Founded by Liz Christy in 1975, GrowNYC's Open Space Greening program builds and sustains community gardens, school gardens, and rainwater harvesting systems across New York City.

OSG has created or rejuvenated over 60 community gardens and continues to work with schools, public housing associations, and neighborhood groups to transform vacant land into vibrant civic spaces that grow food, provide valuable open space, serve as dynamic classrooms for NYC schoolchildren, and challenge communities to interact. We've also taken the lead in bringing rainwater harvesting systems to community gardens.

In 2010, GrowNYC and the Mayor's Fund to Advance New York City launchedGrow to Learn: The Citywide School Gardens Initiative, a one stop resource for any public school looking to build, sustain, and program a school garden. See what kind of gardens OSG has been building to support the Grow to Learn mission.

Our Grow Truck program delivers free tool loans to neighborhood greening projects and our Annual Plant Sale provides at-cost Greenmarket vegetable, herb, and flower starters to community gardens, schools, and block associations.