at the Flatbush Plant Swap!

The 2nd Annual Flatbush Plant Swap is coming up soon! On Saturday, April 16, Sustainable Flatbush and Flatbush Food Co-op will be hosting a free community plant swap. So prepare your cuttings, divide your perennials, or just get excited to pick up some horticultural tips… and take a plant home to start your own indoor or outdoor garden!

Lucky neighbor took home a beautiful young flowering tree

Last year’s inaugural plant swap was a huge success; we saw many people of all ages come and go throughout the day bringing plants, taking plants, sharing gardening knowledge and just hanging out to enjoy the sun.

Click here to see our photos from last year’s event.

From noon to 3pm, rain or shine, we will be in front of the Co-op again this year. So come out and join the fun!

Remember, you don’t have to bring something to take something.

Everyone goes home with a plant! Children and adults alike are welcome!

What: Free plant swap

When: Saturday, April 16, 12-3 p.m., rain or shine

Where: Flatbush Food Co-op @ 1415 Cortelyou Road (between Marlborough & Rugby Roads)

Greening Flatbush 2011 – held this past Sunday, February 27th – was a huge success! Thank you to everyone who came out and to everyone at the workshop tables.  We had an amazing turn out, over 100 participants!

After much time and effort put into decorating and preparing our room at the Flatbush YMCA, we were able to sit back and enjoy all the great knowledgeable people who came to do workshops! From learning how to grow our own mushrooms, planting using plastic bottles, learning about urban farms in the area, the new garden to be opened on Church Avenue, sprouting our own seeds, how to make the best use of trees in our area, and the oh-so-popular Earth Dumplings,  it was a day packed with exciting info.  Attendees enjoyed a great raffle and snacks and a fun time was had by all.

If you missed out we hope to see you next year and once again thanks to everyone involved!

Click here for more photos from this year’s Greening Flatbush!

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