Restoring Biodiversity in Highland Park and Success Garden

NYC H2O is raising funds in order to maintain the health of pollinator gardens at the Success Community Garden in East New York and at Highland Park on  the border of Brooklyn and Queens in Cypress Hills. We work with community members in the planting and maintenance of the gardens to educate people about native plants, animals, and environmental issues. These pollinator gardens are full of diverse native plants that are essential to a healthy ecosystem, providing food and habitat for pollinators such as bees and butterflies. NYC H2O also removes invasive aquatic plants from the Ridgewood Reservoir’s middle basin, now a wetland area that has become overrun with phragmites (common reeds) to such an extent that native plants cannot compete.

• June 2022 - November 2022: weeding, removing invasive plants, and removing any garbage and debris from pollinator gardens at the Success Community Garden and at Highland Park.
• June 2022: planting wildflowers in the pollinator gardens
• June 2022 - November 2022: cutting and removing invasive phragmites from the pond inside the middle basin at the Ridgewood Reservoir

In the historically under-resourced neighborhoods of East New York and Cypress Hills, well-maintained urban greenspaces are a critical resource  that simultaneously improve the quality of life and quality of the natural environment for residents. Like many areas in NYC, native plant species in these neighborhoods have been crowded out by invasives such as mugwort, knotweed, and bittersweet that rapidly overtake the limited greenspace available to flora. By focusing on removing invasive species, collaborating with community members, expanding access to greenspace, and creating an environment where native plants can flourish, NYC H2O helps to make lasting change in communities.