March Forum: Urban Agriculture

Agriculture is booming across the five boroughs – from rooftops in North Brooklyn to hydroponic greenhouses in Jamaica, Queens; farms on Randall’s Island and Battery Park; school yards filled with raised beds and GreenThumb gardens dotting the map; and produce being grown on top of and inside of restaurants and culinary programs. It is an exciting time to be a farmer in the city. But what does it take to make these projects a long-term reality? What is the feasibility for commercial or even personal production in a city where there is always competition for land and resources?  

Join us at this month’s forum where experienced urban growers will discuss their projects and the challenges and opportunities inherent in urban agriculture in New York City.   Date: Wednesday, March 16, 2016 Time: 6:30 – 8:00pm Place: Knoll Showroom 1330 Avenue of the Americas New York, NY 10019   Click here to register!   Our speakers will include: Onika Abraham, Director, Farm School NYC Jason Green, CEO + Cofounder, Edenworks Gwen Schantz, Cofounder and Chief Operating Officer, Brooklyn Grange Nick Storrs, Urban Farm Manager, Randall’s Island Park Alliance   Onika Abraham, Director, Farm School NYC and Founder, A Farmer’s Yoga Onika Abraham is a farmer and educator with more than 10 years of experience in nonprofit management and an MBA in marketing and entrepreneurship. She completed the Farm and Garden Apprenticeship and Certificate in Ecological Horticulture at the Center for Agroecology and Sustainable Food Systems (CASFS) in Santa Cruz and her yoga teacher certification is from Kripalu School of Yoga. Onika is a founding member of Black Urban Growers and the SeedKeepers Collective, and lives and gardens in beautiful Bed-Stuy, Brooklyn   Jason Green, CEO + Cofounder, Edenworks Edenworks grows uncompromisingly delicious and sustainable salads by developing and operating vertical indoor aquaponic farms. Prior to Edenworks, Jason was a researcher at the nexus of neuroscience and bioengineering, developing rehabilitative virtual reality environments for patients with brain damage. Jason unplugs by cooking, traveling, eating, and working with his hands.   Gwen Schantz, Co-Founder and the Chief Operating Officer, Brooklyn Grange The Brooklyn Grange is a renowned urban farming business based in New York City. Gwen spent much of her childhood in her parents’ western Massachusetts vegetable garden, and went on to work on small organic farms in New York State while she was a student at Vassar College. Her professional background is in international sustainable development and environmental program development, and she is a co-founder of the Bushwick Food Cooperative and CSA as well as City Growers, a New York based food and farm education program for children and young adults.   Nick Storrs, Urban Farm Manager, Randall’s Island Park Alliance The Randall’s Island Urban Farm offers a free Edible Education Program to NYC school children, where students explore how the choices we make about food affect the health of ourselves, our communities, and our wider environment. Nick was born on a small farm in rural New Hampshire. After receiving a degree from McGill University he worked in Brazil and Bolivia growing vegetables and coffee, and later in northern Vermont, producing vegetables for local markets. Since moving to New York City he has worked as a gardener for the Central Park Conservancy, contributed to the Five Borough Farm Project, as well as to research conducted by the Northeast Rice Association through the Cornell Rice Labs, and is currently an instructor at the New YorkBotanical Gardens.