GrowNYC's Open Space Greening program had a busy 2011, and we're proud of all that we accomplished. Read through our 2011 highlights below!

In 2011, thanks to a grant from the North Star Fund's Greening Western Queens Fund, GrowNYC created five school gardens in Long Island City and Woodside, Queens. The gardens, located at public schools in Long Island City and Woodside, are all unique and are tailored to fit the character of each school and its space. We capped the year off by planting 4,000 bulbs in December - we can't wait until Spring! More info.

GrowNYC continued work at Wanaqua Family Garden, a 10,000 square foot food producing garden in the South Bronx, with more than 20 raised beds and a children's garden used by both PS 43 and the Mott Haven Charter School. A towering new shade structure, designed pro-bono by Pallette Architects, houses a tool shed, rainwater harvesting system, barbecue pit, and social gathering space. More info.

Our staff led 26 school groups, with over 1,000 NYC school children, on school field trips to the Randall's Island Children's Learning Garden. Working in partnership with Randall's Island Sports Foundation staff, students learned about nutrition, growing, cooking and composting. Over 1,500 lbs. of food was harvested, 384 lbs. of which was donated to a local East Harlem soup kitchen and senior center. More info.

Our Annual Plant Sale was a huge hit this year, more than doubling the volume of last year's sale.  70 varieties of annuals, perennials, vegetables, and herbs grown by Greenmarket farmers are sold at wholesale cost and distributed to more than 500 community gardens, schools, block associations, and more. This year's plant list included expanded vegetable, herb, and heirloom offerings, and, for the first time, we accepted EBT for edible plants. More info.

GrowNYC was a major partner in building a KaBOOM! playspace at Nuestros Ninos Daycare in Williamsburg, Brooklyn. More than 200 volunteers from the community and Dr. Pepper Snapple Group built a playground, benches, murals, a children’s garden, picnic tables, chess board table tops and more over a one-week period. GrowNYC staff tested the soil, developed a recycling plan, helped obtain permits and everything else required to complete the project. More info.

GrowNYC is committed to conserving a precious resource: water. To-date, we’ve installed 85 rainwater harvesting systems in community gardens in all five boroughs. Thanks to a grant from the Bronx River Watershed Initiative and the National Fish & Wildlife Foundation, we built 5 rainwater harvesting systems in the Bronx River Watershed Area in 2011. The systems were built by staff, who also trained and worked with volunteers from Green Apple Corps and Sustainable South Bronx. More info.

Our Grow Truck mobile tool lending and expert assistance vehicle has been traveling the boroughs over the past year to assist more than 50 neighborhood projects. Assisted projects in 2011 include the Isabel King Children's Heritage Garden, the Myrtle Avenue Revitalization Project, and the Heritage Rose Foundation. Grow Truck also makes free deliveries of donated soil, compost or plants as well as garden furniture, large planters and rainwater harvesting tanks, to greening groups and gardens such as Nuestros Ninos, Wishing Well, Hattie Carthan and Family Affair Neighborhood Park. More info.