Community Corner
Community Gardeners, Local Farmers Learn DIY Methods of Harvesting Rainwater During Dry Spells
Environmentalists and volunteers participate in workshops that teach how to maintain green spaces during climate change
The elevated temperatures of the past few summers in New York City wreaked havoc on the city’s green spaces. Then, last fall, the extreme weather resulting from Superstorm Sandy added further damage to what remained of they city's community gardens.
In response, “Do-It-Yourself Green Blocks” was launched by Citizens Committee for New York City as a series of intensive half-day skills-building workshops intended for volunteers of environmental and conservation organizations who would like to address serious environmental issues related to climate changes, and its effects on water conservation in urban farms and community gardens.
On Saturday, May 18, Citizens Committee presented its “Build a Rainwater Harvesting System for Your Garden” workshop at the Halsey Community Garden, located at 462 Halsey Street (between Marcus Garvey Blvd and Lewis Ave).
Saturday's workshop was the second in the Do-It-Yourself Green Blocks series, supported by a $25,000 contribution from National Grid Foundation.
More than 30 volunteers learned how to directly address long summer stretches without rain by building a DIY rainwater harvesting system for a community garden.
In addition to the inherent benefits of watering street trees and vegetable beds in community gardens, participants learned about:
- The importance of water conservation
- Good surface areas from which to catch rain
- Where to put your rain harvesting system
- What materials are needed for your system
- How to put your system together
- How to maintain your system
- How to measure and evaluate progress along the way
Get more local news delivered straight to your inbox. Sign up for free Patch newsletters and alerts.
