Greening Brooklyn NY Together

1. Greening Brooklyn
Together
GreenBridge Strategic Plan
2007–2011
October 3, 2007
GreenBridge is the Community Environmental
Horticulture Program of

2. © BROOKLYN BOTANIC GARDEN
1000 Washington Avenue,
Brooklyn, NY 11225
Phone 718-623-7251

3. Executive Summary
Brooklyn Botanic Garden launched its community horticulture program, Brooklyn
GreenBridge, 14 years ago, in 1993. Institutional support and community response were
overwhelmingly positive from the beginning, and by 2006 the program had grown to the
extent that a strategic plan for the future became a necessity. Moreover, a recently released
planning document by the New York City mayor’s office, entitled plaNYC 2030, projects
that New York City will grow by one million people by the year 2030. Greening and
sustainability are top program priorities, according to the report. Brooklyn, currently
equivalent to the third-largest city in the U.S., with 2.5 million residents, has the second-
lowest percentage of green space per capita compared with other cities. Brooklyn Botanic
Garden sees GreenBridge as essential in implementing the city’s goals as well as its own
mission to improve the environment here and throughout the city.1
Building on its strong record as a unique program for a botanic garden, GreenBridge has
launched its strategic plan for the next four years with a new mission statement undergirded
by its key values. The plan identifies emerging new program priorities and evaluates existing
programs.
With oversight from the vice president of Education, the director of Brooklyn GreenBridge
led the planning process, which included input from GreenBridge staff members, BBG’s
president, the vice presidents of Education, Horticulture, and Science, and input from key
staff from Development and Science. A planning consultant was the overall coordinator.
Leaders of primary constituencies representing block associations, community gardens, and
horticultural therapy sites provided significant input in a daylong session. Other related BBG
staff from Education, Development, Horticulture and Science offered recommendations and
feedback. Additionally, along with BBG’s president, leaders of two related city agencies, a
foundation, and a college offered suggestions and insights regarding the role GreenBridge
plays in the larger community during individual interviews conducted by the consultant.
Our new vision for the future projects a significantly greener and more livable Brooklyn by
the year 2015:
Community horticulture and conservation have transformed Brooklyn. All citizens enjoy the
benefits of community gardens, parks, and verdant rooftops and streetscapes; people’s
relationship to nature is enhanced by cultivating plants; neighborhood gardeners are creating
compost and improving soil, growing food, caring for street trees and building safe, healthy
communities. Brooklyn Botanic Garden demonstrates the latest advances in sustainable
gardening for the entire city. GreenBridge continues to pioneer this work and is recognized
as an inspiring model for botanic garden community outreach programs around the world.
1
Brooklyn Botanic Garden’s mission statement includes two related goals: 1) reaching out to help the people of all our
diverse urban neighborhoods to enhance the quality of their surroundings and their daily lives through the cultivation
and enjoyment of plants, and 2) seeking actively to arouse public awareness of the fragility of our natural environment,
both local and global, and providing information about ways to conserve and protect it.

4. To carry out this vision, we’ve set forth a new mission and set of GreenBridge values:
GreenBridge, the community environmental horticulture program of Brooklyn Botanic
Garden, promotes the greening of the urban environment through education, conservation
and creative partnerships. GreenBridge is building a vibrant network of people, places and
projects dedicated to making Brooklyn a greener place.
• We value our strong foundation within a world-renowned botanic garden located in
the center of Brooklyn with impact that stretches far beyond our 52 acres.
• We advocate sustainable gardening techniques to replenish the soil, increase
biodiversity, and grow healthy plants for food, habitat, conservation and pleasure.
• We collaborate with citizens and community organizations on urban greening
projects that advance the public good.
• We serve the diverse community of Brooklyn by being a knowledgeable resource
regarding plants and the environment.
• We strive to understand the evolving needs of our constituents and to identify
innovative, replicable ways to address those needs.
• We support environmental justice and work with partners to identify and reach out
to neighborhoods of the greatest need.

5. Our strategic priorities are clear:
1. Preserve, protect, and expand green space and demonstrate new opportunities
for greening in Brooklyn.
2. Encourage participation in sustainable gardening practices that improve soil,
water, air, and increase biodiversity.
3. Expand community leadership and the base of support for Brooklyn
GreenBridge and Brooklyn Botanic Garden programs.
Our work includes three new initiatives as well as three ongoing programs:
NEW INTIATIVES
1. Brooklyn Urban Gardener (BUG)
Over the years, GreenBridge has offered hundreds of workshops to community residents
and organizations on a wide range of over 30 topics. An emerging theme heard from
participants has been the need for more training. People have expressed the desire to learn
more through a series of training sessions, rather than one-time workshops, and to be
recognized for completing the training process. New, trained leaders are critically needed in
the community. To this end, GreenBridge seeks to create an overall training program
that meets the needs of the urban gardener, specifically targeting individuals
working in community gardens, block associations, and other community-based
organizations. BBG will be seen as a leader in educating the public about sustainable
gardening, including encouraging practices to expand the tree canopy throughout Brooklyn.
This program will allow BBG and an active trained volunteer corps the opportunity to share
skills with a broader audience and foster greater diversity within the horticultural community.

6. 2. Community Greening
Brooklyn GreenBridge is committed to educating the public about sustainable gardening
practices that support healthy communities of people, plants, and wildlife. In addition, our
Therapeutic Horticulture Network supports the work of citywide programs and
professionals who use horticulture to promote healing. Building on the GreenBridge
Community Garden Alliance, new initiatives in our outreach education will include
helping community gardeners grow food for local consumption and building public
awareness about biodiversity and environmental horticulture, including such new
frontiers for greening as rooftop gardens, green roofs, and rain gardens. A new
volunteer corps of certified “Brooklyn Urban Gardeners” will help train community
gardeners in all these areas.
3. Street Tree Stewardship Initiative
Brooklyn GreenBridge has been a leader in educating the public about the pressing need to
take better care of street trees in New York City. For many years, GreenBridge has offered
free workshops on street tree bed gardening, empowering countless citizens to water and
care for their neglected trees. Working with Trees New York and the NYC Parks and
Recreation Department, BBG has also for many years provided a campus and instructors
twice a year for the Citizen Tree Pruner course that certifies graduates to prune street trees in
New York City. Now GreenBridge will develop the Street Tree Stewardship Initiative
in conjunction with the mayor’s plaNYC 2030 to plant a million trees in NYC. Our
special emphasis will be to encourage proper care of tree beds for both beautification
and the health of the trees, thus boosting the survival rates of the million newly
planted trees and those already shading our streets. Collaboration with critical partners,
especially with the NYC Department of Parks and Recreation and Trees New York, will be
vital to the success of this campaign.

7. ONGOING PROGRAMS:
4. Brooklyn Compost Project
The Brooklyn Compost Project operates under Brooklyn GreenBridge, using the resources
of both Brooklyn Botanic Garden (BBG) and the New York City Department of Sanitation
(DSNY) to promote compost outreach and education throughout the borough. Through the
efforts of the Compost Project, we have improved soil in Brooklyn, diverted waste from the
municipal waste stream, and increased community leadership through public education,
which has resulted in increased composting in community gardens and households.
Working with the DSNY and with our respective constituencies, we will also now
research other gardens’ and organizations’ best practices and models; work with
BBG’s Horticulture Department to implement these practices at the Garden;
investigate school, community, and business composting practices; conduct site
analysis of compost demonstration sites in community gardens; and target Spanish-
speaking communities for compost outreach.

8. 5. Greenest Block in Brooklyn Contest
One of the first major initiatives of Brooklyn GreenBridge was the Greenest Block in
Brooklyn Contest, which started in 1994. This contest, a unique program among botanic
garden outreach, makes horticulture important to homeowners, stores, and neighborhoods.
The Greenest Block in Brooklyn Contest will continue to feature the summer competition,
the spring window box kit sale, and yearlong street clinics for block associations. The
contest will increasingly reflect the new GreenBridge strategies in the areas of
sustainability, environmental justice, and community building. Led by block
associations and merchants’ organizations, the contest will continue to be a tool for
strengthening these associations and their role in the overall greening of Brooklyn.
Our new Street Tree Stewardship Initiative will be a new component of our greening
outreach through the contest and will include prizes and incentives for improving
street tree care.

9. 6. Making Brooklyn Bloom
Making Brooklyn Bloom has become a BBG tradition as the annual kickoff event of the
spring gardening season. Since 1982, it has provided a day full of activities at BBG and
excellent horticulture information for the gardening public. A new theme is selected each
year, often with a featured speaker who delivers an inspiring keynote address on that subject.
The free event offers hands-on workshops taught by community gardeners, BBG staff, and
greening experts. Exhibitors from regional greening organizations present innovative,
organic gardening techniques for home and community gardeners. The goal of this event
is to educate the public and BBG staff about sustainable gardening. Making
Brooklyn Bloom provides a forum where community members can demonstrate their
leadership and is a networking opportunity for everyone who shares the goal of
making Brooklyn greener. BBG is uniquely suited to bring all these program
elements under one roof and to provide on-site outdoor workshop space.

10. Evaluation
Our ability to accomplish this strategic plan is possible through the commitment of all
sectors of Brooklyn Botanic Garden. As GreenBridge seeks to implement new initiatives as
well as refine existing programs to meet the emerging needs of the community, we will use
the knowledge and skills of our colleagues at BBG to assist and support us in our work.
GreenBridge must also concentrate on building and sustaining community partnerships to
help BBG carry out this ambitious plan. Constituency support through participation in
regular feedback sessions will strengthen these efforts. To keep ourselves on target as we roll
out these projects, GreenBridge staff will engage in an evaluative process that will include
such components as peer review and stakeholder input along with periodic monitoring of
the plan by BBG Board of Trustees’ Education Committee and by GreenBridge staff.
Rooted in partnership, GreenBridge will continue to serve as a vital conduit between BBG
and our expanding community as we work together to make our world a greener place.
For a copy of the complete plan, please contact Robin Simmen, Director of GreenBridge, at
718.623.7251 or at rsimmen@bbg.org.