GrowNYC Education

 

GrowNYCDistancelearning.org

September 2022

Workshops

How To Start A School Garden - And Keep It Going! Virtual Workshop Wednesday, Sept. 28 @ 4PM

Do you want to start or re-start a garden or outdoor learning space at your school? Join the GrowNYC School Gardens team to learn the steps: how to create a shared mission, make a map and budget, develop a garden committee, find funding and materials, and set the garden up for success for years to come! RSVP Here

Curbside Composting For Bronx Schools Virtual Info Session Tuesday, Oct. 11 @ 12PM and 4PM

Starting October 17, 2022, all DOE K-12 schools in the Bronx will switch to Curbside Composting collection service. GrowNYC Zero Waste Schools is providing on-the-ground, hands-on support to each school to ensure your success with this exciting change and we're hosting this info session to provide all the information you'll need. RSVP Here

GrowNYC School Garden Drop-In Hour Virtual Event Wednesday, Oct 19 @ 3PM

Do you want to create or re-start a school garden or outdoor classroom at your school? Join this co-working event where you can do a Q&A with the GrowNYC School Gardens team and other NYC schools. This event is great for teachers, administrators, parents and/or guardians involved in NYC DOE K-12 schools. RSVP Here

Youth Workforce Development Virtual Workshops Every Tuesday @ 5PM

GrowNYC’s Youth Workforce Development program provides work experience and professional development for young people. Participants gain a deeper understanding of how food, health and environment intersect – and their ability to affect positive change. Open to ages of 16-19 and those who work with youth. RSVP Here

Lomi & GrowNYC

Canadian based company Pela is committed to creating a waste free future by generously donating Lomi countertop composters to DOE K-12 public and charter schools in NYC! This kitchen appliance reduces the amount of food scraps going to landfills. Lomi creates natural fertilizer with the nutrients that plants need by transforming food scraps and most organic waste into Lomi dirt. Lomi helps you return food scraps to the earth and nutrients to the soil, where they are naturally repurposed to feed plants and vegetables. If you would like to have a Lomi at your school, please fill out the information in the links below. Schools must have an up-to-date registration with GrowNYC.

Request Lomi Here Register with GrowNYC Here

Greenmarket Youth Education

Tours of the Greenmarkets are virtual this fall. Visit the GrowNYC Union Square Greenmarket online. If you are a teacher or family interested in introducing your students or children to regional agriculture and sustainable farming, here are a few other useful resources: Self-guided Greenmarket tours GrowNYC's Distance Learning Page K-12 resources and activities  On-the-farm field trips

Field Trips to the Teaching Garden

The Teaching Garden fieldtrips are almost fully booked for the fall 2022 season. See our website for remaining days available.   For Families & Individuals: The Teaching Garden, along with Earth Matter and The Bee Conservancy, is also offering guided farm tours first Saturday of every month. Register here. Or, join us on weekends from May to October from 12 – 4pm for self-guided tours and scavenger hunts, help us water, or visit our dig bed for visitors of all ages to have fun and explore! Can't wait to see you in the Teaching Garden! For questions regarding our programming, please email asantistevan@grownyc.org

Zero Waste Schools

Curbside Composting

We are thrilled to announce that Curbside Composting (aka Organics Collection) is expanding this school year! The program will enroll over 350 new schools this year and more next year. And new schools can expect their curbside service switch to take effect on, Monday, October 17th. The first set of schools to receive the new service will be in the Bronx. And just like we've done for schools for the last 10 years, GrowNYC ZWS will help all the new Bronx enrolled schools achieve Zero Waste goals through education, training, and support. We'll be there to help folks figure out how to sort food waste and food soiled paper along with metals, glass, cartons and hard plastics in the cafeterias.

Zero Waste Schools Virtual Events

This year, GrowNYC ZWS is excited to launch a brand new set of virtual offerings. Our Teacher Tuesdays series will include workshops and trainings for teachers, educators administrators, and sustainability coordinators. And if your students are interested in discussions or workshops on climate change or NYC waste, our Waste-Free Wednesdays is perfect for them. We're also hosting a limited number of free one-on-one consultations for folks who are trying to figure out how to improve waste systems in their NYC school. Expect our events monthly from October 2022 until June 2023. Registrations and events kick off in October. For full event details click here

Youth Leadership Council

Looking to help your students boost their resumes, build leadership skills, network with sustainability practitioners and gain real-world experience? Invite them to apply to the GrowNYC Zero Waste Schools Youth Leadership Council. Reach out to us at zerowasteschools@grownyc.org if you have questions about the program or the application process. Half of our sessions will be in-person and the other half will be virtual.   Application Deadline: Friday, October 21st at 11:59pm.

Apply Now

Grant Opportunities

Grants for school garden and sustainability projects:

Samull Classroom Herb Garden Grants Deadline: Oct 1, 2022 Cliff Family Foundation Small Grants Deadline: Oct 1, 2022 Budding Botanist Grant Deadline: Oct 14, 2022 Lorrie Otto Seeds For Education Program Deadline: Oct 15, 2022 Energize The Environment Grant Program Deadline: Oct 30, 2022 SeedMoney Deadline: Nov 12, 2022 Karma 4 Cara Deadline: Rolling Hudson Valley Seed Co Seed Donations Deadline: Rolling Herman's Garden Seed Donation Program Deadline: Rolling Ioby Crowdfund Matching Deadline: Rolling Future Farmers of America Grants Deadline: Rolling Monarch Watch Free Milkweed Deadline: Rolling EcoRise Student Innovation Fund Always open

From Our Partners

DOE Office of Sustainability Check out the revamped Sustainability Hub for monthly highlights, news & updates, reports and more! Farm School NYC Farm School NYC offers urban agriculture training to adults through their citywide program and additional individual courses. Get more information and apply here. 43rd Annual GreenThumb Harvest Fair GreenThumb invites you to their Harvest Fair on Saturday, September 24, 2022 from noon to 4:00 p.m. at Friends of Brook Park Community Garden in the Bronx! Celebrate with workshop

BAAD!'s BlakTinX Performance Series begins Sept. 24

 

THE 2022 BLAKTINX PERFORMANCE SERIES RUNS AT BAAD!

FROM SEPTEMBER 24 - NOVEMBER 19

FEATURING FILM, MUSIC, DANCE AND THEATER

The Bronx Academy of Arts & Dance forges forward with the 22th annual BLAKTINX FESTIVAL including a new dance concert by noted choreographer Arthur Aviles as well as a workshop of a new musical entitled I Am Sylvia, based on the queer/trans activist Sylvia Rivera. The festival takes place at BAAD!, 2474 Westchester Avenue in the Westchester Square section of the Bronx. Ticket prices vary from free to $20.  For information and directions  call (718) 918-2110 or visit www.BAADBRONX.org. 

The schedule for the shows and events is as follows:

Saturday, September 24 | Free | In-person

Dance Film Double Feature with pizza intermission!

2pm: YULI

Yuli is an energetic, powerful and uplifting movie that follows the rise of the Cuban dancer Carlos Acosta from a scrappy juvenile who was reluctant to dance to an international ballet legend who was the first black dancer to perform some of the most famous ballet roles. Directed by Icíar Bollaín. 

4:30pm: YEH BALLET

This inspiring film is about two gifted but underprivileged Mumbai teens who face bigotry and disapproval as they pursue their dancing dreams. Written and directed by Sooni Taraporevala

Saturday, October 1 | 11-9 pm | Free | Virtual

DANCING WHILE BLACK: SHARE PRACTICE THRIVE, A VIRTUAL MARKETPLACE

Dancing While Black continues its 10th anniversary celebration with a virtual full day of intergenerational wisdom — tapping into how we care for our bodies, spirits, and communities with: Eva Yaa Asantewaa, Love Muwwakkil, Brittany Williams, Italy Bianca and Brother(hood) Dance!

Thursday, October 6 | 7pm | In-person/Virtual | Free

AFROMYSTIC 

Artist and filmmaker Seyi Adebanjo’s Afromystic is a lyrical documentary which follows four LGBTQ Yorùbá practitioners across the waters of Nigeria, Brazil, and the US.  Weaving animated mythology, theater, ritual, and Yorùbá Spirituality, the second chapter of Adebanjo’s Queer and Trans Òrìṣà Storytelling takes us on a journey of embodying spirit. This work-in-progress screening is followed by Q&A with Adebanjo.

 

Friday, October 7 | 8pm | In-person | $10

THE GLITCH

Artist Charly Dominguez and actor/dancer Darius Gregory team up for the performance of “The Glitch,” a multimedia installation featuring performance art, live body art, movement and poetry. The artists journey from coping with loss  to recreating life, making art, and living powerfully.

Saturday, October 8 | 8pm | In-person ($ 15) | Virtual (Free to $15)

DENDARRY BAKERY’S ¡TIME OUT!

Dendarry Bakery (Samira Mendoza, Gladstone Butler, and Mobéy Lola Irizarry) debut a playful and provocative musical performance entitled “¡Time Out!” that examines how time has been weaponized, stolen, and colonized by oppressive forces throughout history, and invites transience into a temporal discourse.

Tuesday, October 11 | 7pm | In-person ($20) | Virtual (Free to $20)

COMING HOME: AFFIRMING AGENCY WITH MEDITATION

Award-winning saxophonist and composer Steven Banks presents a powerful evening that centers Black people in the practice of music and mediation, and invites all participants to explore the effects that meditation can have on their daily lives. Winner of the prestigious 2022 Avery Fisher Career Grant, Banks has established himself as both a compelling and charismatic soloist, and is committed to rethinking and expanding the boundaries of classical music. 

Saturday, October 15 | 8pm | In-person ($20) | Virtual (Free to $20)

SOULS OF OUR FEET 

BAAD!’s signature dance compilation brings together a bevy of dance styles and talents from the Bronx and beyond. Featuring performances by (l-r) Teek Huggins, Rathi Varma, Deepa Mahadevan, Sofia Bengoa, Na An and Makayla Peterson.

Saturday, October 22 | 8pm | In-person ($10) | Virtual {Free to $10)

I AM SYLVIA (Musical Workshop) 

A veteran of the 1969 Stonewall uprising, Sylvia Rivera was an advocate and fought for the inclusion of transgender people in the larger gay rights movement. This musical workshop covers five decades in the life of this great leader. Written by Abimael Acosta and directed by Luis Caballero.

Thursday, October 27 & Friday, October 28 | 8pm | In-person ($20) | Virtual [Friday only] (Free to $20)

ARTHUR AVILES TYPICAL THEATRE: HOMAGE! THE UNTITLED SERIES 2022 

Renowned choreographer Arthur Avilés pays tribute to Martha Graham, Jose Limon and Loie Fuller via Jody Sperling with contemporary interpretations of classic modern dance works that braid in queer and intersectional perspectives into works Aviles originally created in the 1990s. Performances by Johnnie Cruise Mercer, Priscilla Marrero, Dea’Shinique Ramsey, Hunter Sturgis and Josiah Vasquez, with live drumming by Mobéy Lola Irizarry and costumes by Liz Prince.

The program includes:

• 
  
  Untitled #1 after Martha Graham

• 
  
  Untitled #2 after Jose Limon

• 
  
  Puerto Rican Faggot from the South Bronx Steals Precious Object from Giuliani’s East Village (Untitled #3 after Loïe Fuller by way of Jody Sperling)

Saturday, October 29 | 8pm | In-person |  Free 

HALLOKWEEN: ANNUAL HALLOWEEN PARTY 

Costume Contest with Cash Prize | Dance Party | Performances | Open Mic Karaoke

Get down with the spirits in your fiercest attire at the annual BAAD! HalloKween event! Hosted by Appolonia Cruz and Vivika Westwood Mugler.

Thursday, November 3 | 6pm | In-person/Virtual (free)| 

MRS ROSS’ 100TH BIRTHDAY CELEBRATION 

BAAD! celebrates one of its long-standing supporters, Mrs. Cybeale Ross, as she turns 100! The reception is open to the community and will feature performances and acknowledgments from her family, colleagues, and friends. 

Friday, November 4 & Saturday, November 5 | 8pm | In person/Virtual | In person $20, Virtual Free to $20 

DANCING FUTURES: MEGAN CURET PRESENTS PULSATIONS 

Bronx-based choreographer Megan Curet examines various movement dialogues and stories that focus on the theme of pulsations within and outside of the body - like the pulsation of  blood in one’s ears when running or the pulsation of music in a loud dance club. 

Friday, November 11 & Saturday, November 12 | 8pm | In person/ Virtual | In person $20, Virtual Free to $20 

DANCING FUTURES: BABACAR TOP PRESENTS TALATAY NDER

Babacar Top dives into Senegalese history to March 7, 1820, when the women of the village Nder banded together to defeat an attack that would’ve enslaved them and taken their land while the men were away. Top journeys through what’s archived in their physical, spiritual, emotional and mental being.

Friday, November 18 & Saturday, November 19 | 8pm | In person/Virtual | In person $20, Virtual Free to $20 

DANCING FUTURES: JANICE TOMLINSON PRESENTS PRN

Janice Tomlinson, known for verve and prowess in the hip hop dance scene, brings her unique perspective as a registered nurse/dance artist to explore the systemic, physical, emotional, and spiritual repercussions enhanced by strife and the pandemic, and opens a personal lens on healthcare disparities.

Crowned “a funky and welcoming performance space” by The New York Times, BAAD! is a performance and workshop space that presents cutting-edge works in dance and all creative disciplines empowering to women, Latinos and people of color and the LGBTQ(lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender and queer) community. BAAD! is home to Arthur Aviles Typical Theatre (AATT) and the Bronx Dance Coalition and was founded by Arthur Aviles and Charles Rice-Gonzalez in 1998 in Hunts Point. BAAD! moved to Westchester Square in October 2013 to a gothic revivalist building on the grounds of St. Peter’s Church.

Managing Bronx Workforce Trends

Register - Click Here Register - Click Here For the complete Bronx Chamber Events Calendar, featuring educational workshops, networking events and other opportunities hosted by the Chamber, its members, & partners, please visit and bookmark our website events calendar link in your browser - new events are added weekly!

Senator Biaggi's Week in Review: 9/12/22-9/16/22

 

Dear Community,

I hope you and your families are doing well, enjoying the last bits of summer weather!

I wanted to wish the community a Happy Hispanic Heritage Month! September 15th was chosen as the start because it marks the Independence Day anniversaries of five Latin American countries: Costa Rica, El Salvador, Guatemala, Honduras, and Nicaragua. 

This is an important time to celebrate and honor the cultures, intersectional identities, resilience, and contributions of the Latinx diaspora – past and present. There are roughly 62 million Latinx people living in the United States and the Latinx population accounted for 51% of the country’s population growth. Here in New York State, the Latinx community makes up roughly 19% of our statewide population and 29% of New York City’s population. 

Throughout this month, it is critical to uplift the movements and voices of Latinx New Yorkers, and fight with and for our communities that are often ignored or left behind – particularly Afro-Latinx, Queer-Latinx, and Indigenous peoples. I ask you to join me in elevating their experiences by sharing their stories and supporting their work – visibility and representation matters. I am honored to represent a district with such vibrant Hispanic and Latinx communities, and look forward to fighting for them each and everyday.

With Gratitude,

State Senator Alessandra Biaggi

Statement From Governor Kathy Hochul on Hurricane Fiona

 

"New York and Puerto Rico share a special bond, and I know many New Yorkers are concerned for the safety and well-being of friends and loved ones currently on the Island during Hurricane Fiona. I am praying for the people of Puerto Rico and my thoughts are also with our Puerto Rican community here in New York. 

"With expected flooding, mudslides and blackouts, conditions are extremely dangerous and I urge everyone to remain safe and listen to direction from local authorities. The New York State Division of Homeland Security and Emergency Services is monitoring the storm closely and will be able to rapidly deploy assistance if requested by the federal government and Puerto Rico. New York will always stand with and support Puerto Rico."

MAYOR ADAMS, NYC PARKS OFFICIALLY RENAME MULLALY PARK IN HONOR OF LATE REVEREND T. WENDELL

 

Rev. T. Wendell Foster Was First African American City Councilmember to Represent Bronx 

New York City Mayor Eric Adams was today joined by New York City Department of Parks and Recreation (NYC Parks) Commissioner Sue Donoghue and the family of the late Reverend T. Wendell Foster for the official renaming of Mullaly Park and the Mullaly Recreation Center to the “Rev. T. Wendell Foster Park” and the “Reverend T. Wendell Foster Recreation Center” in the Bronx. Reverend Foster was the pastor of the Christ Church in Morrisania and the first Black representative from the Bronx in the New York City Council, where he championed low-income housing and served as long-time chair of the City Council’s Parks Committee. 

“Reverend T. Wendell Foster was not only the first Black City Council member from the Bronx, but a giant in New York City politics,” said Mayor Adams. “Reverend Foster broke down barriers and inspired many, including me. He stood tall for the Bronx, and never gave up on this city or its people. I know that the Reverent T. Wendell Foster Park will inspire generations of future leaders to come, reminding us to live with courage and integrity, as he did.”  

 

“Our parks and greenspaces are as varied as the communities they serve, and we are beyond proud to continue our efforts of renaming park spaces in honor of the Black experience. Names like Rev. T. Wendell Foster Park serve as physical representations of the contributions and legacies of some of our city’s and country’s most prominent Black Americans,” said NYC Parks Commissioner Donoghue. “Wendell Foster was a force in New York City politics and an inspiration to countless New Yorkers, and we hope the renaming of this park promotes reflection and inspiration for our next generation of changemakers in the city.” 

 

In response to community requests, NYC Parks announced its plans to formally rename Mullaly Park in honor of Rev. T. Wendell Foster, for a September 2022 renaming in accordance with NYC Parks’ policy of naming three years posthumous.  

 

NYC Parks announced its first tranche of namings in June 2020, when the agency created Juneteenth Grove at Cadman Plaza Park. Since then, 28 green spaces have been named in recognition of the Black experience across all five boroughs. 

 

Community Leaders and People Come Out to Support Bronx Republican Candidates in the November General Election .

Saturday the sun was shinning and people came to the new Bronx Republican Party Office located at 1478 Williamsbridge Road in former Councilman Mark Gjonaj's former City Council office to see the Bronx Republican Party candidates led by the open 80th Assembly District candidate Phylis 'Tiz' Nastasio, and the open 34nd State Senate District candidate Hasime 'Samantha' Zherka. Also in attendance were 78th Assembly candidate Michael Dister, 82nd Assembly candidate John M. Greaney Jr., 84th Assembly candidate Rosalina Nieves, and 87th Assembly candidate Ariel Rivera-Diaz. Michael Rendino is the Bronx Republican Party Chairman, and he reminded everyone of the Bronx Republican Party Dinner on Wednesday September 28th at Villa Barrone.

Phyllis 'Tiz' Nastasio tells why she is best qualified be the next 80th Assembly District Assemblywoman.

Samantha Zherka explains why she is best qualified to be the next 34th State Senator.

Mr. Al D'angelo gives his thumb up to his choice for 80th Assembly.

Part of the crowd at the Bronx Republican Party to join their candidates.