Category: Children

Spring and Fall Youth Gardening Classes Returned in 2021

10/16/2021

Despite the ongoing challenges of Covid 19, the Outreach Team who were interested in offering free garden classes was able to make a come back this spring and fall 2021. Laura Laderman and Julia Ferguson both enjoy "teaching" these gardening classes and they were glad to be able to start again this year. We offered 6 weeks of free classes in May and June and then again another 6 weeks of free classes in September and October.

Plot D12 is super shady with many tree roots, but we persist. We also were able to use some sunny spots in C-38 and C-39 in the summer for corn, tomatoes, and cucumbers. Plot D12 has produced lots of kale, purple beans, a few radishes, and now Swiss chard, lettuce, and garlic for winter crops. We have some native pollinator plantings ,one hydrangea, and a few impatiens. Most of all Plot D12 gives youth ages 9-13 a place to learn with a cycle of activities that we repeat in some way each week:

Breathe deeply
Observe & Inquire
Look Down - Soil - Check on & Learn about soil.
Look about - Plants - Check on & Learn about plants.
Look up and around - Ecosystem - Think about and Consider the Interconnected Whole

This fall at our final class we had two boys and two girls and a guest scientist. (Thank you, Alexander Dvorak.) We also had three children of member gardeners - now a "tradition" since 2014 when one high schooler, the daughter of a member in the B section, got it all started. Click here for the article

Stay tuned for more. The last thing these young people said was:
" When is our next class?"

More Pre-K students visit the gardens in May 2017

6/19/2017

Two different classes from P.S. IS 217 and also some Roosevelt Island Day Nursery students were hosted in the gardens for visits in May and early June. Anthony Longo as well as Gen and Cory Katana were our hosts for these visits. We love for students to visit, learn about seeds, explore and observe the flowers and trees. Spring is the perfect time to get out of the classroom!

If you know a group who is interested in a mid-week visit to the gardens, please email [email protected] and we will work to set up a time with a volunteer host. We will also see if we can set you up with a scavenger hunt or another small hands on activity! We can never get too much nature when we live in a big city and RIGC enjoys sharing our gardens.

Compost Connection: W.O.R.M.S!

6/19/2017

Early in February the emails were exchanged, and by mid-March the Saturday date had been set with the Outreach coordinator of NYC Compost Hosted by Big Reuse. Erycka De Jesus saved Saturday, June 3rd, for our RIGC community connection date. Anthony Longo began searching for the name and he found it -Weekend Organics Recycling Mission+Sifting - W.O.R.M.S!

Roosevelt Island is fortunate to have NYC Compost hosted by Big Reuse offering our weekly Food Scrap Drop Off Site near the Farmer's Market. As of a last count in March, Roosevelt Islanders had diverted over 35,000 pounds from landfill. (That's about the weight of an 18 wheeler semi truck!) RI has also received give backs of hyper local compost from the Queensboro Bridge site for gardens, trees, and schools on Roosevelt Island.

Anyone who wanted to learn more about composting was invited to join Roosevelt Island Garden Club and NYC Compost hosted by Big Reuse this Saturday, June 3rd for a Compost Connection Event.

This was our first open composting event in RIGC community gardens (across from 750 Main Street) and we were ready and set up for visitors between 1:00 and 3:00 p.m. on June 3rd!

However, the visitors came even before 1:00! As soon as baseball players on the field north of the garden saw Anthony Longo setting up, they were there and present and searching for worms and learning about composting! We had a great afternoon with both middle school and teen volunteers, RIGC hosts and volunteers and children and adults learning and experiencing compost sifting first hand! I addition we sifted about 3 cubic yards of compost from mulch that had been cold cooking outside the fence for a year and gardeners quickly scooped it up! Don't worry, there is more..always more!

iDig2Learn starts another great year with RIGC visit

6/5/2017

April 27, 2017 PS IS 217 and RIGC

Spring brought nearly 90 second graders from P.S.217 to the community gardens again this year for the annual iDig2Learn kick off. What better way to get students excited about photosynthesis, food, and nature then to start with a visit to the beautiful gardens of RIGC. Students met RICG leaders, learned what a community garden is, visited the compost station, and got inspired. At the end of the visit 217 students learned they would start their very own gardens at the youth center outdoor courtyard with Spring iDig2Learn science enrichment sessions. Celebrating five years, iDig2Learn initiative founder, Christina Delfico, was thrilled that RIGC welcomed 217 from the beginning in 2012. A huge part of initiative, which allows children to explore science and the origin of food through plant life, was building bridges with other Roosevelt Island organizations. P.S. 217's Ms. Fokine, the teachers and PTA volunteers are often eager to enjoy the tour and all remark on the beauty of the gardens. This year, Christina sent this email in gratitude to the Board member hosts. Thanks also to Christina! RIGC is so glad to be able to reach out to children and help with their environmental STEM learning program!

Dear RIGC Board Members,

A joyful day! You all touched my heart today - I learn so much from you every day and today was no exception - I feel so lucky to know you all!!

THANK YOU!!!!
With love and respect,
Christina Delfico

Garden Books: Storytime for Parents Network Members

7/14/2016

On June 22nd, RIGC hosted about 15 children and their parents/caregivers for a story,an exploration walk, and seed planting. We read Jack's Garden by Henry Cole and had a wonderful time.

We also discovered that there are some great garden and gardening books for children and grandchildren that you may want to put on hold at NYPL. Please send us any other ideas that you have and we will make a more complete list to share!

Watch for the painted lady butterflies in the garden!

5/24/2016

On Friday, April 22nd, while nations signed the Climate Agreement at the UN, RIGC witnessed local learning and education. iDIG2Learn's founder, Christina Delfico hosted a workshop by GrowtoLearnNYC on pollinators and beneficial plants for school groups. We had school leaders from Brooklyn, Manhattan, and the Bronx who made their way to the stand just outside our gates at the Butterfly Corridor Site. Grow to Learn staffers Rasheed Hislop and Jessie Kerr Vanderslice facilitated this talk and garden walk about bugs that help us! We looked at insects that play a critical role in the life cycles of your garden plants. Participants were able to take seeds back to their local school groups and also painted lady caterpillars. iDig2Learn caterpillars became butterflies in May and were released at the gardens!

Full Circle from Food Scraps to School Garden on 5/20/16

5/22/2016

IDig2Learn says "Thanks for a spectacular day!"

Thanks to the custodial staff at 217, school leadership and PTA, Roosevelt Island Garden Club and iDig2Learn today we witnessed full circle our weekend food scraps collected by BigReuse, through NYC Compost project, return to our soil. Jeff, Kenny, and the entire custodial team made beautiful garden border beds and tilled the soil to prepare the beds.

RI Garden club member Anthony Longo and son, Anthony alongside, parent Dee and Ms. Fokine sifted the soil and added the BigReuse compost. iDig2Learn sourced native plants including phlox paniculata "Jeana", lobelia cardinalis, milkweed, alongside some yarrow, ajuga and mums from the Central Park conservancy. Today children and their families had their gloves and trowels in hand and incredibly planted over 100 pollinator friendly plants in 35 minutes! Thanks to Joey and Dimis for turning on the water to soak both the plants and us.

RIGC is so glad to be a part of all this! We say thanks again to everyone in this circle and .... "Remember to bring your food scraps on Saturdays to the RI Food Scrap Drop Off Site run by NYC Compost hosted by BigReuse!" Since late November 2015, Roosevelt Islanders have brought in 10,504 pounds - over 5 tons of food scraps with over 2,242 drop offs and 2,761 interactions. Spread the word and keep bringing us all full circle from food scraps to gardens!

Enjoy this collage of photos of the amazing transformation.

Art and Community Connections in the Gardens

5/22/2016

May 7th, 2016 Saturday morning 10:00-11:00 a.m.

Our Roosevelt Island neighborhood school, P.S. / I.S. 217, won a competitive grant thanks to Ms. Ursula Fokine. The grant allowed children and their parents to enjoy weekend art classes at various local spots including the Noguchi museum, and Four Freedoms Park. Our own RI Community Garden was selected as a must-see part of the program, and iDig2Learn was happy to connect the school to RI Garden leadership to make it happen. On May 7th, Studio in a Schoolartists demonstrated watercolor techniques so that students could unleash their inner artist. Ms. Ursula Fokine, and RIGC leaders, Julia Ferguson and Anthony Longo, enjoyed watching budding young artists create art inspired from beauty of our gardens. Pictures say much more than words!

Green Initiatives Opportunity for RI - CALLING ALL FAMILIES - SAVE THE DATE TO VOTE

3/21/2016

2016 Participatory Budget Vote
SAT March 26 - Sun April 3

We have a chance to finalize the funding for the STEM Green Roof.

1.5 Million is needed to transform 6,750 sq. ft. of underutilized school roof top into a science learning hub with an area for performance. We won $500,000 last year from 2015 Participatory Budget, plus $250,000 from Manhattan Borough President Brewer, but that is not enough to build the roof! We must win this year!

Competition from the Upper East Side is FIERCE, they are also trying for a green roof, and communicating to all UES schools to mobilize their vote.  Not every district, like our District 5, gets the PB vote opportunity on how to spend one million dollars in their neighborhood.

Of 14 projects on this year's Participatory ballot & only 2 are for Roosevelt Island, both for education.  Voters can vote for both.  Roosevelt island only gets 3 vote sites on island to vote, plus one on the 59th street tram plaza area and the UES gets 21 vote sites to vote.

Voting during Participatory Budget shows the elected officials that Roosevelt Island has a strong voice for this and all we care about.

Eligibility: Any District 5 resident (UES, MIdtown East & Roosvelt Island) 14 years or older can vote, you do not need to be a registered voter or US citizen; you only need to be a resident of District 5.

Vote on or near the Island on Saturday, March 26 from 11am-2pm (during the RIRA Easter Egg Hunt) at Manhattan Park; Tuesday, March 29 from 4-7pm at the Island F subway station; Wednesday, March 30 from 4-7pm at Tramway Plaza (Manhattan side); or Thursday, March 31 from 7:30-10:30amat PS/IS 217.

Please show up and vote and spread the word to get others to vote.

Our First Pumpkin Smash!

11/11/2015

Thanks to one of our newest RIGC families, on Sunday afternoon, November 8th, we were able to hold our first ever pumpkin smashing event! Everyone had a great time...except, perhaps, Mr. and Mrs. Jack O'Lantern.
Keep calm and compost on!