Water Harvesters Co-op Monthly Discussion

Network Session:  Lenny Librizzi , Assistant Director,Open Space Greening Grow NYC Live Skype
6:30 pm to 7:30 pm

"No natural resource is more important to community gardeners than water, and identifying and ensuring a dependable source is vital to every garden's success. Faced with a drought in the summer of 2001 that restricted gardener access to hydrants, GrowNYC and GreenThumb founded the Water Resources Group to promote and fine-tune the idea of water conservation. For our efforts, GrowNYC's rainwater harvesting team received an Environmental Excellence Award from the New York State Department of Environmental Conservation.

GrowNYC has built more than 80 rainwater harvesting systems in New York City community gardens,collecting over a million gallons of rainwater a year from nearby roofs or shade structures, making water collection convenient for gardeners, and reducing demand on the public water supply system. They also help mitigate rainstorm runoff, which can overload storm drains and pollute the waters surrounding the city.

In 2010, GrowNYC staff built 10 new rainwater harvesting systems in community gardens across the city.  We also trained volunteers from Green Apple Corps and Million Trees NYC Training Program on how to build rainwater harvesting systems of their own.

GrowNYC was recently awarded a grant from the Bronx River Watershed Initiative to install rainwater collection systems at five Bronx community gardens within 1/2 mile of the Bronx River. The systems will capture more than 15,000 gallons of storm water that currently flows
to the river each year."

 Agenda
1) Introductions and New Agenda Items
2) Fiscal Agent Update and Grants
2) Work on Defining Co-op Purpose and Membership
3) Project Updates