Central Harlem Compost Project
Food waste wanted! Transform kitchen scraps into soil-enriching compost and nourish Mother Earth with everyday trash with Malcolm X Blvd Beautification, Shugah Baybees, and the Abyssinian Tot Lot.
Leader
Sharon Preiss
Location
128 W 139th Street New York, NY 10037
About the project
One of the many important community projects that was quashed by the COVID-19 pandemic was the completion of the neighborhood compost site at the Abyssinian Tot Lot in historic Central Harlem. Keeping food scraps out of landfills is vital for reining in greenhouse gases. Creating compost from those scraps is a simple way to transform them into an amazingly useful product. Not only does composting break down food scraps and other types of trash in a way that's less environmentally harmful than tossing them with the garbage, it also creates a nutrient-rich fertilizer that can be used to grow more food! That alone is reason enough to support a composting project. But there are so many more benefits! There are the physical benefits of working outdoors, spiritual benefits of engaging with Mother Earth and connecting to her seasons, mental benefits of learning to balance the compost mixture and the how's and why's of maintaining the health of the earth, emotional benefits in watching the transformation of trash into treasure. And we haven't even started talking about the gardens, the fruits and vegetables, and the adventures in preparing homegrown foods!
Now, through a partnership between Malcolm X Boulevard Beautification Group and Shugah Baybees Child Development Center, we are picking up where the project had to leave off two years ago. The site has already been designated DSNY food scrap collection site. With the help of donations, neighbor volunteers, and cooperation with community agencies, we'll be able to move forward with procuring proper food scrap and waste collection bins; purchasing the necessary chopping, mixing, and turning tools; building sheds for tool storage; and best of all, holding public events to engage and educate our friends and neighbors about closing the food waste loop by turning scraps into usable compost that will, in turn, create more food. With newly built garden beds already on the site, a full kitchen in the Shugah Baybees center that can be used for food prep classes, and an excited group of parents and children who will help kick-start our first year of production and spread the word to others, the project will contribute to the health and wellness of the neighborhood by mitigating food waste, engaging residents in the physical activities of composting and gardening, and educating people on composting, organic gardening, and fresh food preparation.
The Steps
Parts of the project have already begun! We've consulted with the NYC Compost Project and Lower East Side Ecology Center and have secured their support. Lead participants are engaged in ongoing Master Composter training. Shugah Baybees parents have been recruited (along with the kids!) for our initial volunteer shifts.
Here's our projected timeline:
April 2022 -- source collection bins; create and mail promotional postcards; secure builders and materials for tool sheds; source tools and equipment.
May 2022 -- purchase bins, tools, and equipment; begin collecting food scraps; begin compost training for volunteers; construct tool sheds; promote the compost site at MXBB Group's season kick-off event on May 21.
June, July 2022 -- continue food scrap collection and compost creation; expand volunteer base; provide ongoing compost trainings including soil health education and food production; promote the compost project at MXBB Group's regular monthly clean-and-plant events; conduct food prep workshops in partnership with Shugah Baybees and neighborhood volunteers.
August 2022 -- continue food scrap collection and compost creation; expand volunteer base; provide ongoing compost trainings; assess the progress of the project; continue training, recruitment, promotion; determine needs for upcoming months and investigate future funding sources if needed; conduct food prep workshops in partnership with Shugah Baybees and neighborhood volunteers.
September 2022--continue food scrap collection and compost creation; expand volunteer base; provide ongoing compost trainings; conduct food prep workshops in partnership with Shugah Baybees and neighborhood volunteers.
October 2022 - April 2023 -- continue food scrap collection and compost creation; expand volunteer base; provide ongoing compost trainings; plan for 2023 season.
Why we‘re doing it
Central Harlem has a proud history, rich in culture and beauty. It is a family oriented neighborhood -- often, several generations are rooted in the community and have a profound allegiance to it. On the other hand, our area has also suffered through systemic economic disparities and neglect, and was hit hard by the COVID pandemic. Recent studies show clear connections between plant-rich outdoor environments and overall community health, and it's common knowledge that physical activity and community engagement foster a sense of well-being and hope. Beyond creating compost, the larger aim of the Central Harlem Compost Project is to benefit our neighbors' lives, whether they are directly involved with its physical or administrative activities or are simply enjoying the improvements in the neighborhood. This initiative will foster future neighborhood stewards by involving grandparents, parents, children, neighbors, and businesses in a focused community project that will not only yield homegrown vegetables but will connect us with each other and with the earth to shape our environmental future.