Flatbush CommUNITY Garden (photo by Keka Marzagão)

If you have any questions about the Flatbush CommUNITY Garden, including how to join the waiting list, please contact the gardeners directly at flatbushcommunitygarden@gmail.com.

Stay tuned for updates about a new community gardening project we will be starting this summer in the heart of Flatbush!

Garden plot (photo by Keka Marzagão)

Sustainable Flatbush is proud to be part of Project LeafDrop: “a volunteer-run, neighborhood-based coalition of gardeners and greening partners who are harvesting residential leaves for compost this fall.” The Flatbush CommUNITY Garden, a project of our Urban Gardens and Farms Initiative, will hold leaf collections on Sunday November 8th and Saturday November 21st from 11am til 1pm, and there will be a shredder on hand to create leaf mulch “while you wait.” So bring your fall leaves to 1550 Albemarle Road (at Buckingham Road) and be part of the movement for less garbage and more gardens!

Here’s a little background:
Until 2007, the NYC Department of Sanitation collected leaves in the fall and brought them to a municipal composting site in Staten Island; this compost was made available to urban gardeners at pickup sites throughout the city in the spring. However, in 2008 the Department of Sanitation discontinued this program and New York City’s leaves were carted to landfills along with the rest of our garbage, where they 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.

photo by Flatbush Gardener

Last fall one pioneering Brooklyn community garden, the 6/15 Garden in Park Slope, conducted its own leaf collection and was overwhelmed with leaves from literally all over the borough (apparently some were even brought by subway!).

Several weeks ago Sustainable Flatbush participated in the brainstorming meeting that created Project LeafDrop. With 6/15′s experience to draw from, representatives from Brooklyn Botanic Garden, Brooklyn Compost Project, Earth Matter, East New York Farms, and several community gardens created a blueprint for how to collect and compost leaves locally all over the city.

More information about the project and leaf collection locations is available at the coalition’s website NYCLeaves, and also at the blog of our own Flatbush Gardener, where he includes a map of all the sites in Brooklyn. The leaves will be composted at community gardens for use onsite.

(Note: Flatbush Daffodil Project 2009, originally scheduled for November 7th, 8th, 14th and 15th, will now take place on the 14th and 15th only.)

* Learn about the projects and plans of Sustainable Flatbush’s Urban Gardens and Farms Initiative, including the Flatbush CommUNITY Garden

* Connect with others from the community who want to get their hands dirty greening our neighborhood

* Find out how to get involved

Your ideas, energy, and hands-on help are an essential part of our sustainable community. Any amount of participation is welcome! We hope to see you there!

Please RSVP to let us know if you’ll attend.

Light refreshments will be provided.

The Brooklyn College Arts Lab (BCAL) is located in Brooklyn College’s Roosevelt Hall, 2946 Bedford Avenue, south of Campus Road.

View Map.

Directions from Q train Avenue H station

Directions from 2/5 train Flatbush Avenue station

WHAT
Orientation for the Sustainable Flatbush Urban Gardens and Farms Initiative

WHERE
Brooklyn College Arts Lab (BCAL)
2946 Bedford Avenue
Roosevelt Hall, 3rd floor
Brooklyn, NY  11210

WHEN
Tuesday, June 16th at 7:00pm

photos by Flatbush Gardener (Daffodil Project)  and Inside Urban Green (Fire Escape Peppers)