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project leader
Nora P
location
514 Rockaway Ave
Brooklyn (Brownsville, Brooklyn)
latest update rss
Thank you message from the project leader!

the project

The Brownsville Student Farm is the first school garden built by Student Farm Project. It is a 7,500 square foot urban farm - an oasis of plant and animal life in the middle of Central Brooklyn, an area usually noted for urban blight and vacant, trash-filled lots. This year the garden will be available as a living classroom for K-8 students and their teachers at PS/IS 323, our partner public school. The garden is also an active green space for the Brownsville community at large and serves as a focal point, highlighting healthy living and nutrition issues facing the community.

Construction began on the garden in March 2012.  We are already harvesting beautiful produce, which is sold at well below market value at our Thursday student-run farmstand. We also give produce to students to take home to their families. Our team works every weekend with a wide variety of volunteers from many different organizations. We are nearly 70% finished but need an extra boost to get us there.

the steps

We have built over 70% of our garden so far. We need to finish construction of our last 2 garden beds, our chicken pen and our compost bins.  We need to build our garden bed benches and set up our commercial grade sink station. We need to truck in two more loads of soil and hire a trash removal company to take away our construction debris.  We also will need to purchase some new pressure-treated wood and hardware for our outdoor classroom pavilion (most of the wood we've used so far has been recycled scaffolding). We also need to amend our soil to balance out the pH and the nutrient content. We will need to continue to purchase chicken feed and bedding, seeds and farm supplies. We expect construction to be finished by late Spring 2013.

why we're doing it

This project addresses several community issues that exist in many neighborhoods city-wide. Brownsville has plenty of open space in the form of vacant chained-off lots, but very few green community spaces or parks. Central Brooklyn also has some of the worst statistics in the city on diet-related diseases such as diabetes, heart disease and obesity. This is due to a variety of factors including lack of food exposure and nutrition education. We aim to incite change in the cycle of poor community health by starting at the beginning with outdoor environmental childhood education.

budget

Soil Delivery (2 loads trucking fee) at $550 each: $1,100

Trash removal (debris, wood): $1,200

Soil amendments - High Calcium Lime (15 bags at $15 ea) Green Sand (10 bags at $20 ea.) plus delivery (from Nutrient Density Supply Company): $475

Chicken supplies for 6 months (5 bags feed at $25 ea. 24 bags bedding at $12.95 ea) from Animal Feeds, Inc.: $435.80

Beekeeping supplies (Honey super, queen excluder, jars, ectraction fee): $250

Hardware- screws for woodwork (4 boxes exterior screws at $27.48 ea. at Home Depot): $109.92

Hardware cloth for lining compost bins (2 rolls 3x25 at $49.80 ea. at Home Depot): $99.60

Used commercial grade 3-bin stainless steel sink (Craigslist or Build it Green): $350

Used refrigerator for produce and egg storage, plus delivery (Craigslist or Build it Green): $450

Hardware and new pressure treated wood for pavilion TBD: $500 (estimate)

Earthpaint Rainforest eco wood sealer 5 gallon: $324.01

 

Third party credit card processing (3%) = $158.83
ioby materials and labor = $35

 

updates

Thank you message from the project leader!

Posted 10/04/2012 - 12:43pm

 

Dear Farm Family, 
 
Thank you all so much for your support! 
 
It is so inspiring to know that so many folks recognize the value of green spaces and food education in our public schools.  Your donation will go directly to the final construction phase and sustainability of our farm as well as the development of our educational programs. The students at PS/IS 323 are thrilled to have this garden as a part of their curriculum.  Even more wonderful has been the commitment and involvement of the Brownsville community at large.  You are all encouraged to stop by the garden at any time – 514 Rockaway Ave at Sutter. Please get in touch (contact info below) to schedule visits. 
 
Please keep up with our progress by following our Facebook page (Brownsville Student Farm Project) and our website (www.studentfarmproject.com). 
 
In health, 
 
Nora Painten
Director
Student Farm Project
917-620-8333

photos

This is where photos will go once we build flickr integration

donors

  • Molly G.
  • James C.
  • Nora P.
  • Scott R.
  • David R.
  • Sara M.
  • James B.
  • Jeff J.
  • Paul K.
  • Joseph S.
  • Aaron S.
  • Yasir A.
  • Tim P.
  • James I.
  • Ruth M.
  • Ellis H.
  • Sascha S.
  • Kevin S.
  • Dwight G.
  • Martha G.
  • Jesse H.
  • Robert N.
  • Benjamin W.
  • Naomi O.
  • Abby B.
  • Doron T.
  • Evan W.
  • Bori K.
  • Jacob L.
  • Christopher G.
  • Ryan G.
  • Jane L.
  • Stephen M.
  • Lorien O.
  • Kyle R.
  • Kevin P.
  • James S.
  • Graig M.
  • Chris M.
  • Contessa S.
  • Martin M.
  • Michael C.
  • Kevin M.
  • Brian W.
  • Joseph G.
  • Scott K.
  • Michael H.
  • Jeffrey S.
  • Mariel B.
  • Erika T.
  • Christopher H.
  • Alan L.
  • Gale B.
  • Ashley B.
  • Alexandra H.
  • Lindsay D.
  • Daniela G.
  • D L.
  • Melissa G.
  • Saranga N.
  • Christopher L.
  • Mary D.
  • Jacob H.
  • Sam F.
  • Anonymous
  • Erin H.
  • Sascha W.
  • Anna L W.
  • Sarah K.
  • Matthew C.
  • Lydia P.
  • Tomas H.
  • Andrea U.
  • Emily-Bell D.
  • Andrew F.
  • Benjamin P.
  • James P.
  • Joanna M.
  • Avni B.
  • E M.
  • Emma A.
  • Michael P.
  • Phoebe S.
  • Mary B.
  • Sarah P.
  • Sara H.
  • Shankar V.
  • Steven L.
  • Byron A.
  • RICHARD E.
  • Clotilde D.
  • Anna W.
  • Lynn D.