Founded in 1975, GrowNYC's Green Space program builds and supports community gardens and urban farms throughout the five boroughs. These spaces create opportunities for community members to grow food, care for the environment, and host programs and events that bring neighbors together.
COMMUNITY GARDENS
GrowNYC has built more than 160 new community gardens, including GreenThumb gardens, gardens in public housing developments, churches, daycares, and senior centers, and our one-acre Teaching Garden at Governors Island. We build about ten new community gardens a year and do renovation projects in an additional 25 spaces. The 160+ community gardens that GrowNYC has built total more than one million square feet of green space across NYC.
TEACHING GARDEN AT GOVERNORS ISLAND
Our one-acre urban farm, the GrowNYC Teaching Garden, offers field trips to NYC schools and summer camps and opens its doors to the public on weekends. Each year we host more than 5,000 children and adults, giving them the opportunity to plant, water, harvest, and cook the garden's wide array of fruits and vegetables.
GREEN INFRASTRUCTURE
GrowNYC has built more than 100 rainwater harvesting systems, rain gardens, and bioswales at community gardens and schools, helping gardeners grow more food, conserve water, and reduce pollution in New York City's waterways. Annually, these green infrastructure systems help divert more than one million gallons of water from NYC's sewer system. We also design and run workshops for community gardeners, teachers, students, and members of the public to design and install their own green infrastructure systems.
ANNUAL SPRING PLANT SALE
Since 1986, GrowNYC has hosted an annual Spring Plant Sale to provide community groups with perennial and annual plants, herbs, and vegetables from regional farmers at wholesale prices.
